Fourth Quarter Trading Update

S4 Capital PLC

26 January 2026

 

S⁴ Capital PLC

26 January 2026

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the UK version of Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 on market abuse ("UK MAR"), as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. 

S⁴ Capital plc

Fourth Quarter Trading Update

("S⁴ Capital", "the Company" or "the Group")

2025 full year ahead of revised guidance and current consensus

Liquidity and net debt significantly improved and leverage expected to be 1.1x operational EBITDA

Final dividend of 1p subject to Board and Shareowner approval

S⁴ Capital plc (SFOR.L) confirms that 2025 full year trading was ahead of the revised guidance issued on the 24 November 2025 and is above the current consensus of net revenue of £664 million and operational EBITDA of £75 million. The Company expects like-for-like net revenue to be down circa 8.5%, with an operational EBITDA margin of circa 12%.

Net debt will be both significantly below current consensus of £133 million and below the previously indicated range of £100-140 million, following a change in Treasury management and a consequent strong focus on working capital management resulting in an improvement in liquidity.

The net debt to operational EBITDA ratio at the end of 2025 is expected to be approximately 1.1x versus current consensus of 1.8x and well below the target of 1.5x.

The annual results for 2025 will be announced on 25 March 2026 at which point the Company will provide more detailed targets for 2026.

The Company will recommend a 1p dividend, subject to the finalisation of the annual results and approval from the Board and Shareowners.

Sir Martin Sorrell, Executive Chairman of S⁴Capital plc said:

"Good to see both delivery beyond revised net revenue and operational EBITDA guidance and the significant improvement in liquidity. However, there is still much more to be done around net revenue and margin growth in 2026 and beyond which we will cover with the 2025 results presentation in March. The recommended 1p final dividend is an indication of the Board's confidence in continued improvement. In an increasingly volatile world, clients continue to carefully assess where they should expand geographically and how they can apply new technologies such as AI, Blockchain and Quantum to increasing efficiency."

Enquiries to:

S4Capital plc	[phone]
Sir Martin Sorrell (Executive Chairman)

About S⁴Capital

 

Our strategy is to build a purely digital advertising and marketing services business for global, multinational, regional, and local clients, and millennial-driven influencer brands. We now have two synchronised practices: Marketing services and Technology services, along with an emphasis on 'faster, better, cheaper, more' execution in an always-on consumer-led environment, with a unitary structure.

The Company now has approximately 6,300 people in 33 countries with approximately 80% of net revenue across the Americas, 15% across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 5% across Asia-Pacific. The longer-term objective is a geographic split of 60%:20%:20%.

Sir Martin was CEO of WPP for 33 years, building it from a £1 million 'shell' company in 1985 into the world's largest advertising and marketing services company, with a market capitalisation of over £16 billion on the day he left. Prior to that Sir Martin was Group Financial Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Company Plc for nine years.

 

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