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| Mark Read |
WPP CEO Mark Read reports WPP like-for-like revenues declined 1.9 percent during Q4 and 1.6 percent for the full year to $14B.
He said 2019 was “the foundational year for the new WPP strategy.” It featured the divestiture of the majority stake in Kantar, mergers, office consolidations and the layoff of 3,500 people.
The PR group (BCW, H+K Strategies, Finsbury, Glover Park, Hering Schuppener and Buchanan) remained in the doldrums, posting a 1.0 percent revenue decline to $1.2B for the full-year.
Business picked up a bit during Q4 as revenues dipped 0.1 percent compared to 0.9 percent and 1.5 percent fall-offs during Q3 and the first half, respectively.
Reed projects flat revenue growth during 2020, which is the second year of his promised three-year transformation of the ad/PR giant.
The CEO remains optimistic about WPP’s future in the communications sector because “the marketing landscape has never been more dynamic and complex, and clients need our help and expertise more than ever.”
He admits though that WPP still has much more work to be done.
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."
