Sorrell bullish as WPP set to report profits of £750m

by Staff, Brand Republic 19-Feb-07, 08:50

LONDON - Sir Martin Sorrell, the WPP Group chief executive, will reveal an upbeat set of preliminary full-year results on Friday, when the marketing services group is expected to report revenues of around £5.8bn and profits of over £750m.

Sorrell is expected to brush aside his sometimes conservative take and be bullish on the state of the advertising industry, with strong margins growth and profits expected within the range of £754m for the full year.

Sorrell will emphasise the potential for growth and the boost that the upcoming US Presidential elections and the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Despite the troubles ITV is experiencing in terms of falling ad revenue, WPP has had a strong year, pulling in almost $500m (£256m) in new business as it has continued to invest in growth.

This is in line with last month's upbeat Bellwether Report from the IPA, which offered the most optimistic forecast since the media boom of 2000-2001 and came in marked contrast to the pessimism of 12 months ago.

WPP recently took a small stake in mobile search company JumpTap and bought another agency in China, Beijing-based Raynet Advertising, where the ad giant already has over $400m revenue.

Despite its strong new-business run, it has lost out on some key accounts including the £75m BSkyB account, which went to WCRS.

In October, WPP reported a revenues up by 4.6% to £1.411bn on a like-for-like basis.

Meanwhile, WPP announced that its joint venture company Ogilvy & Mather Pakistan is to acquire part of the advertising business of Interflow Communications.

Founded in 1983 and located in Lahore and Karachi, Interflow employs 67 people. Interflow's revenues for the year ended June 30 2006 were £912,000. Clients include Nestle, the Dubai Investment Bank, Unilever, British American Tobacco and Total.

WPP said that the investment continues its strategy of developing its networks in fast growing markets and sectors. Pakistan is one of the fastest-growing markets in Asia, with a population of 165m and GNP growth of almost 7%.