MAM
Ketchum acquires majority stake in Sampark PR
MUMBAI: Ketchum, Omnicom Group’s public relations unit, has acquired a majority stake in Indian communications agency, Sampark PR.
Bela Rajan and NS Rajan, who founded Sampark PR in 1994, will continue to lead the India business as director and managing director and will retain a significant holding in the agency going forward.
The leadership team of Bela Rajan, NS Rajan and managing partner Ajay Sharma will continue to manage the day-to-day operations of the agency in India as Sampark PR will now operate as Ketchum Sampark.
Sampark PR has offices across Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad and boasts a network of 80 associate offices that extend throughout the 25 states.
“Today marks another important milestone for Ketchum as we continue to implement our global vision of providing consistently excellent communications service to our clients in the key business and communications markets where they operate,” said Ketchum senior partner and CEO Ray Kotcher. “Our investments over the past six months, in Russia, China and now India, are predicated on this strategy and fortify the foundation we have in place for our clients and our people.”
The move will expand Ketchum’s presence in South Asia, complementing Ketchum’s network in the Asia-Pacific region which includes Greater China, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.
Ketchum had, last year, completed merger with Pleon to form Ketchum Pleon in Europe, creating a diversified communications consultancy in the region.
In addition, it also established a joint venture in the Middle East and North Africa called Ketchum Raad Middle East and a new exclusive affiliate relationship in South Korea with local market leader Prain.
Ketchum senior partner and CEO of international operations Jon Higgins said, “India occupies a powerful place in the world economy today. With Sampark, Ketchum has acquired one of the most respected PR businesses in India. Ketchum has worked closely with Sampark’s leadership team for some time now, and we have tremendous respect for their people and business. We are eager to put our enhanced partnership on a path of even greater possibility for our clients.”
As part of the transaction, in addition to Rajans, the India operation’s board of directors will include Higgins, Ketchum senior partner, COO and CFO Robert Lorfink, and, Diversified Agency Services (a division of Omnicom Group) chairman and CEO Tom Harrison.
Brands
Alphabet Q1 profit jumps 81 per cent as revenue climbs to $109.9 billion
AI-led growth fuels strong gains across Search, Cloud and YouTube
CALIFORNIA: Alphabet Inc. kicked off 2026 with a strong first quarter, reporting an 81 per cent surge in net income to $62.58 billion, powered by robust growth across its core businesses and a sharp acceleration in cloud and AI-driven services.
Revenue rose 22 per cent year-on-year to $109.9 billion, or 19 per cent in constant currency, marking the company’s 11th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. Operating income increased 30 per cent to $39.7 billion, while operating margin expanded to 36.1 per cent from 34 per cent a year earlier.
Diluted earnings per share climbed 82 per cent to $5.11, reflecting both operational strength and a significant boost from other income, which stood at $37.7 billion, largely driven by unrealised gains on equity investments.
Alphabet Inc. CEO Sundar Pichai said, “2026 is off to a terrific start. Our AI investments and full stack approach are lighting up every part of the business.”
The company’s core Google Services segment generated $89.6 billion in revenue, up 16 per cent year-on-year. Growth was led by a 19 per cent increase in Search and other revenues to $60.4 billion, a 19 per cent rise in subscriptions, platforms and devices to $12.38 billion, and an 11 per cent growth in YouTube ads to $9.88 billion.
Cloud emerged as the standout performer. Google Cloud Platform revenues jumped 63 per cent to $20.03 billion, with operating income rising sharply to $6.6 billion from $2.18 billion a year earlier. The growth was driven by enterprise demand for AI infrastructure and solutions.
Pichai highlighted strong traction in AI, noting that the company’s Gemini models are now processing more than 16 billion tokens per minute, up 60 per cent from the previous quarter. Paid subscriptions across services reached 350 million, while Gemini Enterprise saw a 40 per cent quarter-on-quarter rise in paid monthly active users.
The company also reported that Waymo has crossed 500,000 fully autonomous rides per week, signalling growing momentum in its Other Bets segment, though the unit continued to post a loss of $2.1 billion.
Total costs and expenses increased to $70.2 billion, reflecting higher investments in research, AI infrastructure and talent. Headcount rose to 194,668 employees, up from 185,719 a year earlier.
Alphabet also strengthened its capital strategy, issuing $31.1 billion in senior unsecured notes during the quarter and announcing a 5 per cent increase in its dividend to $0.22 per share, payable in June 2026.
With AI at the centre of its growth engine and cloud demand surging, Alphabet appears to be scaling both innovation and profitability. As its core businesses remain resilient and newer bets gain traction, the company is positioning itself strongly for the next phase of digital and AI-led expansion.
