Aegis Group attributes its
first quarter 2011 organic growth to its media services operations, especially
in North America, MediaDailyNews
reported.
Organic revenue increased
9.1% while total revenue rose 16.3%; the Aegis Media division's organic growth
rates were higher at 10.1% compared to the marketing research division,
Synovate which increased 7.3%.
"Our business in North America continued to deliver
strong performance improvement, supported by on-going positive new business
momentum," the company said in its earnings statement. "Aegis Media
secured total net new business wins of $1.6 billion during the first quarter of
the year (2010: $0.8 billion), driven in particular by our new business
momentum in North America. Wins during the quarter included The Home Depot and
Disney in North America, Enel in Latin America, Ergo, Findus, Asda, Red Bull,
the Scottish Government and eBay in Western Europe and Kellogg's digital creative
business in Asia Pacific."
Aegis plans to move forward with its acquisition plans in
a more aggressive manner, by "target[ing] acquisitions which provide scale,
infill and innovation, with a focus on small to medium-sized bolt-ons in both
faster growing regions and digital."
The first quarter also saw the company acquire small
media services businesses including Clickthinking, a South Afraican performance
marketing business and Riber, a U.S. sports and entertainment marketing agency.
