Foto: Gunnar Blöndal

The communication agency Geelmuyden Kiese has been in a long period of solid growth. Agency revenue has more than doubled since 2010. From 46 million NOK in 2010 to 104,4 million NOK in 2015. Thats an annual growth of 18%, six years in a row. Only in 2015, the agency increased the revenue by 15 million NOK.

-We are very satisfied with the growth. After all, 2015 has been a tough year for the industry in Norway. Agency revenue over 100 million NOK represents a milestone for us, says Nina Riibe. She is CFO in Geelmuyden Kiese Group, and was acting head of GK Norway from August 2015.

Smaller margins

10.7 million NOK in revenue corresponds to a margin of 10 percent. Both margins and earnings were down in 2015.

– It is important that we always have skills that are properly assembled to fulfill the tasks and challenges our customers are facing. We grew with many new colleagues in 2014. In 2015 the growth cost us more than we wanted, says Riibe.

Higher backlog

GK saw that the market would be demanding when oil prices fell dramatically, and chose to focus more on governmental and public sector contracts.
– The public sector accounts for around 50 percent of the Norwegian economy. There are also many exciting stakeholders in the public sector who we really want to help change. In GK we are passionate about communication and the change that communication sparks, says Riibe.
– After a slow start in 2015, we are very pleased with the results. Equally important is the work we have done to redefine and streamline multiple work processes. We have also worked hard to be equipped to face the challenges 2016 may bring. The order backlog is significantly higher than it has been in previous years. January 2016 is the best as long as I have been in GK in both terms of sales and profit. We are looking forward to 2016, Riibe concludes.