Omnicom turns in solid Q2 but readies for tough second half

Omnicom has beaten rival Publicis Groupe to the punch, being the first of the big ad holding companies to report Q2 2022 results.

And we bet they wish the rest of the year looks likes this. Revenue may be flat year on year at $3.5bn with operating margins down a bit but organic growth came in at a healthy 11.3%, down a bit from the 11.9% in Q1.

The US was up 10.7%. Europe 15.1%, the UK grew 12% and Asia Pacific 4.7%, hit by continued lockdowns in China. Comparisons with 2021, though, are still easy.

The rest of the year is unlikely to be as sunny with rampant inflation, continued Covid worries and the war in Ukraine seemingly impacting everything. Omnicom raised its full year forecast to 6.5-7%, which suggests it expects a sharp slowdown in the second half of the year.

CEO John Wren (above) is striking a cautious note, saying “We’re not ones to over extend ourselves” with a recession on the cards.

He went on: “We spent a lot of time cleaning up the portfolio, and in the last 18 months, have been adding to those areas which deliver the highest growth. We continue to invest organically in things we believe will add to our revenue next year and beyond.”

On recession fears he said: “Everybody is cautious because of the unknowns that are out there, but most sophisticated marketers who have lived through past recessions know that if they cut back too deeply, they lose sales as the recovery starts to happen. So people are very cautious about serious cutbacks, as long as there is no dramatic turn in the marketplace.”