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| Arthur Sadoun |
Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun reports a 1.6 percent rise in Q2 growth to $2.4B, a performance that was hampered by lackluster results on the US advertising front as clients slash fees.
He expects to remedy the ad sector through an organizational revamp and an increased emphasis on cross-selling of services.
Sadoun stressed that organic growth returned to "positive territory," albeit at a 0.1 percent clip.
Though organic growth is "healthy and built on solid foundations," the French ad/PR combine sees short term challenges ahead.
"Our clients are suffering from various pressures leading to budget cuts and fee reductions in sectors where we have a disproportionate share of market," said Sadoun.
He also said the profound disruption and transformation sweeping the communications sector has penalized Publicis in the short-term.
Over the long haul, Sadoun believes the combination of Sapient and Epsilon (data tech platform) positions Publicis as the leader in delivering "personalized experiences at scale" to clients.
WPP shares have been dropped from the London Stock Exchange’s prestigious FTSE 100 index as its stock market price has plunged by two-thirds this year.
Public Policy Holding Company registered 23.8 percent Q3 growth to $48.8M, with organic growth contributing 4.5 percent and the balance driven by merger & acquisition activity.
Publicis Groupe reported 3.1 percent in Q3 growth to $4B, sparked by a 3.6 percent jump North America, its biggest market.
WPP suffered a 10.2 percent drop in 1H revenues to $6.7B and a 47.8 percent plunge in operating profit to $297M.
Interpublic reported Q2 net revenues dropped 6.6 percent to $2.2B and operating income tumbled 23.4 percent to $243.7M. 
