Publicis upgrades global forecast after 'better than expected' H1

Publicis Groupe has revised its global forecast for 2024, from 4%-5% organic growth to 5%-6%.

The revised forecast follows a “better than expected first half of 2024” according to the group’s H1 2024 financial results.

In Q2, Publicis Groupe grew organically by 5.6%, building on its Q1 growth rate of 5.3%.

This led to a H1 organic growth rate of 5.4%, with $7.3 billion (€6.7 billion) revenue less pass-through costs generated.

Arthur Sadoun, chair and chief executive of Publicis Groupe, said the French group’s H1 performance showed that its “model is strong” and added: “It also showed that our outperformance versus our peers is sustainable, with our growth rate close to doubling that of our competitors since 2019.”

He added that the group's growth rate was 400 basis points, or 4%, ahead of the industry, based on previous forecasts by other groups.

In Q1 2024, IPG reported organic growth of 1.3% and WPP reported a 1.6% decline, significantly behind Publicis Groupe. The networks are set to report their Q2 results in the coming days.

Sadoun added: “Against all odds, we are confident in our ability to accelerate further in H2.”

In the latest quarter the UK’s organic growth remained “broadly stable” with “double-digit growth” in media and creative, driven by “new business wins and scope expansions."

Wins from Q2 included the $284.8 million (£220 million) L’Oréal UK and Ireland account.

North America, Publicis Groupe’s most important market, grew by by 5.2% and Asia-Pacific by 7.7%.

Across the group's offerings, Sadoun said Epsilon and Publicis Media experienced double-digit growth in Q2, for the “third year in the row."

Sapient faced a slight challenge in this quarter. In North America, it saw a “slight decline” following 5% growth in Q2 2023, due to a “wait and see” attitude from clients. The details of its organic growth were not given in the report, but it was detailed that it faced a “challenging comparable base” in Europe.

On Tuesday Omnicom reported Q2 results showing 5.2% organic growth, but this figure is not directly comparable with Publicis' 5.6% as Omnicom includes pass-through costs in its revenue figures.