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(Sharecast News) - YouGov shares were sliding on Tuesday, even after it reported higher revenue and a sharp increase in profitability for the 2025 financial year, supported by margin gains and progress on its cost optimisation programme.
For the year ended 31 July, revenue rose 16% to 388.9m, including the full-year impact of YouGov Shopper, while underlying growth was 1%.
Adjusted operating profit increased 22% to 60.7m, ahead of market expectations, with underlying growth of 26% as cost savings took effect.
The AIM-traded firm said its adjusted operating margin improved by one percentage point to 16%.
Adjusted profit before tax rose 8% to 48.8m, while statutory profit before tax surged to 18.1m from 4m a year earlier.
Its adjusted earnings per share grew 8% to 31.7p, and the dividend was raised 3% to 9.25p per share.
"YouGov has delivered a stable performance with improved margins through the strength of our teams and our resilient business model," said chief executive Stephan Shakespeare.
"Our focus on execution and cost discipline has rebuilt momentum and the strategic steps we've implemented demonstrate our commitment to returning to sustainable, profitable growth."
He added that the board remained confident that the company's strategy would achieve its ambition of becoming "the world's leading provider" of opinion data.
"We believe that the strategic investments we are making in panel, technology and data science will help us become a stronger, faster platform company."
The company said it realised 70% of the 20m annualised savings targeted under its cost optimisation plan, freeing up capital for reinvestment in data science and technology.
Its Data Products division returned to growth as client renewals normalised and new product launches gained traction.
YouGov Shopper, formerly CPS, saw continued integration progress and launched new passive, receipt-based panels in the Nordics alongside a marketing activation product in key European markets.
Research activity achieved modest growth, with strong US performance offset by weakness in EMEA.
YouGov ended the year with 54.8m in cash and a leverage ratio of 1.7 times net debt to EBITDA, maintaining a robust balance sheet.
The group said trading in the new financial year has started in line with expectations, with additional investment planned in technology and data science to strengthen its platform and support medium-term growth.
It said it expected modest progress in revenue and adjusted operating profit in the 2026 financial year as those investments were implemented.
At 1343 BST, shares in YouGov were down 9.55% at 260.5p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.