Publicis reports strong q3 growth, upgrades outlook
By Kingsley Odii
Publicis Groupe, a leading advertising and communications company, has reported strong organic growth of 5.3% in the third quarter, driven by impressive performances from its media operations and data unit Epsilon.
This growth has prompted the company to upgrade its full-year growth guidance to between 5.5% and 6%, surpassing its previous forecast of 5%. The upgraded outlook takes into account the potential impact of ongoing economic and social tensions on client spending, as well as delays in digital business transformation goals by marketers.
Commenting on the company’s performance, CEO Arthur Sadoun highlighted the notable growth achieved during the pandemic, with Q3 recording a 22% increase compared to the same quarter in 2019, prior to the COVID crisis.
“Looking at our growth journey since the pandemic, the acceleration of our growth amid persistent macroeconomic challenges is clearly visible. Q3 was up 22% versus the same quarter in 2019, shortly before the COVID crisis,” Arthur said.
Sadoun emphasized the company’s focus on two key priorities: bringing teams together in person and accelerating the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in operations. Publicis Sapient will play a crucial role in driving AI initiatives.
“For the rest of the year, we intend to lead what we believe to be the two major priorities for our industry today: Bringing our teams back together in person, and accelerating the AI-ification of our operations.” Publicis Sapient will be the main driver on the artificial intelligence front,” Aurther further added.
The company also anticipates possible downward adjustments to advertisers’ budgets towards the end of the year. Despite these considerations, Publicis Groupe remains optimistic about its future performance. It projects organic growth of 3% to 5% for the fourth quarter.
Following the announcement, the company’s shares rose by 5% during morning trading on the Paris Exchange. Notably, the company’s media operations saw significant growth in high-single digits, while Epsilon experienced a remarkable growth rate of 10.5%. Creative operations also demonstrated growth in single digits, and digital transformation unit Publicis Sapient achieved a growth rate of 1.2%, building on its impressive 18% growth in the same period last year.
Publicis Groupe’s growth was not limited to specific regions, as all regions, including the U.S., Europe, and the Asia Pacific, reported growth. The U.S. experienced growth of 3.2%, following two years of double-digit growth, while Europe excelled with a growth rate of 10.7%. The Asia Pacific region also posted a gain of 3.8%.
The company reported net revenue of over 3.2 billion euros for the third quarter and nearly 9.6 billion euros for the first nine months of the year, reflecting a growth rate of almost 5%.
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