WPP India reports 5.4% decline in revenue for Q4, full-year growth at 2.8%

Global advertising and marketing giant WPP reported a 5.4% decline in its India revenue for the December quarter, marking its first quarterly drop since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the company's full-year revenue in India grew by 2.8%. However, the global business saw an overall revenue decline of 0.7%.

India's Performance and Global Comparisons The Q4 decline was attributed to a tough year-over-year comparison due to the timing of sporting events. In the previous year December quarter, WPP India had posted a 22% revenue growth, driven by the ICC Cricket World Cup, which significantly boosted advertising and marketing spends.

Despite the Q4 decline, India was the only market among WPP’s top five to register full-year growth. The USA, UK, Germany, and China all recorded revenue declines: - USA: -0.6% - UK: -2.7% - Germany: -1% - China: -20.8%

This highlights India’s resilience in a challenging global environment, where WPP’s total revenue for the year saw a 0.7% decline.

WPP’s Chief Executive Officer, Mark Read, acknowledged the weaker client discretionary spending in Q4, which impacted the company’s performance. However, he pointed to 2.0% growth from WPP’s top 25 clients and an improving new business pipeline, with major wins including Amazon, J&J, Kimberly-Clark and Unilever. “The actions we are taking across WPP will strengthen our existing client relationships and drive our new business results. We expect some improvement in the performance of our integrated creative agencies in the year ahead,” Read said.

He also emphasized WPP’s investment in AI, data, and proprietary media, alongside new leadership at GroupM, to improve the company’s competitive positioning.

GroupM, WPP’s media planning and buying division, recorded a 2.7% growth in 2024, down from 4.9% in 2023. The company benefited from continued client investment in media, although challenges in China and historical client losses affected overall performance. On the other hand, WPP’s Global Integrated Agencies reported a *3.9% decline in revenue, further impacting the company’s overall performance. While GroupM secured key new clients, including Amazon and J&J and retained Unilever, it also faced losses, including Volvo.