Revenues dip at data science agency amidst unsettled economic climate
Data science agency Jaywing, which has offices in Sheffield and Leeds, says economic uncertainty hit its first half revenues as the business publishes its interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2022.
It recorded revenues of £11.2m, a 3.8% drop on the equivalent period in 2021 (£11.6m). The agency, which also has a base in Sydney, Australia, made a pre-tax profit of £208,000 (H1 2021 £44,000 loss).
Andrew Fryatt, CEO, said: “We delivered an improvement in underlying profitability in the first half year with adjusted EBITDA up £334k to £1,360k against prior period. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 3.4ppt to 12.2%, driven by our strong proposition in the market together with a firm control on costs.
“This has been delivered against a challenging backdrop. The economic uncertainty in both the UK and Australia impacted first half revenues, with some existing clients delaying spend and onboarding of new clients taking longer to navigate clients’ internal approvals.
“UK revenues were 5.9% lower, but our actions to reduce the cost base at the end of the prior year resulted in UK adjusted EBITDA being 150.8% higher, at £1,219k. The group returned to pre-tax profit, recording a profit before tax of £208k.”
Fryatt added the state of domestic markets and the global economy means the agency remain cautious about its outlook.
But he said measures taken to optimise the company’s cost base, coupled with a healthy new business pipeline in the UK and Australia and an expected strong recovery in Australia, should underpin stronger profitability in the second half.
Jaywing notes that just after the end of the period it moved its Leeds employees into new offices at Globe Point.
The business says that while its staff are still working in a hybrid model resulting in a reduced footprint and lower costs, it is starting to see a return towards a greater office-based presence.
