WPP PLC (WPP)

[idpickering]

Third Quarter Trading Update.

n Q3 revenue +10.3%; LFL revenue +2.7%

n Q3 LFL revenue less pass-through costs +3.8%

o Acceleration of growth on 2019 levels +10.9% (Q2 +9.7%, Q1 +9.2%)

o Top five markets: USA +4.5%, UK +4.2%, Germany -8.7% (+3.3% excluding the impact of Covid-related contract in prior year), China -9.0%, India +10.7%

o Other major growth markets: Brazil +19.7%, Canada +7.7%

o By business sector: Global Integrated Agencies +4.3% (GroupM +4.7%, ex GroupM +4.0%), Public Relations +5.8%, Specialist Agencies -3.9% (+8.6% excluding Covid-related contract above)

n $1.7 billion net new business won in Q3 and $5.1 billion net year-to-date

n £692 million of share buybacks year-to-date, total of £800 million to be completed in 2022

n Full year 2022 guidance updated: LFL revenue less pass-through costs growth raised to 6.5-7.0% (previously 6.0-7.0%); headline operating margin up 30 to 50 bps (previously up around 50 bps)

Mark Read, Chief Executive Officer of WPP, said:

"WPP continues to show strong momentum, reflecting broad-based growth across our agencies, markets and industry sectors and the investment by our clients in marketing, ecommerce and digital transformation. Our performance on a three-year basis has continued to improve each quarter during 2022.

"Our new business success reflects the quality of our creative work, our strength in media and our ability to deliver integrated solutions to clients. During the quarter we achieved $1.7 billion of net new business, including assignments with Nestlé, Samsung and SC Johnson. Our leading scale and differentiated offer were exemplified by GroupM which led COMvergence's new business and retention global rankings in the first half of 2022.

"Our growth over the year has been strong with full year like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs now upgraded to 6.5-7.0%. We have continued to invest in our people and in data and technology to support this growth, resulting in headline operating margin now expected to be up 30 to 50 bps. We are on track with the £300m transformation savings and will continue to manage our costs with discipline.

"We enter the last quarter of the year with confidence, based on the leading competitive position of our businesses, our client momentum and the knowledge that the actions we have taken to strengthen WPP leave us well placed to support our clients in navigating the economic uncertainties ahead."

https://www.investegate.co.uk/wpp-plc-- ... 00051516E/

Ian.

[idpickering]

WPP acquires Fēnom Digital.

WPP today announces the acquisition of Fēnom Digital , one of the fastest growing digital transformation agencies in North America.

Founded by Dylan Runne three years ago in New York, Fēnom Digital specializes in delivering enterprise commerce, order management systems, supply chain, marketing, and customer experience solutions to retailers and brands across North America. The company calls upon over 190 highly skilled technologists to deliver solutions that drive more than $5 billion of digital sales for clients annually, including Basset Furniture, Casper, Crocs, David Yurman, GNC, PacSun and Snipes.

In 2022, Fēnom Digital achieved Salesforce Crest Partner status and won Salesforce Commerce Cloud Partner of the Year for "Best Up and Coming Partner."

Fēnom Digital will join WPP's world-class, global commerce capability within Wunderman Thompson, which drives over $30 billion in GMV for brands such as Nestlé, Bosch and Microsoft. This acquisition is part of Wunderman Thompson's strategy to help clients drive growth across all major digital routes to market in all major markets and will complement the 3500 commerce experts within the Wunderman Thompson group.

The announcement follows other recent Wunderman Thompson acquisitions in the commerce space including Diff and Newcraft . These further strengthened WPP's overall digital commerce capabilities and reflect the company's ongoing investment into its commerce offer for clients as consumer needs continue to change. It is aligned with WPP's accelerated growth strategy , building on existing capabilities in the areas of commerce and technology.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/wpp-plc-- ... 00018459L/

Ian. (No position in WPP.)

[idpickering]

Notification of 2022 Preliminary Results.

WPP will announce its Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 December 2022 on Thursday, 23 February 2023.

A results presentation for investors and analysts will be held at 09.30am (GMT) on Thursday, 23 February 2023. For those unable to join the morning presentation, a further call will be held at 2.00pm. Both events will be webcast live at http://www.wpp.com/investors.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/wpp-plc-- ... 47533160N/

Ian.

