 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.
WPP CEO Cindy Rose declares her stabilization plan is "firmly on track" as the company reports a 4.7 percent dip in 1H revenues.
FTI Consulting reported a 2.6 percent drop in Q2 strategic communications revenues to $100M, a shortfall largely due to a $7.4M decline in pass-through revenues.
Omnicom CEO John Wren reported a 7.2 percent rise in Q2 “core operations” to $6B and a 6.1 percent spurt on an organic basis.
Publicis Groupe’s H1 net revenues inched ahead by 1.1 percent to $8.3B. Organic growth hit the 4.7 percent mark.
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.
