IPG posted net profit of £193 million ($214.5m), down 19.2 % £238.95m ($265.5m) for Q2. However, the firm reported organic revenue growth – net revenue was flat at £2.097bn ($2.33bn) but was an organic increase of 1.5% from the first half of 2023.
IPG’s creative agencies (which include McCann, McCann Worldgoup, MullenLowe and FCB) performed the best – with a 3% increase in net revenue to £819m ($910m).
Net revenue for specialised communications (which includes PR agencies like Weber Shandwick and Golin) experienced organic growth of 1.3% to £317.97m ($353.3m).
Meanwhile the media, data and engagement solutions segment, which includes Axciom and IPG Mediabrands, grew the least at 0.8%.
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Globally, IPG grew net revenue by 3.4% in the UK. Meanwhile the US grew net revenue the least out of all markets at 1.3%. Continental Europe grew revenue the most, posting 6.3% growth.
Asia Pacific was the only region to experience a decline in net revenue, slipping 2.4%.
IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky described second quarter performance as “solid” and said there had been a moderate expansion in “organic growth”.
“Consistent with our longer-term performance, IPG Mediabrands and IPG Health led the way in the quarter. We also saw notable contributions to growth from Deutsch LA, Golin and Acxiom,” he continued.
“Creatively, our agencies continued to garner exceptional levels of recognition for the quality of their ideas and innovation, across all marketing disciplines,” he continued.
He added: “Given results in the year to date, trends within our client roster, and macro sentiment, we expect to achieve full-year organic growth of approximately 1% and, at that level of growth, continue to target adjusted EBITA margin of 16.6%.
“Additional areas for value creation include our strong balance sheet and liquidity, as well as our ongoing commitment to capital returns.”
Last year the firm shared dip in full year results, and made plans to invest £250 million into AI.