[idpickering]

2022 Preliminary Results.

Strong performance driven by growth across all key WPP agencies. Headline fully diluted EPS growth of over 25%. Expect LFL top-line growth of 3-5% and further progress on operating margin to around 15% in 2023

Full year and Q4 financial highlights

n FY reported revenue +12.7%, LFL revenue +6.7%

n FY LFL revenue less pass-through costs +6.9%; with good performance in Q4 +6.4%

n Q4 LFL revenue less pass-through costs by major market: US +3.5%, UK +12.0%, Germany +4.9%, China -8.4%, India +8.5%

n Three-year FY LFL revenue less pass-through costs +10.0%; Q4 +10.2%

n FY headline operating margin 14.8%, up 0.4 points LFL with strong top-line growth and efficiency savings supporting investment and margin expansion

n Reported diluted EPS 61.2 pence; headline diluted EPS up 25.5% to 98.5 pence

n Adjusted net debt at 31 December 2022 £2.5 billion (2021: £0.9 billion) after investments and over £1.1 billion of cash returned to shareholders. Average adjusted net debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.46x, slightly below the 1.5-1.75 target range

n Trade working capital adverse movement of £226 million[4] at year-end driven by mix and timing factors. Average trade working capital across 2022 was flat year-on-year

n Final dividend of 24.4 pence proposed, up 30.5%, for a proposed total dividend for 2022 of 39.4 pence, in line with our policy of approximately 40% of headline diluted EPS

And later;

The Board has recommended a final dividend of 24.4p (2021: 18.7p) per ordinary share in addition to the interim dividend of 15.0p (2021: 12.5p) per share. This makes a total for the year of 39.4p (2021: 31.2p). Payment of the final dividend of 24.4p per ordinary share will be made on 07 July 2023 to holders of ordinary shares in the Company on 09 June 2023.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/wpp-plc-- ... 00087778Q/

Ian (No holding).

[idpickering]

WPP acquires German healthcare specialist 3K Communication.

WPP announces today that it has acquired 3K Agentur für Kommunikation (3K), one of the leading healthcare specialist PR agencies in Germany. 3K will become part of the Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K) global network, strengthening its healthcare presence in Europe and expanding its operations in Germany.

Founded 25 years ago, 3K is known for its expertise in healthcare, biopharmaceuticals, and related sciences, working with some of the world's most notable global pharma ceutical companies, consumer health brands, and local biotech start-ups.

The addition of 3K aligns with WPP's strategic focus on healthcare and marks the company's continued investment in Germany. In the second half of 2022, WPP appointed Wendy Lund as Chief Client Officer for Health & Wellness and FM Schmidt as WPP's first President of the German market.

The acquisition is also the latest milestone in H+K's ongoing transformation. The agency has grown more than 25% over the last two years, expanding its global leadership team - including Brenna Terry as Global Chair of Healthcare - and acquiring the JeffreyGroup in Latin America.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/wpp-plc-- ... 00020561S/

Ian.

[idpickering]

WPP acquires data-driven influencer marketing agency Goat.

WPP today announces the acquisition of Goat , one of the world's leading influencer marketing agencies.

Goat specialises in data-led end-to-end influencer marketing campaigns grounded in performance and measurement and was founded by Arron Shepherd, Nick Cooke, and Harry Hugo in 2015. Goat drives authentic brand engagement while integrating targeted paid media to reach the right audience and achieve industry-leading results. The company's 150+ staff across three global offices have helped to grow some of the biggest brands in the world, including Dell, Beiersdorf, Meta, Tesco, Uber, EA, Natura and Augustinus Bader, delivering best-in-class social and influencer campaigns. Since its founding, Goat has tracked the performance of over 50,000 influencer channels and over 250,000 pieces of content.

In recent years, Adweek recognised Goat as Europe's fastest-growing agency while The Drum awarded it Social Media Agency of the Year and LinkedIn named it one of its top companies.

Goat will join GroupM, WPP's media investment group, and merge with its influencer marketing solution INCA to create the industry's first truly global influencer marketing agency with more than 300 employees in over 30 markets around the world. The combined entity - which will go to market as Goat - will operate as part of GroupM Nexus, the world's leading media performance organisation with more than 9,000 expert practitioners.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/wpp-plc-- ... 00047814T/

Ian (No holding).

[idpickering]

CFO Transition Update.

