The French group posted growth of 19% for the first half and is confident for the rest of the year, despite an uncertain economic context.
“We are ready to face economic uncertainties“, proclaims Arthur Sadoun, chairman of the management board of Publicis. The French group, world number 2 in communications in terms of market capitalization, shows its confidence in the future by revising upwards all its objectives for the fiscal year 2022. Its organic growth will be 6 to 7%, against 4 to 5% originally planned, with an operating margin of 17.5 to 18%.
If Publicis is not afraid of the expected shocks to the global economy, “it is thanks to our ability to be as close as possible to our customers and to be able to support them whatever their situation. Those who will benefit from inflation will need to communicate to justify their price increases. And we have the tools to help those who are going to have to cut costs“, explains Arthur Sadoun.
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Strong growth in consulting and data activities
The French group is reaping the fruits of its transformation. “We have gone from a simple communication partner to a partner in the marketing and business transformation of our clients.sums up its president. From now on, more than a third of the turnover of Publicis comes from its activities in data (Epsilon) and in consulting (Sapient), in strong growth. “This new model has enabled us to outperform despite the health crisis, the war in Ukraine and supply difficulties. Since 2019, our first-half revenues are up 35%, and our margin is up 56%“, continues the chairman of the executive board.
The group is also posting double-digit growth for the first half of 2022, “these are record results for the Group and they are well above market expectations smiles Arthur Sadoun. In detail, Publicis’ net half-year income increased by 19.1% (5.8 billion euros), operating profit by 22.3% (1.2 billion euros) and profit net of 30% (533 million euros). “This is an important performance, especially since it is compared to a 2021 financial year where we were already experiencing strong growth of 17%“, he continues.
Pursuit of acquisitions
Business growth was twice as high as market expectations in the United States and Europe, with growth of 10.1% and 10.7% respectively. The Asia region grew by 6.5%, including 2.7% in China, despite the impact of confinements on activity. In addition to the good performances of Sapient (+19.1%) and Epsilon (+13.7%), the group won new budgets in its historical businesses, with for example McDonald’s and KFC in the United States or Pepsi in India and in China.
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The group is also continuing its acquisitions. In the first half of the year, he got his hands on Wiredcraft, which provides technology and digital product consulting in Asia, the Romanian software developer Tremend, and Profitero, an American platform for analyzing the sales and marketing performance of companies on websites. of business. These acquisitions aim to strengthen Epsilon and Sapient. “The transformation of Publicis is behind us. And we are looking for products and services to help our customers grow faster“, underlines Arthur Sadoun.
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