A new entrant
this quarter, at the expense of Bell Pottinger, set
the cat amongst the pigeons with all four tables marked
by a shuffling of top-end positions.
Buchanan
Communications went one better in the rankings of
stock market clients,
tieing for first place with last quarter's winner,
Financial Dynamics. While both firms added new clients
this quarter, Buchanan's gains were double those of
Financial Dynamics, enabling it to bridge the previous
gap between the two rivals. Both firms are well ahead
of third-placed Square Mile BSMG Worldwide, whose
total of 92 stock market clients puts it only one
ahead of last quarter's third place, Citigate Dewe
Rogerson. Last time's lanterne rouge, Bell Pottinger,
made a net loss of one stock market client, and dropped
out of the top ten, to be replaced by the Maitland
Consultancy.
Maitland seized the opportunity with
both hands, parachuting into the aggregate pretax
profit table at number 2, nicely ahead of last quarter's
runner up, Financial Dynamics and fourth-placed Citigate
Dewe Rogerson. While the rest of the rankings were
little changed, it is noteworthy that the aggregate
client pretax profit figures posted by all top ten
financial PR firms are sharply down on the previous
quarter around one third less in the case of
top dog Brunswick, and 80% down in the case of last
placed Binns & Co. Only Financial Dynamics succeeded
in bucking the trend. Tough times for the corporate
sector.
A similar deterioration in corporate
performances was seen in the average
client
EPS rankings, where only new top dog College Hill
was able to post positive
figures. Last quarter's number one, Binns & Co,
finished second, one ahead of Hudson Sandler. The
Maitland Consultancy entered the table for the first
time at number 4, only one below its new ranking in
the other 'growth' table, average increases in pretax
profits. While last quarter's pretax
profit runner up, Hudson Sandler, claimed pole position,
the previous winner, Brunswick, slumped five places
to 6th on the back of a collapse in clients' pretax
profits. Indeed, only Hudson boasted a clientele this
quarter with positive growth in pretax earnings.