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| Mark Read |
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.
The unit, which includes FGS Global, showed a 3.3 percent dip on a like-for-like basis. FGS Global posted growth during the quarter.
WPP CEO Mark Read said the plan to merge BCW and H&K to form Burson is making progress and the new entity will be fully operational in July.
BCW CEO Corey duBrowa and H&K’s AnnaMaria DeSalva are working to eliminate redundancies to forge an enterprise that can deliver modern communications at scale to clients.
WPP’s Q1 revenues (less pass-through costs) fell 5 percent to $2.9B, and 1.6 percent on a LFL basis. The firm showed strong growth in Europe and India but slipped in North America and China.
Read is confident that WPP will enjoy growth for the balance of 2024 powered by a strong new business pipeline, new AI capabilities and "a simpler structure that will drive organizational flexibility and stronger cash conversion.”
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.
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.
