Aegis Media reports first revenue growth since 2008

Aegis, the UK-based media buying and research group, has reported a 1% year-on-year rise in organic revenue in the first quarter – the first growth since 2008. Aegis Media, which reported a 9.7% fall in organic revenues last year, said that based upon a "slightly more optimistic view of the world outlook" the group is budgeting for "modest" growth in 2010. The company said total organic revenues were up 1.1% year on year in the first quarter. Growth was driven by Aegis Media, which includes media operations such as Carat and Vizeum, which delivered 3% year-on-year growth. However, research division Synovate continued to be a drag on the group as growth remained negative in the first quarter. The division saw "strong performances" from business in developing markets such as Asia Pacific, and China in particular, as well as Russia and Latin America. Performance was "mixed" in Europe and North America. In Europe there was "modest growth" in France, Italy and the UK. Markets were "more challenging" in Germany, Netherlands and Scandinavia. The US was "varied". Synovate, Aegis's market research operation, saw organic revenues fall 1.9% in the first quarter. The company said that there was a "varied" performance across Western and Eastern Europe. "Aegis produced a solid performance in the first quarter," said Jerry Buhlmann, the company's chief executive. "There were tentative signs of clients starting to increase their marketing and advertising budgets for the second half of 2010. Against this background, we continue to forecast modest growth this year." Aegis Media said that new business wins remained "healthy" to $800m (£554m) in the first quarter including China Telecom and Deutsche Bank. Aegis said that it raised a total of £190.6m from the convertible bond the company launched in March . The company spent £40.2m on three new acquisitions in the first quarter. The most significant was the purchase of a 17.7% shareholding in Charm Communication, one of China's leading TV buying and advertising agencies. Vizeum and Charm also established a joint venture which operates as Vizeum China. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".