Margins and profitability in activities of advertising agencies

Revenue and operating profit

Revenue per employee is calculated on the 88 of 98 companies that report an employee count, as the median of the ratio within each company.

Median, not mean. A mean would be pulled up by the largest companies in the industry, and would say little about a typical one.

What companies in the industry earned

One tenth of companies fell below -11.8 %, and one tenth above 11.7 %. That is the real spread in the industry, not an average.

Top against weakest third

Top third

8.5 %

Weakest third

-5.8 %

Spread

14 percentage points

Equity ratio

24.6 %median of 97

Profitability by size

Companies are split into revenue bands, with the median margin in each. Bands with fewer than ten companies are omitted, because the median becomes too unstable to show.

Where the companies are based

The six postal towns with the most companies in this industry, by registered business address.

Who in the industry wins public contracts

61 of 98 companies in the industry have won at least one public contract since 2022, that is 62.2 %.

Those that win have median revenue of NOK 21.3m, against NOK 42.2m for those that do not. That is 0.5× as much. It describes who wins, not evidence that contracts make companies large; large companies also find it easier to bid.

Who puts them out to tender

The 165 contracts we find come most often from these buyers.

Contracts come from Doffin and TED. Our collection is not complete, and TED covers only contracts above the EEA threshold, so the figures are a floor and not a full count. We say what we find, not what exists.

Common questions about activities of advertising agencies

What is a normal operating margin in activities of advertising agencies?

The median operating margin was 2.5 %, meaning what was left of revenue once every cost had been paid. Half of the 98 companies in the sample were above it, and half below.

What separates the best from the weakest in activities of advertising agencies?

The top third had an operating margin of 8.5 %, against -5.8 % for the weakest. The spread is 14 percentage points, within the same industry, the same country and the same year.

How many companies are there in activities of advertising agencies in Norway?

We hold filed accounts for 98 Norwegian companies on this industry code with at least one million kroner in revenue. The real number is higher, since dormant and very small companies are excluded.

How much revenue does a company in Activities of advertising agencies generate per employee?

The median company in Activities of advertising agencies turns over NOK 1.7m per employee. The figure is calculated on the 88 of 98 companies that report an employee count.

How many are loss-making in activities of advertising agencies?

35 % of the companies in the sample posted a negative operating result.

How large is a typical company in activities of advertising agencies?

Median revenue is NOK 33.5m. Half of the companies fall between NOK 13.7m and NOK 66.2m.

How much do public contracts matter in activities of advertising agencies?

61 of 98 companies, that is 62.2 %, have won at least one public contract since 2022. They have median revenue of NOK 21.3m, against NOK 42.2m for the rest.

• Tools→Tools and systems in activities of advertising agencies
• Open tenders in this industry→Notices with a deadline still ahead, collected from Doffin and TED every morning.
• Check a company→Enter the name and see operating margin, equity and public contracts measured against everyone else in the same industry.

Other industries in the same group

• Restaurant activities5,272 companies
• Plumbing installation2,013 companies
• Electrical installation1,904 companies
• Accounting and bookkeeping1,620 companies
• Joinery installation1,280 companies