RS GROUP PLC

RS Group PLC increased Paid Search revenue by 6% while cutting ad spend by 5% after adopting Corvidae AI's patented session reconstruction technology to feed accurate customer journey data into its automated bidding. The four-month controlled pilot, run across RS Group PLC's Italian operation, improved return on ad spend by 12%, and the process is now being rolled out to all other regions. Across all RS Group PLC properties worldwide over the same four-month test period, Corvidae tracked £193m more revenue than Adobe Analytics and covered over 95% of the active customer base, rebuilding customer journeys without cookies after the company moved to a strict reject-all first-party cookie consent model. The reconstructed data showed journeys 46% longer in the UK and 68% longer across the EU, and exposed channel overlap invisible to platform reporting, with 58% of all sales touching a Paid Search ad and 72% of those also involving an Organic Search interaction. Corvidae fed the reconstructed journeys directly into RS Group PLC's bidding algorithms and into Power BI via API, and CEO and Founder Chris Liversidge said the underlying problem is not specific to RS Group PLC because every advertiser buying Google and Meta is bidding on incomplete data.

RS Group shares rose 3% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to buy from hold and lifted its target price to 775p from 700p. The bank cited an improving outlook for European cyclical companies, expecting them to benefit as industrial confidence rebuilds. A key factor is the prospect of an end to the Iran war, which should position cyclicals for better performance. Deutsche Bank noted that demand has proved robust and purchasing managers' index readings have turned positive. The international manufacturing cycle has historically explained two-thirds of RS Group's growth, and the bank's model now implies like-for-like growth of 4% is achievable in the 2027 financial year.