Dentsu half-year profit up after sale of Bcom3 shares

Dentsu recorded group net profit of £152.5m, compared with a figure of £83.5m for the same period the previous year.

The company, which is now a shareholder in Publicis Groupe since its merger with Bcom3 in September, had predicted a strong second half because of the boost in advertising provided by the World Cup.

However, corporate advertising spend fell, resulting in a 24.9% decline in pre-tax profit, excluding extraordinary items, to £123.2m.

Despite its stake in Publicis, Dentsu remains weak internationally with only 5% of revenues coming from its international business while it holds 25% of the Japanese market.

Part of its problem is a lack of an international network and the lack of visibility of the Dentsu name. In the UK, Dentsu owns CDP-travissully.

On the back of the sale of shares in Bcom3 to Publicis, Dentsu is expecting the one-off boost to help sales. It has raised its end of year forecasts to reflect this.

Dentsu acquired 15% of Publicis following the French group's acquisition of Bcom3. The Japanese agency had formerly held 20% of Bcom3.

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This article was first published on brandrepublic.com