Publicis is the stand out global advertising group of 2023.
In the latest results, the September quarter, the company clearly outperformed rivals with organic growth up 5.3%, driven by bigger market share and strong wins in media, data and technology.
Publicis in 2023 increased its full year result outlook three times. The company will next month reveal results for the 12 months o December.
And the market has rewarded the performance. The share price of Publicis grew by about 36% in 2023 to Euro 84.84.
Investment bank Macquarie recently lifted its rating on Publicis to outperform.
The holding group, expecting margins close to 18%, has increased its forecast for full year organic growth to 5%, up from 3%-5% on previous guidance.
The road “has not been easy” to shift the company from a communication to a transformation business.
Publicis says its operating model now leads the industry and is truly resilient, resisting a business cycle currently overshadowed by economic uncertainty.
This is underpinned by a well balanced revenue mix and an ability to win market share for the performance of Publicis Media, CEO Arthur Sadoun told the market in mid 2003.
"We have a differentiated go-to-market, that allows us to gain market share; a uniquely balanced revenue mix that makes us more resilient to business cycles; and a platform organisation that enables us to post industry high financial ratios,” said Sadoun.
“This gives us the confidence to further upgrade our 2023 guidance, even in a context of rising global socioeconomic tensions.
“For the rest of the year, we intend to lead what we believe to be the two major priorities for our industry today: bringing our teams back together in person, and accelerating the AI-ification of our operations, which we are uniquely able to do through Publicis Sapient.”
The analysts at Macquarie also lifted Omnicom, another global advertising player, to outperform from neutral.
Omnicom posted "strong" organic revenue growth of 3.3% in the September quarter
"We are very well positioned for a recovery in business conditions, with a strong balance sheet and leading creativity in all of our service disciplines," said CEO John Wren.
Havas, part of the Vivendi group, reported what it described as "very satisfactory" organic growth of 4.5% for the September quarter.
WPP was disappointed with its September quarter top line revenue growth as clients continue to be “cautious” advertising spenders.
The world’s biggest advertising group, for the second time in 2023, cut its full year revenue outlook to growth of between 0.5% to and 1%, down from a previous estimate of 1.5% to 3%.
IPG reported a 0.4% fall in organic revenue growth for the September quarter, weighed down by cautious technology clients and marketers concerned about dark economic winds.
And Japan’s Dentsu posted a 6% fall as technology and finance clients delayed advertising spend.
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