PUBLICIS NET UP 14% IN ’11; CAUTIOUS FOR ’12
Publicis, the first of the big ad/PR conglomerates to report final 2011 earnings, said Feb. 9 that Q4 revenue climbed nearly nine percent to 1.7B euro, including a 12% jump in North America to 764M euro.
For the full year, revenue at the French ad/PR combine was up 7.3% (5.7% organically) to 5.8B euro ($7.7B, while net income was up 14% to 600M euro.
CEO Maurice Levy said 2012 will be plagued by uncertainty, but expressed confidence in the company's operations. Publicis has renewed a freeze on recruitment to keep a rein on personnel expenses, he noted. “Though we remain very cautious all along, our situation enables us to stride confidently toward the future and particularly 2012,” he said.
Acquisitions and hiring pushed Publicis' headcount up to 53,807 at the end of 2011, compared with 48,531 a year earlier. The conglomerate shelled out 599M euro for acquisitions during 2011 and 87M euro for earn-outs. PR grabs in 2011 included ICL MSL Taiwan, Genedigi (China) and Schwartz Communications.
Big wins for Publicis' PR division, MSLGroup, in 2011 included AQMD-Incremental and Ancestry.com (U.S.) Insinkerator (China); Star TV (India); Bosch (Germany), and Securite Routiere (France), among others.
The conglom lost GM's media buying account in January, a large piece of business that will hit 0.5% of its revenue over the year.
MEUCHNER LANDS AT HENRY SCHEIN
Gerard Meuchner, Eastman Kodak’s communications head who stepped down in January ahead of the company’s bankruptcy filing, has landed at medical supplies maker Henry Schein in the new post of VP and chief global communications officer.
Meuchner |
Meuchner was at Kodak for 11 years after a career as a reporter and editor for Bloomberg News. He'll be based in Melville, N.Y., for Henry Schein, a Fortune 500 company which supplies, dentists, physicians, veterinarians and other healthcare providers. The new post coordinates communications for the company's five key markets.
Kodak announced Feb. 9 that it was exiting the digital camera, pocket video camera and digital picture frame businesses to focus on printers, inkjet presses and software businesses.
The company, which has made cameras for more than 100 years, invested more than $4B during the 1990s to develop photo technology. |
