WPP Sees Revenue Rise By 26% In Q3 2005

Global advertising group WPP has announced an increase in revenue of 26% in the third quarter of 2005, reaching £1.35 billion, with revenues in the UK up by almost 10%.

North America also saw a rise in revenues in Q3 2005, up by over 26%, while Europe enjoyed growth of 25%. Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East also continued to perform well, with revenues up by over 25%.

By sector, in Q3 WPP claimed that the advertising and media investment management sector showed the strongest growth, with revenue up by 31%, followed by branding and identity, healthcare and specialist communications up by almost 27%.

The strong growth seen in this quarter has resulted in revenues rising by over 23% for the first nine months of 2005, with like for like revenues seeing growth of 5.5% for the same period.

In North America, revenues were up over 24% for the first nine months of 2005, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of growth, while the UK and western Europe, showed a slightly improved trend with revenue up 12% in the UK, and in Europe as a whole, up almost 24%.

Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, have shown consistent growth in each quarter of 2005, and for the first nine months of 2005 revenue share across these regions rose over 25%.

As seen in the results for Q3 2005, advertising and media investment management continues to show strongest growth of all, with revenues up almost 28% in the first nine months.

Looking to the future, WPP will continue to focus on its strategic objectives of improving operating profits by 10% to 15%.

The global advertising firm is currently in the middle of speculation surrounding the proposed take-over bid for media and communications group Aegis, with WPP confirming that it is considering a bid for the company’s research arm Synovate (see WPP Confirms Interest In Aegis Research Arm).

WPP: 020 7408 2204 www.wpp.com