Publicis Groupe SA, joint owner of the Zenith Optimedia Group, yesterday reported consolidated revenues of E576 million for the first quarter of 2002, an increase of 4.6% over the E550 million reported for the same period in 2001. Taking into account constant exchange rates and identical unit reporting, revenues fell by 2.2% in Q1, slightly ahead of analyst forecasts.
Acquisitions in quarter one include Gravitas in Japan, Johnston & Associates in Washington, Magnesium in Belgium and Média Publicis, Sales Story and ECA 2 in France.
Consolidated billings to the end of March came in at E4.65 billion, an increase of 30% on the same period last year largely due to growth at the group’s media agencies and the integration of Zenith Media.
| Publicis Revenue By Region |
| |
Euro millions |
Organic Growth |
Gross Growth |
| Europe |
251Â |
-0.1%Â |
+6.4%Â |
| North America |
260Â |
-4.9%Â |
+4%Â |
| Asia-Pacific |
40Â |
+3%Â |
+4.4%Â |
| Rest of World |
25Â |
-1.7%Â |
-3.8%Â |
| Total |
576Â |
-2.2%Â |
+4.6%Â |
The group’s merger with Bcom3 is now likely to reach completion sometime between July and September, a delay from the previous June date. This deal and a strategic partnership with Dentsu, to be completed by September, will put Publicis at number four in the global market with revenues of over E4.5 billion.
Commenting on the results, Publicis chairman & CEO Maurice Lévy said: “As expected, the downturn in the fourth quarter of 2001 continued into the first three months of 2002. The market was down significantly compared to last year, as shown by figures reported by many companies in the sector. In this environment, our performance is extremely encouraging, with revenues up 4.6% in absolute terms and a decline of just 2.2% on a comparative basis.
“Given the marketplaceÂ’s limited visibility, and in preparation for our merger with Bcom3, Publicis will be focusing on carefully managing and further developing our extremely strong and broad client portfolio and on improving operating margins in order to achieve the ambitious targets we have set. The outlook for the year remains very promising, compared with those for most of our competitors. Administrative and technical steps related to the Bcom3 merger are being implemented, and initial indications lead us to believe that there will be no major obstacles, except for the time normally required for regulatory review. Closing will probably take place in August or September.”
