Toronto-headquartered agency holding company MDC Partners on Friday reported a second quarter net loss of US$964,000 (€782,022; £543,160), despite a 45% increase in revenues to $109 million.
Operating expenses in the quarter rose 52% to nearly $105m compared to the same period in 2004, but the company offered no explanation for this.
The group triggered more than a few nervous twitches among investors and analysts earlier this year when it twice delayed release of its financials for the fourth quarter of 2004 along with its full year numbers.
These were finally unveiled on 14 April to general satisfaction [WAMN: 18-Apr-05]. Less than four weeks later, the numbers for Q1 2005 came in on schedule - albeit making less happy reading than the earlier dataset.
The latest results do little to allay the sense of unease, while MDC's first-half numbers accentuate the gloom. For the first six months of this year, the group lost $5.1m, compared to a year-on-year profit of $13m.
Among the highly regarded US agencies in which MDC holds stakes are Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Miami, and New York shops Cliff Freeman and Partners and Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners.
In March MDC added to its portfolio with a 60% holding in Atlanta-based consultancy Zyman Group.
Data sourced from AdWeek (USA); additional content by WARC staff
