Nielsen said it plans to ‘exit several smaller, under-performing markets and non-core businesses’ during the second half of the year as it looks to prioritise resources on higher margin products and services.

The company expects the ‘optimisation plan’ to be largely completed in 2020 and result in around $250m in pre-tax annual savings, according to a statement yesterday ( 7th July). It is not clear which businesses and markets are affected by the measures.

Nielsen’s revenue was down 0.3% in the first quarter of the year and the company reported a net loss of $18m for Q1, compared to net income of $43m in the same period last year.

Chief executive David Kenny (pictured) said Nielsen is zero-basing its cost structure as it moves towards the planned spin-off of Nielsen Global Connect, announced in late 2019.

Kenny said: "These restructuring actions will further expedite our transformation to a more efficient, agile, and scalable organisation and are designed to drive sustained margin expansion and increased cash generation.

"We have made the difficult decision to exit selected businesses and markets and permanently reduce our workforce. While these are important actions to take, I recognise the impact they have on our people, and I am grateful for the important contributions made by these talented associates during their time at Nielsen."