 Arthur Sadoun |
Publicis Group reports a 2.2 percent slip in Q3 revenues to $2.7B as CEO Arthur Sadoun works on his plan to shift the model of the French-based ad/PR conglom from a “communications business to a transformation partner.”
Sadoun called the firm’s 1.2 percent organic growth an “encouraging sign in a challenging market." Walmart, Asda, USAA, Lowe’s and Motorola spurred growth.
North America charted 3.0 percent organic growth, while Europe dipped 1.5 percent off its torrid +7.6 rate from last year.
Sadoun downplayed the “negative news flow” about the state of the ad/PR business. “But the truth is that there is nothing new there. We all know that our industry is facing many challenges. Consumer behavior is changing, the media landscape is being disrupted, we are confronted with new competition and our clients have been facing challenges around growth, cost and brand trust challenges for years.”
Noting that Publicis is rolling out a new business plan with a new management team, Sadoun expects strong organic growth during the second half of fiscal 2017.
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. 
