Publicis Groupe: Third Quarter 2020 Revenue

Arthur Sadoun, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe:

“ Our organic growth for Q3 is at -5.6%, ahead of ad spend forecasts at -10%. For the second quarter in a row, we are confirming that we have strong foundations to weather these unprecedented times.  

Thanks to our model, we are mitigating the revenue decline we are experiencing due to the pandemic. As our clients continue to accelerate their investment into digital channels, e-commerce and direct-to-consumer, we are able to capture part of that shift thanks to our offer combining our leadership in creative and media, with unrivalled capabilities in Epsilon and Publicis Sapient.

This is reflected in our solid U.S. results. After posting the most resilient performance of the industry last quarter, Q3 organic growth in the U.S. is at -2.4%, again better than market forecasts at -7%, in a region that now represents 60% of our business.

It is also visible in our new business track record over the past 18 months and in this last quarter in particular, with wins like Kraft-Heinz, TikTok and Reckitt Benckiser.

And as we continue to roll out our model to our client base, it is encouraging to see that our performance with the top 200 clients is slightly positive for the first 9 months of the year.  

We believe that these relatively solid business trends should continue until year-end. However, with the current resurgence of the pandemic and the restrictions imposed, we have to be cautious about Q4, which might be impacted further and come below Q3.

What is more, when it comes to our organization, we have built three structural advantages with our global delivery centres, our country model, and Marcel, which enable us to adapt and continue to deliver strong financial performance. We are therefore confident in delivering our cost reduction plan, and as a result an operating margin rate slightly ahead of current analyst consensus of 14.3% for 2020.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the trust and partnership of our clients, and the hard work and dedication of our people. I’d like to sincerely and deeply thank them all. ”