Further to the announcement on 8 November 2022, concerning John Rogers' decision to step down as Chief Financial Officer of WPP and the appointment of Joanne Wilson as his successor, WPP today announces that Joanne will join the Board and become CFO designate on 19 April 2023. She will succeed John as CFO immediately following the announcement of the Company's 2023 First Quarter Trading Update, at which point John will stand down as a Director of the Company. John will remain available until later this year and will work with Joanne to transition responsibilities.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/wpp-plc-- ... 46148953T/

Ian.

[idpickering]

Annual Report 2022 on Form 20-F

In accordance with Section 203.01 of the New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual, WPP announces that on 23 March 2023 it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission an Annual Report on Form 20-F that included audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022. WPP's 2022 Annual Report on Form 20-F is available online at WPP's website at http://www.wpp.com/investors/annual-report-2022 and also online at http://www.sec.gov .

A hard copy version of the WPP 2022 Annual Report will be available on or about 3 April 2023.

Shareholders have the ability to receive, upon request, a hard copy version of WPP's complete audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022, free of charge, by either:

(i) contacting Computershare Investor Services (Jersey) Limited, our registrars for WPP ordinary shares, in writing at the following address: 13 Castle Street, St Helier, Jersey, JE1 1ES or by telephone at +44 (0)370 707 1411;

(ii) contacting Citibank N.A., our US depositary for WPP American Depositary Shares (ADSs), in writing at the following address: PO Box 43077, Providence, RI 02940-3077, USA, or by telephone at: +1 877 248 4237 (US toll free) or +1 781 575 4555 (outside the US).

https://www.investegate.co.uk/wpp-plc-- ... 00030847U/

Ian (No holding).

[idpickering]

WPP acquires social influencer marketing agency Obviously, expanding tech-powered creator content capabilities

WPP today announced the acquisition of Obviously , a technology-led social influencer marketing agency based in New York, with operations in San Francisco and Paris.

Founded by Mae Karwowski and Maxime Domain in 2014, Obviously's proprietary next-generation tech platform increases campaign efficiency and enables the company to service large-scale complex campaigns for enterprise clients, including Google, Ford, Ulta Beauty and Amazon. Obviously offers a full stack of end-to-end services, including marketing strategy, influencer identification, content creation, campaign management, and robust reporting and analysis. Its team of nearly 100 people will join VMLY&R's network, accelerating the WPP agency's investment in award-winning data and social media work.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/wpp-plc-- ... 00013059U/

Ian.

[idpickering]

WPP acquires sonic branding agency amp, expanding generative AI and brand experience design offering.

WPP today announces the acquisition of amp , one of the world's leading sonic branding companies.

amp's expertise will strengthen WPP's offer in experiential branding and its ability to create high-quality, differentiated, and ownable sound experiences for clients. The acquisition comes as sound continues to grow as a vital branding element, with 75% of GenZ consumers saying that music helps them to feel more connected to brands [1] .

amp will join WPP brand and design consultancy, Landor & Fitch , adding to the agency's expertise in delivering immersive brand identities that transform customer and employee experiences and set brands apart in a competitive marketplace.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/wpp-plc-- ... 00019241W/

Ian (No holding).

[idpickering]

First Quarter Trading Update.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/wpp-plc-- ... 00086701X/

Ian.

[idpickering]

2023 Interim Results.

H1 and Q2 financial highlights

• H1 reported revenue +6.9%, LFL revenue +3.5% (Q2 +2.3%)

• H1 revenue less pass-through costs +5.5%, LFL revenue less pass-through costs +2.0% (Q2 +1.3%)

• In Q2, ex-US growth accelerated to mid-single digits, with China growing albeit less strongly than expected. North America declined in Q2, primarily due to lower revenues from technology clients

• H1 headline operating profit margin 11.5%, down 0.1pt, and on a constant FX basis improved by 0.1pt. Efficiency benefits offset by investment in IT and higher severance costs

• Trade working capital favourable movement of £165m year-on-year. Non-trade working capital adverse movement of £316m

• Adjusted net debt at 30 June 2023 £3.5bn, up £0.3bn year-on-year, £0.4bn lower than Q1 2023. Expect year end net debt to be flat year-on-year

Performance, strategic progress and outlook

• Global Integrated Agencies H1 LFL revenue less pass-through costs growth +2.2% (Q2 +1.5%): within which GroupM, our media planning and buying business +6.1% (Q2 +6.1%), partially offset by a 0.8% LFL decline at other Global Integrated Agencies (Q2 -2.3%)

