 |
| Paul Taaffe |
Huntsworth CEO Paul Taaffe says the Grayling, Citigate Dewe Rogerson and Red communications division has reported Like-For-Like revenue growth "for the first time in a number of years."
Though overall revenues were flat for the first half of 2019, LFL revenues advanced 0.9 percent to $43.5M. Operating profit surged 18.5 percent to $3.8M.
Taaffe, whose acquisition binge has refashioned Huntsworth into largely a medical communications company, attributes the good financial news on the PR front to "eliminating unprofitable client contracts and operations, streamlining infrastructure and investing in quality staff."
Grayling, Huntsworth's PR flagship, remains in the doldrums as LFL revenues slipped 3.2 percent to $20.2M due to a decline in its US business and an "underperformance" in the Middle East. The UK countered the doldrums with a 10.9 percent jump in LFL revenues due to client wins. Grayling shaved the first-half loss to $120K from $360K a year ago.
Red (consumer, digital, content shop) improved LFL revenues by 1.5 percent to $10.2M, while financial firm Citigate Dewe Rogerson turned in a solid 7.2 percent hike in LFL revenues to $12.8M sparked by strong performances in Hong Kong, China, France and the U.K.
Taaffe expects the PR operation to show improved revenue and profit performances for the rest of the year.
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."
Omnicom CEO John Wren reports Q1 revenues from “core operations” rose 6.7 percent to $5.6B, driven in part by a 3.9 percent boost in organic growth.
