Slight Improvement for WPP in Q3

WPP has issued a third quarter trading update, with like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs flat at £2.765bn. Positive results in North America, Western Europe and India were offset by another steep decline (21.3%) in China.

Q3 LFL revenue less pass-through costs rose 1.7% in North America and 2.2% in Western Continental Europe, with the UK flat. Reported revenue rose 4.1% to £3.558bn, and the company did not change its guidance for the year: 2024 LFL revenue less pass-through costs is projected at -1% to 0%, with Q4 due for a tougher comparative than Q3.

The results are an improvement on the first half of the year in which the marcoms giant reported a 1% decline in the headline figure. At that time the group announced an agreement to sell its majority stake in FGS Global, and this week it reported that the sale was 'on track to close in Q4' and will generate cash proceeds to WPP of c.£604m, which will be used to reduce leverage.

CEO Mark Read says of the latest figures: 'Our third quarter delivered like-for-like growth in net sales, with a strong performance from GroupM in particular. We saw growth in North America, Western Continental Europe and India, though trading in China remains difficult. Most importantly, we returned to form in new business, winning Amazon's media account outside the Americas and securing our media relationship with Unilever, including taking back the retail media and activation business in the United States. Our success with two of the world's top ten advertisers demonstrates the renewed competitiveness of our offer. We are also proud to be supporting the new Starbucks leadership team with our recent creative win in the United States'. Read says AI is 'increasingly embedded' in its working practices, noting that usage of the WPP Open platform is up 107% since the beginning of the year.

The group home page is at www.wpp.com .