Publicis advertising group reports 39% rise in sales

Publicis, the owner of advertising agencies including Leo Burnett and Saatchi and Saatchi, said second-quarter sales rose 39 per cent, beating analysts' estimates, lifted by its digital unit and a stronger dollar.

Revenue was €2.44 billion, the Paris- based company said in a statement.

Organic growth, which strips out effects from acquisitions and currency swings – and by which the ad industry judges its performance – rose 1.4 per cent, helped by digital operations.

Chief executive Maurice Levy said digital activities now account for more than half of the company's revenue and that Publicis will deliver double-digit increases in operating margin, headline earnings per share and sales for 2015.

Publicis reported a 57 per cent increase in second-quarter sales from North America, partly due to currency fluctuations, to €1.32 billion. In Europe, the figure rose 23 per cent and in Asia Pacific it gained 28 per cent.

Publicis ad agencies won new business during the first half from brands including Tesco, Toyota and Viacom.

The company last year abandoned a $35 billion merger with US peer Omnicom Group Inc. that would have created the world's largest advertising company. – Bloomberg