S4 Capital to pay first cash dividend despite wider loss, revenue fall

(Alliance News) - S4 Capital PLC on Monday declared its first-ever cash dividend since its ...

Alliance News 24 March, 2025 | 9:07AM
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(Alliance News) - S4 Capital PLC on Monday declared its first-ever cash dividend since its listing in 2018, despite reporting a wider annual loss, saying the payout shows its confidence in its cash flow.

S4 Capital shares were up 11% to 36.43 pence early Monday in London. The stock remains down 20% over the past 12 months.

The London-based advertising agency headed by Martin Sorrell reported a pretax loss of GBP330.9 million for 2024, widened from GBP13.9 million in 2023, as revenue tumbled 16% to GBP848.2 million from GBP1.01 billion.

Billings rose by 4.9% to GBP1.96 billion last year from GBP1.87 billion in 2023, or by 8.1% on a like-for-like basis. However, net revenue fell by 14% to GBP754.6 million from GBP873.2 million, or by 11% like-for-like.

Operational earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation was GBP87.8 million in 2024, down 6.3% from GBP93.7 million in 2023, or down by 0.6% on a like-for-like basis. More positively, operational Ebitda margin was 11.6%, improved from 10.7%.

S4 Capital said operational Ebitda was in line with expectations. The pretax loss was mostly due to a non-cash impairment of GBP280.4 million, reflecting, it said, trading conditions in the second half of the year.

The company ended 2024 with GBP142.9 million in net debt, below its guidance of GBP150 million to GBP190 million and down from GBP180.8 million a year before.

S4 Capital declared a 1.0 pence per share final dividend, its first as a public company, which it called a "measure of confidence in the future".

Looking ahead, the company said it expects net revenue and operational Ebitda in 2025 at similar levels to 2024, given a "challenging" macroeconomic environment, and intends to continue focusing on costs, eyeing "further action to support" profit.

In the longer-term, S4 Capital aims to return operational Ebitda margins to historic levels of 20%.

"Our performance in 2024 reflected the impact of challenging global macroeconomic conditions, continued high interest rates and some underperformance, when compared to our addressable markets," Executive Chair Martin Sorrell said. "Technology clients prioritised capital expenditure over operating expenditure, such as marketing and our technology services."

By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security Name Price Change (%) Morningstar
Rating
S4 Capital PLC 37.24 GBX -1.69 -

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