In its trading update for the three months to 30 September, S4 Capital raised £86.4m revenue, which was a 13% year-on-year increase compared with the third quarter of 2019 and 53% higher than the second quarter of 2020. 

Gross profit also rose to £75.3m, a 79% increase on the previous quarter and 23% higher than in 2019. The company said that gross profit rose each month in the third quarter, up 18% in July, 24% in August and 25% in September. 

The company’s billings were £163.1m, up almost 13% on the same quarter in 2019.

The latest results mean that for the three financial quarters of 2020 combined, S4 Capital’s revenue is at £227.7m and gross profit is at £199.3m. Billings for the year so far are at £424m.

S4 Capital’s content practice had £69.3m revenue in the third quarter of 2020 – a 69% rise on the previous quarter and 15% higher than the same period in 2019.

Revenue from the firm’s data and digital media practice was up almost 10% to £17.1 million and almost 7% higher than the third quarter of 2019.

The company saw gross profit rise 27% year-on-year in the Americas, 7% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and 26% in Asia.

There were 2,870 staff employed by S4 Capital by the end of September, which was 26% higher than at the same point in 2019.

This year, S4 Capital has acquired Latin American data and analytics consultancy Digodat and Australian analytics firm Lens10, as well as data analytics and measurement consultancy Brightblue Consulting. Brightblue has been merged into S4 Capital’s data and digital media business MightyHive.

Sir Martin Sorrell, executive chairman of S4 Capital, said: “We continue to trade in line with ambitious internal and external targets, which now include doubling both top and bottom lines organically over the period 2021 to 2023.

“We are optimistic about the macro prospects for 2021, particularly given the likely global gross domestic product rebound, and the probability of further vaccine, therapeutic and testing developments.”