WPP revenue rise by 6.9% in H1 2023

WPP's H1 2023 revenue rose by 6.9% to reach 7,221 million euros as compared to 6,755 million euros in H1 2022. It says that the company's performance has been resilient with strong growth in all markets except the US.

India's growth in Q2 2022 has been strong as compared to Q1 2022, the results state. India has seen a 0.8% growth in H1 2023 over last year. North America declined by 1.2% in the first half reflecting the lower revenues from technology clients, which predominantly impacted the company's integrated creative agencies. This was partially offset by growth in spending from consumer packaged goods, healthcare, and financial services. GroupM continued to grow well in the region says the report.

The United Kingdom grew strongly led by GroupM. CPG and healthcare were the strongest client sectors. In Western Continental Europe, strong performances in Germany and Spain offset declines in France due to client losses. The Rest of the World saw good growth in the half. China grew 4.8% in the second quarter, as that market continued to recover from Covid-related impacts, albeit at a slower pace than anticipated.

The company says it has won $2.0 billion of net new business billings in the first half of 2023 as compared to $ 3.4 billion of net new businesses in H1 2022. This is on the back of the potential loss of certain Pfizer assignments currently held by WPP-integrated creative agencies. Some of the key new businesses include Maruti Suzuki (media), Pernod Ricard (creative), Reckitt (media), Beko (creative), and Costa Coffee (PR).

Mark Read, Chief Executive Officer of WPP, says, "Our performance in the first half has been resilient with Q2 growth accelerating in all regions except the USA, which was impacted in the second quarter by lower spending from technology clients and some delays in technology-related projects. This was felt primarily in our integrated creative agencies. China returned to growth in the second quarter albeit more slowly than expected. In the near term, we expect the pattern of activity in the first half to continue into the second half of the year."

“Our media business, GroupM, grew consistently across the first six months as did our businesses in the UK, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. Client spending in consumer packaged goods, financial services, and healthcare remained good and, despite short-term challenges, our technology clients represent an important driver of long-term growth."

The company has exciting future plans with AI says Read. "We are leveraging our efforts with partnerships with the leading players including Adobe, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI. We are delivering work powered by AI for many clients including Nestlé, Nike, and Mondelēz. AI will be fundamental to WPP’s future success and we are committed to embracing it to drive long-term growth and value.