Media stalwart Zillah Byng-Thorne said this morning that ad agency M&C Saatchi, which she now chairs, still had “much more to do.”
The former head honcho at publishing giant Future was parachuted in as executive chair at M&C Saatchi last year, after former CEO Moray MacLennan ended a decades-long association with the firm.
He will be replaced on a permanent basis by former channel 4 exec Zaid Al-Qassab next month, with Byng-Thorne dropping the ‘executive’ and heading to the boardroom full time.
Profit fell during the last 12 months of last year, as client marketing budgets were squeezed amid the cost of living crisis, the agency said in a statement to markets this morning.
However a host of transformation measures underway since Byng-Thorne took over are beginning to bear fruit, with multi-million cost savings across the business.
Net revenue was down two per cent year-on-year to £252.8m and operating profit slumped eight per cent to £32.4m.
M&C Saatchi also said it achieved 216 new business wins including World Health Organization, Porsche, Adidas, Nike, Revlon, and McDonald’s.
Byng-Thorne said: “2023 was a year of strategic progress. We have begun to transform into a leaner and more agile business laying the groundwork for sustained growth and improved profitability ahead.
“There is much more to do on simplifying how we interact with our clients and evolving our go-to-market strategy. With strengthened cash generation, we expect to re-invest in value accretive opportunities to enhance shareholder returns.”