S4 Capital said in an update on Monday that full-year trading in 2025 came in ahead of its revised guidance and above current market expectations, as improved liquidity and tighter working capital management drove a sharp reduction in net debt.
The London-listed firm said net revenue and operational EBITDA for the year exceeded the consensus forecasts of £664m and £75m respectively, following the update issued in November.
It said it expected like-for-like net revenue to be down about 8.5% year on year, with an operational EBITDA margin of around 12%.
Net debt was now expected to be significantly below the £133m consensus estimate and beneath the previously guided range of £100m to £140m, reflecting changes to treasury management and a stronger focus on working capital.
As a result, the net debt to operational EBITDA ratio at the end of 2025 was forecast to be about 1.1 times, compared with a consensus estimate of 1.8 times and below the company's 1.5 times target.
The company said it would publish its full-year results on 25 March, when it planned to set out more detailed targets for 2026.
It said it also intended to recommend a final dividend of 1p per share, subject to board and shareholder approval.
"Good to see both delivery beyond revised net revenue and operational EBITDA guidance and the significant improvement in liquidity," said executive chairman Sir Martin Sorrell.
"However, there is still much more to be done around net revenue and margin growth in 2026 and beyond which we will cover with the 2025 results presentation in March.
"The recommended 1p final dividend is an indication of the board's confidence in continued improvement.
"In an increasingly volatile world, clients continue to carefully assess where they should expand geographically and how they can apply new technologies such as AI, blockchain and quantum to increasing efficiency."
At 0935 GMT, shares in S4 Capital were up 40.76% at 27.28p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.