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WPP Q3 Results: Global revenue drops by 9.8%, India down 16.3%
NEW DELHI: Global advertising conglomerate WPP reported a 9.8 per cent decline in revenue from last year to £2.97 billion for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020.
The result brought the company's total revenue for the first nine months of 2020 to £8.6 billion, down by 11.5 per cent on the same period in 2019. On a like-for-like basis, Q3 revenue was down 5.5 per cent.
The top five markets for the advertising major also did not fare well in Q3 LFL revenue less pass-through costs: US -5.5 per cent; UK -6.5 per cent; Germany -1.8 per cent; Greater China -16.7 per cent; and India -16.3 per cent.
WPP said in a statement that it showed a resilient performance despite the challenging environment. Its results also stated there was an improvement in the second quarter with strong new business momentum and tight cost control.
The agency bagged business of around $1.6 billion in Q3, taking the year-to-date wins to $5.6 billion. It has strong liquidity and balance sheet, supported by tight working capital management: year-to-date average net debt £2.5 billion, down £2.0 billion year-on-year. The agency is on track to be towards the upper end of £700-800 million cost reduction target.
WPP CEO Mark Read said, “We have maintained our new business momentum as clients seek out our creativity and our skills in media, technology, data and ecommerce. This month, Uber joined a growing list of major assignment wins that includes Alibaba, Dell, HSBC, Intel, Unilever and Whirlpool, and we continue to lead the new business rankings. We have also renewed and expanded our relationship with Walgreens Boots Alliance to encompass its data- and technology-driven marketing strategy.”
“Our people have done a superb job in serving our clients, largely working from home, but the events of 2020 have of course created new pressures for everyone. We have increased our investment in employee support services, with a particular focus on mental health and wellbeing, and this will be an ongoing priority for our leadership,” added Read.
The conglomerate includes several global agencies such as Ogilvy, GroupM, JWT, Essence and others.
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Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
