• Home
  • News
  • Personal Finance
    • Savings
    • Banking
    • Mortgage
    • Retirement
    • Taxes
    • Wealth
  • Make Money
  • Budgeting
  • Burrow
  • Investing
  • Credit Cards
  • Loans

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest finance news and updates directly to your inbox.

Top News

Why Your Company Needs Flexible Capital (and How to Get It)

July 6, 2025

101 Small Business Ideas to Match Your Personality, Investment, Skills & Goals

July 6, 2025

Microsoft Office Pro 2021 Gives Your Team the Edge at a One-Time $40 Cost

July 6, 2025
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • Why Your Company Needs Flexible Capital (and How to Get It)
  • 101 Small Business Ideas to Match Your Personality, Investment, Skills & Goals
  • Microsoft Office Pro 2021 Gives Your Team the Edge at a One-Time $40 Cost
  • Create Visuals, Content, and Presentations That Land with This $25 Bundle
  • Big Beautiful Bill Affects Many Tax Rules Including Estate Planning
  • Can the Self-Cleaning Feature Damage Your Oven?
  • The 15 Best-Paying Big Cities for Construction Workers in America
  • Final Hours to Get Windows 11 Pro with Copilot for Just $10
Monday, July 7
Facebook Twitter Instagram
FintechoPro
Subscribe For Alerts
  • Home
  • News
  • Personal Finance
    • Savings
    • Banking
    • Mortgage
    • Retirement
    • Taxes
    • Wealth
  • Make Money
  • Budgeting
  • Burrow
  • Investing
  • Credit Cards
  • Loans
FintechoPro
Home » WPP Slashes Sales Forecasts As North American Tech Firms Cut Spending
Investing

WPP Slashes Sales Forecasts As North American Tech Firms Cut Spending

News RoomBy News RoomAugust 5, 20230 Views0
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email Tumblr Telegram

Advertising and marketing agency WPP sank in value on Friday, as reduced spending in North America forced the company to slash its full-year sales forecasts.

At 787.6p per share WPP’s share price was 7% lower in end-of-week trading.

Like-for-like revenues at the FTSE 100 business are now tipped to rise between 1.5% and 3% in 2023. That’s down from a prior growth forecast of 3% to 5%.

WPP’s first-half sales rose 6.9% year on year on a headline basis, it said, to £7.2 billion. On a like-for-like basis turnover crept 3.5% higher, with corresponding sales increasing 2.3% in quarter two.

However, like-for-like sales in North America declined 1.2% in the first half as client activity in the US receded during quarter two. Underlying revenues in the region 4.1% between April and June.

Clients in North America generate more than a third (37%) of the group’s revenues.

WPP said that trading was “impacted by lower revenues in the USA from technology clients and delays in spend on technology projects.”

Like-for-like revenues in the USA dropped 1.2% in the first half and 4.5% during quarter two.

The company said that underlying sales outside North America “accelerated to mid-single digits” between January and June. In the UK and Germany, turnover rose 8.2% and 5.4% respectively in the period, while in India sales ticked 0.8% higher.

But corresponding sales in China reversed 4% in the first half, as a 4.8% rebound in quarter two was weaker than expected.

First Half Trend Tipped To Continue

Rising first-half sales pushed WPP’s operating profit 4.3% higher year on year to £666 million. This was up 2.7% on a like-for-like basis.

Meanwhile, its operating profit margin remained broadly stable at 11.5%, down 0.1% year on year. The company kept the interim dividend unchanged from 2022 levels, at 15p per share.

Pre-tax profit more than halved in the six months to June, to £204 million from £419 million previously.

The company swallowed a £220 million impairment charge in the period which was related to a review of its property portfolio.

Chief executive Mark Read commented that “our performance in the first half has been resilient with quarter two growth accelerating in all regions except the USA, which was impacted in the second quarter by lower spending from technology clients and some delays in technology-related projects.”

He noted that weakness in North America was felt particularly hard across its integrated creative agencies.

Read added that “in the near term, we expect the pattern of activity in the first half to continue into the second half of the year.”

No Surprises

Sophie Lund-Yates, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said WPP’s decision to cut its sales forecasts “is unwelcome but not wholly surprising, given that corporations are in wait-and-see mode when it comes to splashing the cash and handing margin over, at a time when demand is very tough to profile.”

She added that “while demand for WPP’s suite of services hasn’t been totally washed out, it has faded this half, and investors will be wanting to see a clear path to return to full colour.”

Read the full article here

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Articles

101 Small Business Ideas to Match Your Personality, Investment, Skills & Goals

Investing July 6, 2025

How to Deal With Negative Articles on Google

Investing July 5, 2025

13 Jobs Without College or AI: Salaries Can Start at $70k+

Investing July 2, 2025

Why Your Finance Team Needs an AI Strategy, Now

Investing July 1, 2025

Grief Forced Me to Step Away From My Company. These 5 Systems Made It Possible.

Investing June 30, 2025

Access to 1,000+ Skill Courses Is Now Just $20

Investing June 29, 2025
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Demo
Top News

101 Small Business Ideas to Match Your Personality, Investment, Skills & Goals

July 6, 20250 Views

Microsoft Office Pro 2021 Gives Your Team the Edge at a One-Time $40 Cost

July 6, 20250 Views

Create Visuals, Content, and Presentations That Land with This $25 Bundle

July 6, 20250 Views

Big Beautiful Bill Affects Many Tax Rules Including Estate Planning

July 6, 20250 Views
Don't Miss

Can the Self-Cleaning Feature Damage Your Oven?

By News RoomJuly 6, 2025

ASDF_MEDIA / Shutterstock.comSelf-cleaning ovens are a wonder of modern technology. Rather than scrubbing away at…

The 15 Best-Paying Big Cities for Construction Workers in America

July 6, 2025

Final Hours to Get Windows 11 Pro with Copilot for Just $10

July 5, 2025

How to Deal With Negative Articles on Google

July 5, 2025
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Dribbble
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Press Release
  • Advertise
  • Contact
© 2025 FintechoPro. All Rights Reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.