Publicis Groupe: First Half 2024 Results

• H1 2024 net revenue organic growth of +5.4%; +7.4% on a like-for-like revenue basis
• Stronger than expected Q2 net revenue organic growth at +5.6%
  • Accelerating versus 4Y Q2 CAGR of 4.7%
  • Gaining market share with c. 400 bps¹ outperformance versus peer average
• Solid performance across all regions in Q2:
  • Continued momentum in the U.S. at +5.3%
  • Robust Europe at +4.2% on top of a high comparable
  • Strong APAC at +7.7%, with China accelerating to +10.5%
• Operating margin rate at record H1 level of 17.3%, including AI investment
• Headline diluted EPS up +5.3% at €3.38, Free cash flow² up at €744m
• Upgrading full year 2024 net revenue organic growth to +5-6% vs +4-5% previously, despite persistent macro uncertainties
• Maintaining industry-high 2024 financial KPIs: Operating margin at 18.0%, Free cash flow² between €1.8bn-1.9bn

Arthur Sadoun, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe: 

“Publicis achieved a very strong first half of the year, with net revenue organic growth at +5.4% and +7.4% growth on a like-for-like revenue basis.

We continued to win market share, with Q2 net revenue organic growth accelerating to +5.6%, above expectations and 400bps ahead of our industry.

For the first 6 months of the year, we kept delivering industry leading financial KPIs.

Despite a backdrop of ongoing macro-economic pressures, not only did our H1 performance demonstrate that our model is strong. It also showed that our outperformance versus our peers is sustainable, with our growth rate close to doubling that of our competitors since 2019.

As a result, we are confident in our ability to accelerate further in H2.

We are raising our net revenue organic growth guidance and now expect to de liver between +5-+6%. We will maintain our best-in-class financial ratios while continuing to make material investments in our talent and AI strategy. 

As we further extract ourselves from the pack, we have everything we need to continue to lead and reinvent our industry thanks to our transformation.

We have a winning go to market, which has put us at the head of the new business rankings for the past five years. We have taken the leadership of personalization at scale, demonstrated by our combined Data and Media offering’s double-digit growth this quarter, for the third year in a row. And thanks to Publicis Sapient, we are uniquely positioned to partner with our clients in their AI-led transformation.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our clients for their trust. I would also like to thank our people around the world for their outstanding work. Sustaining these levels of outperformance in such a difficult environment is an everyday battle and with the Executive Committee we are truly grateful for all of their efforts.” 

¹ Based on consensus
² Before change in working capital requirements