Omnicom Group, which owns the BBDO and TBWA advertising agencies, withstood uncertain advertising conditions to post a 12% increase in revenues for the first quarter of 2003.
Net income remained flat at $128.6 million after severance costs related to layoffs in Omnicom’s European divisions were taken into account. However, this represented something of an achievement given the political and economic situation.
“We expected the first half of 2003 would be negatively impacted by the war and concerns in Europe,” chief executive John Wren told analysts in New York. “It was less significant than we feared.”
Omnicom was recently unveiled as the world’s leading agency in income terms (see Omnicom Holds Global Ad Network Top Spot). Worldwide revenue totalled $1.94 million in the first three months of 2003, up from $1.73 million in the same period last year.
The company managed to generate 2.6% of organic revenue growth in a testing market and has continued to outperform its corporate rivals (see Omnicom Upbeat Following Positive Results). Only recently, WPP announced a 3.9% fall in revenues for the first quarter (see WPP Sees Weak UK Revenues, But Improving Outlook).
