By Joe Hoppe
YouGov said it expects to meet full-year market expectations after strong early revenue growth, despite a challenging economic environment.
The research-and-data-analytics group said Friday that its performance in the half-year ending Jan. 31 was resilient, with sales momentum in the technology sector. It said performance was driven by stable demand in its data products and research divisions, while discretionary spend continues to be hit by general market softness.
YouGov is confident it will deliver full-year results in line with market expectations. It didn't provide a specific figure, but a consensus taken from FactSet forecasts revenue of 341.7 million pounds ($435.4 million), up from GBP258.3 million a year prior.
Over the first half, YouGov said it delivered revenue growth on a like-for-like basis, after accounting for mergers and acquisitions costs and foreign exchange headwinds. It said reported revenue for the first half will be strong and it has continued to invest in the business, particularly on staff costs.
The company said it was aware of challenging market conditions and client budgets moving into the second half. While it continues to experience longer sales cycles, it said it remains confident in its products and sales momentum, which significantly accelerated in the second quarter after a slow first quarter.
Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com
