Aegis said it has bought US-based research business Symmetrics Marketing on the back of an upbeat set of results this morning, which saw pre-tax profits for 2003 rise 12.7% to £80.5m, up from £71.4m the previous year.
Aegis said this morning that revenues at its global research business Synovate were up 8% to £218.9m.
Aegis is paying £2.9m for Symmetrics, which specialises in customer satisfaction measurement, with a deferred performance-related cash payment over three years up to a maximum of £5.5m.
Symmetrics had revenues of £8.3m in 2002. The firm will become part of Synovate's global offering.
Doug Flynn, chief executive of Aegis, said: "How to build and maintain profitable, lasting client relationships is the holy grail of marketers and one of the key reasons why CSM research has grown into such an important sector in the past few years."
Taylor Nelson's profits rose to £32.4m on the back of its acquisition of NFO from the Interpublic Group.
Turnover at Taylor Nelson jumped 30.1% to £805m as a result of the deal, which was done in July last year for $425m after a protracted bidding battle.
Taylor Nelson said that it expects to see continued growth coming out of the US and Asia Pacific and gradual improvement in Europe.
Mike Kirkham, Taylor Nelson's chief executive, said: "The worldwide market for market information is expected to continue its gradual improvement during 2004 and industry commentators anticipate that it will grow by around 3%-4%."
He added: "The group's confidence in an improved performance in 2004 is supported by the order book, which is ahead of the same time in 2003, as well as by the pick-up in activity seen towards the end of 2003."
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