Interpublic showed a clean pair of heels to rivals Omnicom and Publicis Groupe in the first quarter of 2018, posting 3.6 per cent organic growth against 2.4 per cent for Omnicom and 1.6 per cent for Publicis. WPP reports on April 30.
Total revenue rose to $2.17 billion in the first quarter ended March 31 from $2.06 billion a year earlier. US sales grew 4.3 per cent and sales elsewhere by 2.6 per cent.
CEO Michael Roth said: “We believe we are seeing evidence of marketers returning to growth mode which would clearly be positive for us as well as our sector.” Roth says he now expects three per cent sales growth for the year.
However higher expenses and one-time divestiture charges led the company to report a net loss of $14.1 million, or 4 cents per share, compared with a profit of $24.7 million, or 6 cents per share, a year earlier.
Three per cent or more sales growth is still pretty good though in a tight market. IPG also seems to have navigated the slowdown in the US better than its rivals, possibly because of its more simplified structure although it does have a large, and largely opaque, barter business.
What’s a “barter business” in this context?
Swapping unwanted products for unsold ad inventory