MAM
Interpublic targets 3% organic growth in 2012
MUMBAI: US-based ad holding company Interpublic Group is targeting an organic growth of 3 per cent as its first six months are going to be impacted by client losses suffered last year.
The company‘s annual revenue in 2011 was up 7.8 per cent to about $7 billion. Net income for 2011 increased by 96 per cent to $551.5 million as compared to $281.2 in 2010.
Interpublic gained last year as it had net cash inflow of $134 million from the sale of about half of its interest in Facebook.
Interpublic CEO Michael Roth said the company faces revenue challenges in 2012 due to client losses from last year, which are expected to affect the first six months of the year. “We are targeting 3 per cent organic growth this year,” he averred.
Interpublic agency networks, McCann Erickson and DraftFCB, both saw major accounts defect in 2011. McCann Erickson lost Nescafe work and other accounts while DraftFCB lost SC Johnson and is now having to share Miller Lite work with Publicis Groupe‘s Saatchi & Saatchi.
Roth said that all of the company‘s regions grew in terms of organic growth in 2011 barring Europe due to its current debt crisis. While for the full year continental Europe was down 0.1 per cent, Latin America was up by 17.8 per cent. For the fourth quarter U.S. organic growth was up by 2.2 per cent, Latin American was up 30.4 per cent and Europe was down 3.2 per cent.
Net income in the fourth quarter of 2011 was up by 25 per cent to $278.3 million. The total revenue for the fourth quarter was $2.07 billion, which is an increase by 3.4 per cent from the corresponding quarter on the previous year.
Said Roth, “Building on a very good 2010 result we continue to show organic revenue growth that is at or near the top of our peer group. This performance keeps us on track to deliver on our goal of fully competitive profitability in 2014.”
MAM
Kwality Wall’s appoints new board members after Magnum acquisition
Abhijit Bhattacharya named Chairperson as ice cream company enters next growth phase.
MUMBAI: When your ice cream business gets a fresh scoop of leadership, things are bound to get even cooler and Kwality Wall’s has just done exactly that. Kwality Wall’s (India) Limited (KWIL), now part of The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC), has announced the appointment of Abhijit Bhattacharya and Tahir Toloy Tanridagli to its Board of Directors. The appointments, effective 30 March, follow TMICC HoldCo’s acquisition of a controlling 61.90 per cent stake in KWIL.
Mr Abhijit Bhattacharya has been appointed as additional (non-executive and non-independent) director and chairperson of the board. He currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of The Magnum Ice Cream Company N.V. and previously held the role of CFO for Unilever Ice Cream. With nearly four decades of experience, including 38 years at Koninklijke Philips N.V. in senior finance and operational roles across Europe, Asia and the United States, Bhattacharya brings deep expertise in strategic transformation and complex corporate restructurings.
Mr Tahir Toloy Tanridagli has been appointed as additional (non-executive and non-independent) director. A graduate of Bogazici University with a High Honours BA in Business Administration, he currently serves as President for METSA markets (Middle East, Turkey, Africa, Israel, and South Asia) at TMICC and is a member of the Global Ice Cream Executive Leadership Team. With over two decades in the snacking and FMCG sector, including leadership roles at Kraft Foods–Mondelez and Unilever, Toloy has extensive experience across ice cream, chocolate, snacks, beverages and desserts.
The appointments come as KWIL, which listed as an independent entity after its demerger from Hindustan Unilever Limited, enters a new phase of growth following the Share Purchase Agreement signed between Unilever and TMICC in June 2025.
In the fast-melting world of ice cream, adding two heavyweights to the board is a clear signal that Kwality Wall’s is ready to scoop up even bigger opportunities ahead.
