Publicis reported a 4% increase in fourth quarter revenue to $2.6B buta slowdown in emerging markets and exposure to the luxury sector weakened its performance for the year.

Net income ticked up to $1.1B (792M euro) as organic growth for the year was 2.6% -- below its 3% target -- on revenue of $9.5B (about 7B euro).

Maurice Levy, CEO and chairman of the French ad/PR conglomerate that is merging with Omnicom in a $35B deal, said organic growth was hampered by postponed or canceled campaigns, particularly in emerging markets. He also said Publicis is particularly exposed to the luxury sector.

For the year, revenue jumped 8.7% to top $9.2B as North American revenue surged 8.5% to $4.4B and Europe posted 13.2% growth to $2.7B.

SAMS, about 16% of the conglomerate's overall revenue (down from 19% in 2012),

Merger costs hit nearly $52M (38M euro). Publicis noted more than 70 work streams are focused on the merger, including digital, finance, shared services and talent, among others. The deal is still under review in China after clearing 12 countries, including the U.S. and European Union.

Levy said the merger is "progressing steadily."

Net new business it $4.5B for the year.

Debt is nearly $1.2B against nearly $2B in cash and securities.