Interpublic revenues fall 5.6% in first quarter

April 28, 2009

Giant advertising group Interpublic reports 5.6% revenue decline in first quarter, blaming global recession

Interpublic Group, one of the world’s largest advertising companies, today reported a 5.6% year-on-year decline in like-for-like revenue for the first quarter of 2009.

Total revenue for the first three months of this year was .33bn (£910m), down from .49bn in the same period in 2008.

Interpublic said the fall reflected the impact of global recession on its clients’ advertising spend.

Michael Roth, its chairman and chief executive, said: “To date this year, we’ve continued to see the significant effect that the global recession is having on demand for marketing services.”

The group, which owns ad agency networks including McCann Erickson and DraftFCB, reported an operating loss of .9m, up from an operating loss of .8m in the first quarter of 2008.

Interpublic’s latest quarterly results included severance charges of .6m. The company said it had shed 2,800 staff – about 6% of its global workforce – over the last six months, incurring total costs of around m.

Roth said: “As was the case in the fourth quarter, we demonstrated the appropriate cost discipline and successfully managed margins.

“Excluding severance costs, operating performance in the first quarter was in line with the same period in 2008. We continue to have a strong balance sheet, which is vital as we move through this uncertain period.”

Interpublic’s results come a day after its US rival Omnicom posted a 21% fall in profit for the first quarter of 2009 to 4.5m. Worldwide revenue fell 14% to .75bn.

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