Publicis Groupe, a core investor in the marketing communications arm of Nigeria’s Troyka Group said its half year revenue for the first half of the year was EUR4,7 billion.
This is a growth of +2.8% when compared to its performance in 2015 within the same period. The group’s net income rose to EUR381 million representing a growth of +5.0% on a year on year basis.
A drill-down of the result shows that the company’s revenue from Middle East and Africa increased to EUR129 million from EUR121 million reported last year.
Commenting on the result, Maurice Levy, the Publicis Groupe Chairman said:
“This first half-year has ended very satisfactorily.
First with the results: organic growth of close to 3%, an operating margin at 13% and a double digit increase of our free cash flow. Next the implementation of our new structure, the “Power of One” by the end of June, as expected.
The transformation process launched in December 2015 has completely changed our approach to communications and our understanding of the way our clients work in taking on the challenges of the future. This transformation means we can anticipate our clients’ expectations with an “end-to-end” offering that provides them with full access to the Groupe’s resources including our skills in consulting and technology. This initiative was very well received by our clients as it is original, modern and, most importantly, it is a comprehensive solution to the challenges they face.
We are beginning to reap the benefits of this new approach. Some expected this transformation would require several years to be implemented. I would like to express my gratitude to all our people who have had to contend with upheaval within the organization, reassignments, or changes in responsibility while, at the same time, continuing to provide our clients with Publicis service at its very best.
Despite our concerns of seeing significant impact from the budgets lost in 2015, they were able to ensure new business developments which brought us to a satisfactory growth rate in the 2nd quarter. Furthermore, they also left no stones unturned in ensuring the success of other Publicis initiatives such as Viva Technology, an undertaking organized in conjunction with Groupe Les Echos. This event was further evidence of the Groupe’s interest and involvement in the digital economy and innovative ideas, and of the importance it places in supporting start-ups that are the companies of the future. The great success of this event is also a testament to the Groupe’s credibility in this sector and in the eyes of the major players. During this event, our “Publicis90” project rewarded 90 start-ups with financial support: this was our way of celebrating Publicis’ 90th anniversary in a constructive and forward-looking manner.
It should also be noted that 25 of the 90 winners came from within the Groupe, further evidence of the entrepreneurial spirit that reigns within the Groupe. Finally, during Viva Technology, Publicis Groupe and Tencent – the Chinese internet giant – announced a strategic agreement at global level. This partnership further reinforces our leadership in digital and technology. After this particularly active and productive first half-year, we expect the third quarter to be more difficult due to the full impact of the account losses of 2015, though this should not jeopardize the upward trend of all the Groupe’s indicators over the full year 2016.
We should not be heavily impacted from the Brexit. Since we operate in the UK in local currency, as we do in all the countries in which we have operations.
We remain very confident about reaching our 2018 objectives, and believe that we will start to see and feel the benefits of our transformation more fully as of 2017.”
It could be recalled that Publicis Groupe acquired 25% stake in Troyka Holdings. The company did not mention of the impact of the economic challenges faced by the companies it acquired in their respective local economies.
