PARIS, April 19 (Reuters) – Advertising agency Publicis
reported on Thursday a 13 percent hike in
first-quarter sales and said it expected growth to pick up in
the second half of 2012 after a slower second-quarter.
The company is predicting a subdued second-quarter as
clients shift their advertising budget to the second half of the
year to coincide with the London Olympics and the U.S.
presidential election.
“We should see a deceleration of growth in the second
quarter and a stronger second half compared with the first
half,” Chief Executive Maurice Levy told reporters during a
conference call.
Publicis, which is the world’s biggest ad group by revenue
and competes with WPP and Omnicom, reported a 13
percent rise in first-quarter sales to 1.45 billion euros ($1.90
billion), driven by the U.S. and fast-growing emerging markets
as well as digital advertising.
Organic growth in the quarter was 4.1 percent, the company
said.
Market research group Zenith Optimedia, which is a unit of
Publicis, in March forecast that the global advertising market
would grow by 4.8 percent in 2012, up from 3.5 percent in 2011.
Levy said the company would continue to invest in
acquisitions, but ruled out large M&A; deals.
“We don’t have this type of plans,” he said.
Publicis has secured several acquisitions since the start of
2012, including Pixelpark, Germany’s largest
independent digital communications company.
Shares in Publicis, which lost around 9 percent of their
value in 2011, closed 2.44 percent lower at 40.12 euros on
Wednesday, giving the company a market capitalisation of around
7.33 billion.
