Jamie Hewitt has notified advertising firm M&C Saatchi Plc (LON:SAA) of his intention to step down from the role of group finance director.
Hewitt has a 12-month notice period and will remain in his position until a successor has been recruited to ensure an orderly handover. The announcement accompanied the release of results that showed headline profit before tax in the first half of 2018 rose 26% to £16.7mln from £13.3mln the year before.
Second-half performance
The shares rose to 388.38p from 379.4p overnight after chief executive, David Kershaw, said the second half of 2018 had started well with trading in line with expectations.
The UK division posted a 10% increase in gross profit, driven by strong performances from the Sport & Entertainment and Mobile divisions. In the rest of Europe, like-for-like gross profit was up 4% year-on-year.
Like-for-like gross profit in the Middle East and Africa was up 27% on the year before. In Asia and Australia, like-for-like gross profit was up 10% on the same period last year.
The Americas let the side down a bit, with gross profit unchanged on a like-for-like basis from the year before. The group ended the half-year period with net cash of £4.4mln, compared to net debt of £3.9mln a year earlier.
"In keeping with our established and proven strategy, we continue to start new businesses and open new offices. This will propel growth in future years,” Kershaw predicted.