Publicis banks on digital and emerging markets to weather 2009 storm

by Staff, Brand Republic 28-Oct-08, 09:15

PARIS - Publicis Groupe, owner of Saatchi & Saatchi and ZenithOptimedia, has seen organic growth rise by 3.9% during the past quarter and has added its voice to those predicting a tough year for advertising in 2009.

The French company reported a small fall in revenue of 1.5% to €1,105bn (£886bn), although when the impact of the rising value of the euro is taken into account this represents a 5.1% rise.

Weakness in the UK, Spain and Germany was offset by good results in France, Central and Eastern Europe and Russia, where the organic growth rate was over 21%.

The overall organic growth figure was higher than Publicis had expected in spite of the turmoil in world markets.

Maurice Levy, chairman and CEO of Publicis, said: "These disturbances pushed mature economies into a zone of turbulence, of which it is difficult to foresee either the intensity or the duration. In this context, we believe our industry will face a difficult end of 2008 and a marked slowdown in 2009."

However, he added that Publicis' decision to invest heavily in digital and emerging markets, two areas that would show growth in 2009, should mean that Publicis can compensate for weaknesses in more traditional sections of its business.

Shares in the company, traded on the Paris Bourse, rose this morning by 1.6% to €16.05 (£12.83).