The company, owner of Bates Worldwide advertising, had warned on Monday that it was unsure if it would be able to announce its results today. This followed the decision of Allied Domecq to terminate its advertising contracts with Cordiant by October 2003, leaving an 拢18m hole in the ad group's revenues.
The loss of Allied Domecq, which came hot on the heels of the loss of Woolworths and Royal Mail, led to problems with loan agreements negotiated by Cordiant. However, in today's statement, Cordiant says that it has reached an agreement in principle with lenders to continue financing arrangements until July 15 this year.
Despite the gloom of the current situation, Cordiant's results for 2002 showed that operating profit rose by 1.4% to 拢37m on revenues of 拢532.7m, down 11.3% on 2001.
Shares in the company plunged on Monday and have been on a rollercoaster as the company reported that it had received a preliminary approach for a takeover. When the market opened this morning, shares leapt by 47% to 12.5p from yesterday's close of 7.5p.
Cordiant is already in the process of disposing of non-core assets. Chief executive David Hearn has said that a break-up or sell-off of the company may also be an option.
In today's statement, Cordiant said: "While continuing to work constructively with the group's lenders, the directors are actively investigation a range of strategic options that will provide the best outcome for all the stakeholders in the business."
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