SFOR S4 Capital Plc

TIDMSFOR

RNS Number : 4979A

S4 Capital PLC

22 January 2024

The following amendment has been made to the Fourth Quarter Trading Update announcement released on 22 January 2024 at 0700 under RNS No. 3739A.

Reference to expectations as outlined on 23 November 2023 has been corrected to 9 November 2023.

All other details remain unchanged.

The full amended text is shown below.

22 January 2024

S4 Capital plc

("S (4) Capital" or "the Company" or "the Group")

Fourth Quarter Trading Update

In line with revised November expectations

S(4) Capital plc (SFOR.L), the tech-led, new age/new era digital advertising, marketing and technology services company, today confirms that trading in the fourth quarter of 2023 was in line with expectations as outlined on 9 November 2023. As a result, the Company anticipates a like-for-like net revenue decline of around 4% and an Operational EBITDA margin in the range of 10-11% for the full year 2023. The Company improved Operational EBITDA margin performance in the second half of the year as a result of significant cost reductions. Net debt is expected to be towards the lower end of the guided range of GBP180-220 million, with circa GBP10 million of merger payments delayed to 2024. The annual results for 2023 will be announced on 27 March 2024.

Sir Martin Sorrell, S(4) Capital Executive Chairman, said

"After four years of very strong growth, 2023 was a difficult year impacted by volatile macro conditions and, consequently, cautious spending from clients, particularly those in the technology sector and from smaller project-based assignments. Our client relationships remain strong and we have also managed costs tightly."

"While it is early in the year, we are not expecting 2024 to show macro-economic improvement, and client caution on marketing spend will likely persist, although not at last year's level given interest rates are likely to fall over time. Initial indications are for an improvement in performance in the Content practice, reflecting cost reductions, broadly similar performance in Data&Digital Media to last year and a more challenging outlook for Technology Services. In these unpredictable times, we are focused on positioning the Company for medium term growth, improving profitability and returning funds to shareowners."

Enquiries:

 
     S (4) Capital                       Tel: +44 (0)20 3793 0003 
     Sir Martin Sorrell (Executive 
      Chairman) 
     Powerscourt (PR Adviser             Tel: +44 (0) 7970 246 
      to S (4) Capital)                   725 
     Elly Williamson 
     Pete Lambie 
 

About S(4) Capital

S(4) Capital plc (SFOR.L) is the tech-led, new age/new era digital advertising, marketing and technology services company, established by Sir Martin Sorrell in May 2018.

Our strategy is to build a purely digital advertising and marketing services business for global, multinational, regional, and local clients, and millennial-driven influencer brands. This will be achieved by integrating leading businesses in three practices : Content, Data&Digital Media and Technology Services, along with an emphasis on ' faster, better, cheaper, more' execution in an always-on consumer-led environment, with a unitary structure.

Victor Knaap, Wesley ter Haar, Christopher S. Martin, Scott Spirit and Mary Basterfield all joined the S (4) Capital Board as Executive Directors. The S(4) Capital Board also includes Rupert Faure Walker, Paul Roy, Daniel Pinto, Sue Prevezer, Elizabeth Buchanan, Naoko Okumoto, Margaret Ma Connolly, Miles Young and Colin Day.

The Company now has approximately 7,700 people in 32 countries with approximately 80% of net revenue across the Americas, 15% across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 5% across Asia-Pacific. The longer-term objective is a geographic split of 60%:20%:20%. Content currently accounts for approximately 6 0% of net revenue, Data&Digital Media 2 5% and Technology Services 1 5%. The long-term objective for the practices is a split of 50%:25%:25%.

Sir Martin was CEO of WPP for 33 years, building it from a GBP1 million 'shell' company in 1985 into the world's largest advertising and marketing services company, with a market capitalisation of over GBP16 billion on the day he left. Prior to that Sir Martin was Group Financial Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Company Plc for nine years.

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