• Solid new business performance: $2.0bn net new billings in H1 with the pipeline of potential new business larger than at the same point in 2022

• Acquisitions of Goat and Obviously in the fast-growth area of influencer marketing and an investment in Majority, a diversity-led creative agency

• Transformation programme on track to deliver at least £450m of annual savings this year over a 2019 base

• Planned review of our property portfolio resulting in a consolidation of our office space with an impairment charge for the full year of approximately £220m which is largely non-cash (H1 2023: £180m)

• 2023 interim dividend of 15.0p declared (2022: 15.0p)

• Full year 2023 LFL growth of 1.5-3.0% (previously 3-5%); FY 2023 headline operating profit margin around 15.0% (excluding the impact of FX)

And later;

Ordinary dividends

The Board has recommended an interim dividend of 15.0p (2022: 15.0p) per ordinary share. This is expected to be paid on 3 November 2023 to shareholders on the register at 13 October 2023. The Board recommended a final dividend of 24.4p per ordinary share in respect of 2022. This was paid on 7 July 2023.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcem ... s-/7675689

Ian (No holding).

[idpickering]

China Detains Current and Former GroupM Employees As Part of Commercial Bribery Case.

Shanghai police detained one current and two former employees of GroupM, a unit of London-based advertising giant WPP, citing suspicions that they accepted bribes.

Late Saturday, the Shanghai police’s economic crimes investigation division said that three suspects at an unnamed advertising company had been detained on criminal charges of accepting bribes as non-public officials. That statement referred to GroupM, according to a person familiar with the matter.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ch ... r-AA1iBBmf

Ian (No holding).

[idpickering]

Full year and Q4 financial highlights

• FY reported revenue +2.9%, LFL revenue +3.2%

• FY revenue less pass-through costs +0.5%, LFL revenue less pass-through costs +0.9%

• Q4 LFL revenue less pass-through costs +0.3% with ex-US4 +3.1% benefiting from strong growth in the UK and India partially offset by declines in Germany and China. US Q4 LFL decline of 4.5% primarily due to lower spend by technology, healthcare and retail clients, partially offset by growth in CPG, telecoms and automotive sectors

• Global Integrated Agencies FY LFL revenue less pass-through costs +1.3% (Q4: +0.7%): within which GroupM, our media planning and buying business, grew +4.9% (Q4: +5.7%), partially offset by a 1.6% decline in other Global Integrated Agencies (Q4: -3.4%)

• Solid new business performance: $4.5bn net new billings5 (2022: $5.9bn) with Q4 net new billings $1.1bn (Q4 2022: $0.8bn). The current pipeline of potential new business remains higher year-on-year

• FY headline operating profit margin in line with original guidance6 of 15.0% (excluding the impact of FX). Headline operating profit margin of 14.8% (2022: 14.8%) reflecting a 0.2pt drag from FX, disciplined cost control and continued investment in our technology, data and AI offer

• Reported EPS of 10.1p (2022: 61.2p) reflects the impact of accelerated amortisation of intangible assets as a result of the creation of VML, and property impairments announced earlier in the year

• Headline EPS of 93.8p (2022: 98.5p) reflects a zero contribution from Kantar in income from associates in 2023, which in 2022 represented 3.3p in headline EPS7

• Adjusted operating cash flow of £1,280m (2022: £669m) reflecting an improved working capital performance

• Adjusted net debt at 31 December 2023 of £2.5bn, flat year-on-year

• Final dividend of 24.4p proposed (2022: 24.4p) resulting in a proposed total dividend of 39.4p (2022: 39.4p) in line with our payout policy of approximately 40% of headline diluted EPS

And later;

Earnings and dividend

Profits attributable to shareholders were £110m, compared to a profit of £683m in the prior period, principally reflecting the accelerated amortisation of indefinite life brands and the impairment taken as a result of the 2023 property review.

Reported diluted earnings per share was 10.1p, compared to 61.2p in the prior period. Headline diluted earnings per share from continuing operations decreased by 4.8% to 93.8p.

The Board is proposing a final dividend for 2023 of 24.4 pence per share, which together with the interim dividend paid in November 2023 gives a full-year dividend of 39.4 pence per share. The record date for the final dividend is 7 June 2024, and the dividend will be payable on 5 July 2024.

Further details of WPP's financial performance are provided in Appendix 1.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcem ... s-/8050082

Ian (No holding).