Indebted advertising network, Interpublic Group (IPG), has remained in the red during the second quarter of the year, reporting losses of $13.5 million on revenues up by less than 1%. In the first quarter of the year, IPG reported a loss of $8.6 million (see Interpublic Not Out Of The Woods After Q1 Loss).
Advertising and media revenues rose by 1.4% to $970 million in Q2, with a flat performance in the US mitigated by a 2.8% rise internationally, largely as a result of currency translation. Marketing services revenue dropped by 0.8%, with the US up 4.1% and international down by 8.3%.
Chairman David Bell said that the company is in the early stages of a turnaround, although he has withdrawn the previous earnings guidance citing uncertainties coming from the company’s reorganisation and the wider advertising market. IPG says that business conditions remain difficult, particularly in non-US markets.
“We continue to believe that the back half of this year and the first six months of 2004 will finally provide a firm benchmark from which to assess Interpublic’s future prospects,” said Bell.
Rival advertising group, Publicis, yesterday announced a strong rise in Q2 revenues, boosted by its acquisition of Bcom3 Group (see Publicis Sees Revenues Rise In Q2).
