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| Mark McCall |
FTI Consulting registered 15.6 percent growth in Q1 PR revenues to $69.9M driven by strong demand for its corporate reputation services offering.
CEO Steven Gunby cited the strategic communications unit along with the corporate finance and restructuring practice, which was up 12 percent to $27.1M, as the strong performers during the period.
Operating income for the stratcom business surged 62.6 percent to $14.8M, while billable headcount grew 10 percent to 856 people as of March 31.
Mark McCall, head of the stratcom arm, said cybersecurity, crisis, ESG and regulatory areas performed well during the period.
He noted an upswing in follow-on business as clients who may have hired FTI for a cyber assignment wound up putting the shop on retainer.
Stratcom's transaction business was "good" during the quarter with an uptick in restructurings, according to McCall.
McCall said there were notable hirings for his unit during the quarter.
Sitrick And Company's Tom Becker joined as senior managing director in the crisis & litigation practice; Deutsche Bank's Dan Hunter signed on to head the Americas financial services practice; Abernathy MacGregor's Patrick Tucker enlisted to spearhead the M&A/activism operation, and Teneo's Graham McMillian took on a senior advisor post on ESG issues in London.
FTI’s overall Q1 revenues advanced 5.4 percent to $723.6M.
Net income slipped 8.1 percent to $59.3M due to higher selling, general & administrative costs and compensation expenses.
WPP reported a 5.5 percent decline in Q1 PR revenues to $292M as its BCW and Hill & Knowlton units suffered the loss of Pfizer assignments, and cutbacks in client spending due to the economic uncertainty.
Interpublic CEO Philippe Krakowsky said the firm is off to a “solid start to the year” as its flat $2.2B net revenues are in line with 2024 financial targets.
Why financial planning always plays a crucial role in every PR firm’s success.
Omnicom CEO John Wren reports Q1 revenues jumped 5.4 percent to $3.6M, powered by a solid 7.0 percent rise in its advertising & media segment.
Public Policy Holding Company registered 24.1 percent growth to a record $135M during the past year, which included the results of the March 1 acquisition of Multistate Assocs.
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