M&C Saatchi (LON: SAA), the London-listed advertising and marketing group, swung to a statutory pre-tax loss of £0.2m in the first half of 2026, from a £4.3m profit a year earlier, after restructuring and one-off charges, and its shares fell sharply on the day. Statutory net revenue fell 2.7% to £87.8m from £90.2m, while statutory operating profit dropped to £1.3m from £7.0m and basic loss per share came in at 3.94p, reversing earnings per share of 2.61p a year earlier.
Shares in M&C Saatchi fell 6.1% to 138p by 9.20am today, against yesterday’s close of 147p, in a range of 135p to 141p.
The table below sets the statutory figures against last year; the gap is driven mostly by one-off restructuring costs rather than trading.
| Measure (£m) | H1 2026 | H1 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory net revenue | 87.8 | 90.2 |
| Statutory operating profit | 1.3 | 7.0 |
| Statutory profit/(loss) before tax | -0.2 | 4.3 |
On the company’s preferred like-for-like measure, which strips out one-off items, disposals, acquisitions and currency effects, net revenue fell 1.4% to £86.2m, while operating profit dropped 31.7% to £6.2m and the margin fell 3.1 points to 7.2%. Rabbatts said trading improved through the second quarter after a weaker start to the year.
Notwithstanding market conditions, we are confident in delivering LFL net revenue and operating profit growth for the full year 2026, in line with market expectations, supported by the Company’s unique market position across Citizen and Commercial expertise, collaborative growth opportunities and AI-enabled data.
Dame Heather Rabbatts, M&C Saatchi
The group is also in transition. Chief Executive Zaid Al-Qassab left on the 31st of March, with Rabbatts now Executive Chair steering a period of market volatility and simplification. A planned private-equity-backed buyout of the Australia and New Zealand business collapsed, and the unit’s £1.8m of goodwill was written off after it was sold for AUD $1 following the loss of two major clients. Malaysia was sold in the first quarter.
Net cash fell to £2.5m from £8.7m a year earlier, reflecting £2.2m of share buybacks and a seasonal rise in working capital the company expects to reverse in the second half. That buyback programme completed its initial phase on the 15th of September, with the board considering an extension. Regionally, the UK, the group’s largest market, grew like-for-like net revenue 5.9% to £52.6m, while Europe and the Middle East fell 19.4% to £10.1m on the impact of the Middle East conflict.