Steady Growth for Ipsos Despite US Slowdown

Ipsos has announced first half revenue up 3.8% on an organic basis, to EUR 1,138.5m, following a fairly strong second quarter. Q2 advances in EMEA were off-set by slower business in the US and in parts of Asia.

Including allowance for currency effects and the acquisitions of I&O Research, Jarmany and B&A, H1 reported revenue was up 4.7%.


Performance by region




Organic growth was particularly strong in EMEA - up 7.6% overall - driven by growth in Continental Europe and the Middle East. In Germany and Italy the period saw double-digit growth. In Asia-Pacific, organic growth was 4.0%, held back by China due to 'a lack of macroeconomic clarity', but the region in general slowed during the second quarter, after an excellent first quarter. Business in the Americas was down slightly, despite good momentum in Latin America. The US saw a 'solid' performance in consumer goods, while the Ipsos Digital platform fared very well here and big tech clients have resumed much of their spending, but Ipsos says the electoral cycle and the end of major one-off contracts are 'weighing on' its public affairs activities, while pharma industry clients have paused spending due to a wave of major restructuring. The firm expects a new management organisation to help 'stabilize the situation and gradually return to growth in north America'.


Performance by Audience




Consumer activities stood out as the one area with substantial overall growth: organic growth of 8.0%, with a very good performance for brand health tracking, innovation, advertising creation and qualitative surveys. The group says its clients and employees, citizens, and doctors and patients audiences continue to be affected by the difficult environment in the United States, outside which they posted overall growth of nearly 5%.

New services, which include platforms, ESG offers, data analytics and advisory, now account for 21.5% of Group revenue and saw organic growth of 13%, driven by a 37% rise for DIY solution Ipsos Digital.

CEO Ben Page comments: 'Ipsos has once again demonstrated the resilience of its operating model, illustrated by organic growth of nearly 4% and a very good level of profitability and cash generation in the first half of the year. Despite a cyclical slowdown linked to elections in many countries (as US, UK, France, India) and specific headwinds in the United States, overall our geographical diversity, the breadth of our range of solutions, our unique expertise and our technological breakthroughs are key fundamentals that enable us to pursue our growth strategy'.

However with the drag caused by 'wait-and-see' attitudes due to elections this year in the USA, the UK, France and India among other countries, Ipsos says it is adjusting its organic growth target for 2024 downwards and now expects full year organic growth close to that of last year at +3%. Operating margin target remains unchanged at c.13%.

Present in 90 markets and employing nearly 20,000 people, Ipsos is online at www.ipsos.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.