Omnicom reported first quarter PR revenues fell 1.5% to $318.8M as advertising revenues, up 4% to $1.8B, buoyed the conglomerate for the period.
Overall revenue rose 0.9% to just under $3.5B, including organic growth of 3.8%. Foreign exchange rates and acquisitions dragged down growth.
Net income rose 4.4% to $218.4M over the prior year's quarter.
Organic growth in PR slipped 0.9%, compared with 7.9% growth in advertising.
Omnicom's PR units include FleishmanHillard, Ketchum and Porter Novelli.
President and CEO John Wren called the results "very good" despite "capital market swings we saw in the first quarter, the unchartered actions of central banks around the world and the tragic events in Brussels, Paris and other cities," which are "creating uncertainty for consumers and corporations and a cautious approach to spending."
OMC last month organized its agencies into specialized groups, including a PR group that includes its 10 firms and led by former Porter Novelli CEO Karen van Bergen.
"Even though they are growing, PR it has a little trouble in the last quarter or two," Wren said, adding part of the role of the new groups will be "getting more folks" to "drive growth and to make recommendations for incremental acquisitions" to supplement and compliment its existing firms.
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