Omnicom Group’s PR properties posted organic gains of 1.8 percent during 2017’s first quarter, revealing healthy Q1 revenue of $325.3 million for its PR business, which includes agencies Porter Novelli, FleishmanHillard, Ketchum, Mercury and others, compared to $318.8 million a year ago.

Omnicom

OMC’s advertising units outpaced PR for the second year in a row, however, with properties in that discipline boasting healthy year-over-year organic growth of 6.4 percent, continuing the trend from Q1 2016’s 7.9 percent gains.

Across the holding company, Omnicom revealed first quarter worldwide revenue of about $3.6 billion, a 2.5 percent year-over-year uptick from the $3.5 billion reported during Q1 2016, with organic revenue up 4.4 percent for that period.

Net income was up 10.7 percent to $241.8 million from the $218.4 million reported during 2016’s first quarter, and operating profit was up 4.5 percent — or $17.8 million — to $410 million for the quarter, compared to $392 million posted during the same period a year ago.

Growth for the ad/PR conglomerate was particularly strong in the Middle East and Africa, where that region saw impressive year-over-year organic gains of 37.9 percent. Strong yearly performances were also seen in Asia Pacific (+9.1 percent), Europe (+8.2 percent), the UK (+8.1 percent) and Latin America (+5.4 percent). In North America, OMC’s largest region, organic growth was up by only 1.1 percent.

In an earnings call, OMC CEO John Wren noted that while revenue growth “exceeded our internal targets for the quarter,” the communications combine “remained cautious as numerous geopolitical and macroeconomic events remain unresolved,” and pointed to forthcoming budget, tax reform and healthcare bills in the U.S., as well as how Britain’s Brexit and upcoming elections in Europe may bode for the global economy.

“In the face of these macro events, Omnicom’s agencies remain focused on the things they can control, developing their talents, delivering results for their clients and driving improvement in their financial results,” Wren said.