The acquisition of Bcom3 Group helped Publicis, the world’s fourth largest marketing and advertising group, to achieve strong growth in sales in the second quarter of 2003.
Revenues were up by 60.7% to €965 million, taking into account the consolidation of former Bcom3 agencies purchased in September 2002. Organic sales, which exclude acquisitions and foreign exchange variations, increased by 1.6%, the first such rise since Q4 2001.
The North American market remains in good health with organic sales up by 4.6% in the second quarter. It appears that the Sars outbreak had only a temporary impact on Far East economies as revenues grew by 8.4% in the same period.
However, European advertising conditions remain unfavourable with sales down 2.4% to €384 million in the three months to June. Germany and Italy are showing signs of improvement but France and the Netherlands bore the brunt of the decline.
Publicis chairman and CEO Maurice Levy commented: “While markets remain hesitant, Publicis has seen a return to organic growth for the first time in nearly two years. This highly encouraging result is first and foremost the reflection of our inherent strengths, which include a clearly defined strategy, the dynamism of our teams and an unmatched capacity for smooth integration of new acquisitions.”
Publicis lost out to WPP in the battle to gain control of Cordiant Communications (see WPP Completes Cordiant Acquisition) but has an impressive portfolio of agencies including Leo Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi. It also owns 75% of ZenithOptimedia and has an agreement to buy the remainder from WPP for £75 million.
