WPP's First-Half Revenue, Profit Rise 14% August 22, 2008
Posted by Mark Blei in : Uncategorized , trackbackU.K. holding company rode emerging markets, but says ‘09 could prove more challenging
Aug 22, 2008
BOSTON Strength in emerging markets helped propel WPP Group to a 14 percent rise in first-half net profit to slightly more than $390 million, the holding company said today.
First-half revenue also rose 14 percent to roughly $6.2 billion. In constant currency terms, the improvement was 8 percent. On a like-for-like basis, the gain was 4.5 percent.
In general, the company’s performance met or exceeded most analysts’ projections.
CLICK HERE FOR WPP’S COMPLETE FIRST-HALF RESULTS.
Despite the overall positive news and the expectation that 2008 would continue apace with ad spending in the U.S. presidential election a key driver, WPP warned that 2009 could prove far more challenging, especially as growth in China — an important market for the company — could see a post-Olympics slowdown.
“The prospects for 2009 remain less certain, particularly if the United States and Western European economies continue to be impacted by the financial crisis and commodity price increases,” WPP said in a statement. “In addition, the new U.S. President will have to wrestle with twin fiscal and budget deficits in early 2009. And post-Olympics, Chinese growth may slow due to inflationary (particularly food price) concerns and the impact that a weakening U.S. economy has on the rest of the world.”
Comments»
no comments yet - be the first?