Marketing services company Media Square today announced a major restructure after posting a pre-tax loss of £18.57m for the six months to the end of August – a "dire trading performance" according to its head.

Executive chairman Roger Parry, also chairman of Johnston Press and Future Publishing, said the company had delivered a "dire trading performance … mostly of the company's own making".

Pre-tax profit for the same period last year had been £365,000.

The company, which owns businesses including direct agency Clark McKay & Walpole and digital agency Twentysix London, posted a headline operating loss of £100,000 for the period, down from a £2.7m profit in the same period last year.

Turnover fell by 14% to £85.3m, as did revenue, by 16% to £43.3m, compared with the same period last year.

Media Square said today that it would split into three operating divisions – marketing, design and advertising and PR.

Mr Parry, who took over the responsibilities of chief executive Jeremy Middleton and non-executive chairman Kelvin MacKenzie in July, said the company had made "too many acquisitions too quickly" – particularly the £63m acquisition of 16 marketing services businesses from Huntsworth in 2005.

"Media Square owns a large number of businesses, spread over four continents," said Mr Parry.

"The majority of these were acquired over the past few years and the post-acquisition integration process has been far from smooth."

Since Mr Parry's arrival in July the company has closed, merged or sold 11 business units.

Under the restructure the marketing division will be run by recent appointment Mike Spicer, as chairman, the former managing director of Publicis Groupe-owned Arc Worldwide.

The marketing division will include CMW, Twentysix and sales promotion and experiential marketing operation Wax.

The design division will be led by another new employee David Worthington, a former managing director of Conran Design Group. The duo will report in to chief operating officer Bruce Winfield.

The advertising and PR division - the "strongest and most profitable" - will continue to be run by Philip Gregory.

Mr Parry predicted an "acceptable level of profit" in 2008.

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