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M&C Saatchi’s Australasian and Asian operating profits slump 17% due to ‘currency headwinds’

M&C saatchi logoM&C Saatchi’s Asian and Australasian operations saw operating profits fall by 17% in 2015 with the company blaming “strong currency headwinds” including the weak Australian dollar for the result.

While like-for-like revenues were up 5% for the region the creative agency posted revenues of £42.3m ($80.5m) compared with £44.17m ($85.04m) the previous year, with headline profit before tax also down to £4.27m from £5.01m in 2014.

Overall, the global M&C Saatchi group managed to lift revenues to £178.9m ($340m) from $169m the year before, a like-for-like rise of 5.6%.

The Asia and Australasia operations include offices in Sydney, Melbourne, New Delhi, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.

The UK continued to be the strongest contributor with £84,159m in revenue for the year, up $5m on the year before.

M&C Saatchi's 2015 results by region (click to enlarge)

M&C Saatchi’s 2015 results by region (click to enlarge)

In the report the only specific mention of Australia’s operations was that it “won Woolworths, the second-largest account in Australia without a pitch,” although that win was confirmed in February.

Of the rest of the region, it said: “Otherwise, our associate in China, aeiou, continues to build its presence and impress network clients. Malaysia thrives and won Mitsubishi, Wonda coffee and the global relaunch of Malaysian Airlines.

“Singapore is developing positively and has been steadily picking up more Government assignments. Japan proved challenging with the loss of some clients and the business is now under review.

M&C Saatchi’s CEO, David Kershaw, said in the report: “2015 was another year of outstanding progress for M&C Saatchi. Our proven strategy of winning new business and starting new businesses continues to deliver, with the Group producing record revenue and profits.

“The current strong performance across the global network positions us well for the future. We are confident we will continue to make good progress in 2016 and beyond.”  

Alex Hayes

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