- Group full-year guidance ticks higher
- New CPO (chief product officer) Marc Ryan appointed
- Buys New Zealand AI firm
Shares in YouGov (YOU:AIM) rose 16% to 510p in morning trading as the polling outfit said full year 2024 results were expected to be slightly ahead of revised guidance in a trading update for the year ending 31 July 2024 and announced an AI-related acquisition.
Year-to-date YouGov's shares have fallen nearly 60%, as the market research and polling outfit has grappled with lower client bookings, reflected in an earlier profit warning in June this year.
YouGov now expects group reported revenues for full year 2024 to be £327-330 million and group adjusted operating profit to be £43-46 million, slightly ahead of their revised guidance reported on 20 June 2024.
The company said it has seen strong growth in custom research and reported several new client wins. YouGov hopes to return to growth through a focused sales approach in full year 2025.
YABBLE PURCHASE
Separately, YouGov announced it had bought New Zealand-based generative AI (artificial intelligence) outfit Yabble for £4.5 million. YouGov said it will use Yabble’s technology to power new and valuable insights for clients across the world.
Yabble currently has 13 full-time employees globally and has been developing cutting edge generative AI-powered tools specifically for the research industry since 2019.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell said: ‘It seems AI is still capable of generating excitement in the market judging by the reaction to data analytics and polling firm YouGov’s capture of a pretty modest-sized artificial intelligence operation.
‘The deal for New Zealand’s Yabble may be modest in size but the company is making a big noise about how it could transform its suite of products.
‘Also helping YouGov score better with investors is a slight uptick in guidance after June’s damaging profit warning. Today’s news may revive a little of the clamour for the company to move its listing to the US in the hunt for a higher rating.’
