Baptism of fire for new WPP boss

Still, onwards and upwards – or at least that’s the sentiment newly appointed boss Mark Read hopes to convey as he takes on the flailing advertising giant. Before the end of the year Mr Read – who previously headed up the group’s Wunderman agency – will have presented his new strategy to investors, including potential disposals and overall business simplification.

But it hasn’t been an easy start to life at the top. Less than 24 hours after his promotion was announced, Mr Read watched WPP’s shares slide as investors reacted badly to margin forecasts. The company now expects this margin pressure (down 0.5 percentage points to 13.3 per cent during the first half) to continue into the second, with annual pre-tax profit margins projected to land around 17 per cent. On average, brokers expect EPS of 119p a share in 2018, down from 120p a share last year.

This has overshadowed the fact that the second quarter marked a return to like-for-like revenue growth for the first time since the opening quarter of 2017. But perhaps investors were expecting that; at Sir Martin’s final financial results he suggested the football World Cup and US mid-term elections would provide a timely top-line boost. Indeed, three of the group’s four operating divisions have benefited from these trends, with only data investment management reporting a like-for-like decline. Those trends are likely to continue for the remainder of the year too.