NEW YORK: The unit that contains most of Interpublic Group’s PR firms posted third-quarter organic revenue growth of 9.4% to $419 million.
In Q3 2015, CMG's organic revenue growth was up 3.7% over the year prior.
Weber Shandwick CEO Andy Polansky said the PR firms within IPG’s Constituency Management Group showed steady growth in Q3.
Firms including Weber Shandwick, Golin, DeVries, Current, and The Axis Agency registered mid-single-digit growth on an as-reported and organic basis in the quarter.
"Weber and DeVries performed particularly well in Q3, and Golin saw growth and synergies through its acquisition of The Brooklyn Brothers," said Polansky.
Weber saw double-digit organic growth in 17 markets in the quarter, he added.
"Healthcare and consumer have been the biggest drivers of organic growth for Weber, together with digital, social, and content marketing across practice areas," said Polansky. He added that the firm has also seen increasing interest from clients for large-scale corporate reputation and employee-engagement pushes.
He added that the firm has seen "some tightening" ahead of the U.S. presidential election, but he is bullish about the business entering 2017.
Constituency Management Group also includes a range of event and marketing firms. It grew at a faster pace than the advertising-focused Integrated Agency Networks group, which saw 3% growth to $1.5 billion, though it brought in less than a third of the revenue.
The holding company posted overall organic revenue growth of 4.3% in the quarter to $1.9 billion, as well as operating income of $207.2 million, up nearly 8%, and net income of $132.7 million, an increase of 70% over Q3 2015.
Interpublic’s U.S. business lagged behind other regions in terms of revenue growth in the quarter, up 1.8%, trailing the U.K. (16.4%), continental Europe (8.3%), and Latin America (17.8%). All other markets grew by 5.6% organically in the quarter. The holding company’s revenue in the Asia-Pacific region dropped by 1.4% in Q3.
(Organic growth represents change in revenue without taking into account the impact of acquisitions or disposals).
This story was updated on October 21 with quotes from Polansky.
