Aegis, owner of media-buying giant Carat, blamed the dotcom fallout as well as tough market conditions for its poor interim results. Profits fell from £34.7m in the first half of the year to £27.2m.
Although revenue at the group increased by 8.5% to £3bn, it said that investments and start-up losses had hit its profit margin, which fell from 21.2% in the first half to 15.1%.
The news adds to speculation that Aegis is set to become the next takeover target in the independent media-buying market.
One of the most-affected divisions at the company was Carat Freeman, the hi-tech media business. The group's operations in Argentina have also suffered.
Aegis' share price has fallen consistently over the last week, as the market anticipated bad news from the group. Its market capitalisation now stands at £936m -- the last time the group's website was updated, it claimed a market capitalisation of £2bn.
A statement from the group said that it remained "difficult" to predict when the upswing would occur.
Today, Aegis also announced the appointment of Adrian Chedore as the worldwide CEO of Aegis Research, the business created in March this year to allow the group to market its research capabilities on a global basis. Chedore was previously CEO of Aegis Research Europe and Asia.
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