NEW YORK and LONDON: Both Omnicom and WPP released earnings this week that announced global revenue increases and a generally optimistic outlook for PR.
WPP's revenues grew about 4% to ?1.068 billion ($1.997 billion), and the firm said it was on track to hit its full-year operating margin target of at least 13.8%. PR and public affairs revenues declined by 0.3% in the third quarter of this year from last year. But the constant currency PR revenue, which does not include currency depreciation or acquisition prices, rose 8.6%. The London holding company recently agreed to buy competitor Grey Global Group.
Paul Richardson, CFO of WPP, said in an analyst call that there was "particularly strong growth at Cohn & Wolfe and Penn, Schoen, & Berland."
WPP's other PR firms include Ogilvy, Burson-Marsteller, and Hill & Knowlton.
Omnicom's $257.8 million global PR revenue for this quarter represented 11.1% of its total quarterly revenue and showed a 14% increase from last year's third quarter. Omnicom has grossed $760.1 million PR revenue to date, up 10.8% from the same time period last year. Its PR firms include Fleishman-Hillard, Ketchum, Porter Novelli, and Brodeur Worldwide.
Both domestic and worldwide revenue for all disciplines rose 14% from the third quarter last year to this year. Globally, Omnicom earned $2.32 billion this quarter, compared with $2.03 billion in the third quarter of last year. It has amassed nearly $7 billion in revenue so far this year.
WPP's acquisition of Grey Global Group, which was agreed on September 13, still must be approved by Grey shareowners. Ed Meyer, Grey chairman and CEO, has already agreed to vote in favor of the transaction, which is expected to be completed early next year.
