 Arthur Sadoun |
Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun wants to unload the volatile Publicis Health Solutions (contract sales group) to enable the French ad/PR combine to focus exclusively on its creative and technology offerings.
Reporting flat third-quarter revenues of $2.5B, Sadoun said organic growth moved ahead at a “very satisfactory” 2.2 percent clip, excluding PHS. Reported organic growth was 1.3 percent.
Europe grew 4.2 percent organically during Q3, while North America rose 1.0 percent, after factoring out PHS.
Marriott, Campbell’s Soup, Daimler and Carrefour sparked the organic growth upswing.
Publicis picked up key client wins during Q3 including Cathay Pacific globally, Western Union’s worldwide creative, Nestle media in Southeast Asia, Government of Singapore, GSK global media and Mondelez International media in several markets.
Following up on the PHS divestment, Sadoun said Publicis has launched a review of its asset portfolio to optimize the allocation of resources and "help us scale our strategic game changers."
He has targeted a four percent annual growth rate by 2020.
Public Policy Holding Company grew 27.5 percent to $50.1M during Q1, powered by the accelerating contribution from recent acquisitions and a 5.1 percent hike in organic revenues across its three operating segments.
Institutional Shareholder Services advises investors to vote "no" on a compensation package for WPP chief Cindy Rose at the May 8 annual meeting.
FTI Consulting chalked up a 9.5 percent rise in Q1 revenues to $983.3M, powered by gains in its PR, corporate finance and technology segments.
Stagwell reports 4 percent growth in Q1 net revenues to $585M and a record $141M in net new business wins.
WPP reported a 6.7 percent drop to $3.1B in Q1 like-like revenues less pass-through costs. CEO Cindy Rose says 'it will take time to outpace historical losses."
