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An imperfect storm for WPP

The advertising heavyweight will update on 27 August
August 20, 2020

WPP (WPP) will report its half-year results on 27 August, following an unforgiving period in the advertising industry. Most companies have tightened their budgets in the wake of the pandemic, with fewer willing to dish out on discretionary spending such as marketing campaigns. This has been tough for WPP - in March, revenues were down by a tenth year-on-year, and by 5 per cent overall in the first quarter.  

But even before the impact of coronavirus, the advertising giant was downbeat about 2020. WPP warned in February that revenue would fall flat this year, after a tough final quarter in 2019. The company is still in the middle of its three-year turnaround plan, which had aimed to return to growth by the end of 2021. While management has made progress in simplifying the business and pushing down debt, we imagine that the pandemic has knocked its transformation off course.