Troubled advertising group Cordiant has reported another big loss but has said it will carry out a strategic review after securing funding until mid-July.

Shares in the firm jumped by nearly 70% to 12.5p in early trade as investors expressed relief that the firm had met a stock exchange deadline for issuing its annual accounts.

Annual pre-tax losses came in at �228.2m ($364.4m), but the firm's own auditors stated they could not say if the accounts were "true and fair".

Cordiant stunned investors on Monday when it said it had lost a major contract with the global spirits group, Allied Domecq.

The company said the loss of the Allied Domecq account would have a "substantial impact" on profits from 2004.

Industry downturn

"Following Allied Domecq's decision, and particularly with the interests of the group's clients in mind, the board of Cordiant is actively investigating alternative strategic options for the group," the company said in its results statement.

Even before the latest contract loss, defections by clients such as Hyundai Motor America, Wendy's and Woolworth's had hit the firm which was already suffering from the severe downturn in the advertising industry.

In February Cordiant said it would sell parts of its business to ease its debt burden.

Earlier in the week it confirmed that it had received a number of "preliminary" bid approaches.

Breathing space

Despite Cordiant's problems, news that it had gained emergency funding was welcomed.

"It's very good news that they have been able to get their results out," said Paul Richards, a media analyst at Numis Securities.

"They have basically got a bit of breathing space over the next couple of months to proceed with some disposals and rearrange their financing arrangements, so it's very encouraging."

Cordiant said its revenues fell 11.3% last year to �532.7m.

But the company warned that until its strategic review was finished, there would be "considerable uncertainty" over the "appropriateness" of the reporting methods used for the accounts.

Cordiant's auditors said that the limited information available to them because of the strategic review meant they were "unable to form an opinion as to whether the financial statements give a true and fair view" of the company's accounts.