YouGov

LN: YOU

Market Cap£1484m

Last Close 1340p

YouGov is an international research data and analytics group. Its data-led offering supports and improves a wide spectrum of marketing activities of a customer base including media owners, brands and media agencies. It works with some of the world’s most recognised brands.

Investment summary

YouGov has issued a detailed trading update ahead of its full year results, now set for publication on 19 October, post a slight delay on finalising the tax position. Revenues of £169m are up 18% on an underlying basis, with an improvement in adjusted operating margin from 14.3%% to 15.1%, broadly as expected. YouGov also announced the acquisition of UK adtech company Rezonence (price undisclosed), which should facilitate data acquisition from a wider range of participants beyond panel, at lower cost. We will update our numbers and add FY23 forecasts post the formal results. The group is making good progress across all geographies, but notably in the key US market.

Y/E Jul	Revenue (£m)	EBITDA (£m)	PBT (£m)	EPS (p)	P/E (x)	P/CF (x)
2019A	136.5	31.7	20.4	13.8	97.1	37.1
2020A	152.4	39.2	24.7	15.7	85.4	37.2
2021E	170.0	47.9	30.6	17.4	77.0	31.6
2022E	185.0	54.3	37.0	21.3	62.9	27.4

Industry outlook

Clients remain keen to understand short-term vacillations in markets as economies rebuild, but the uncertain backdrop had been making sales conversion more difficult for the larger, multinational and longer-term contracts. The increasing emphasis on data privacy and the forthcoming changes to third-party cookie usage (despite the delay) highlight the benefits and value inherent in permissioned, first-party data. YouGov’s developments, particularly those such as YouGov Safe, sit well in this shifting environment.

Last updated on 20/10/2021