WPP full year revenue down by 0.7%

'Q4 was impacted by weaker client discretionary spend,' said CEO WPP, Mark Read, adding that new business performance improved thanks to wins from Amazon, J&J, Kimberly-Clark and Unilever

by e4m Desk
Published: Feb 27, 2025 5:08 PM | 4 min read

WPP has reported its full-year and Q4 financial results with a 0.7% dip in its reported revenue at £14.741 billion. Its headline operating profit stood at £1.707 billion.

Like-for-like (LFL) revenue grew by 2.3%. FY revenue, excluding pass-through costs, dropped by 4.2%.

LFL revenue, excluding pass-through costs, decreased by 1.0%.

In Q4, like-for-like (LFL) revenue less pass-through costs declined by 2.3%. Growth in Western Continental Europe (+1.4%) was offset by declines in North America (-1.4%), the UK (-5.1%), and the Rest of the World (-4.8%). The steepest drop was in China, where revenue fell by 21.2%.

The headline operating margin for the year was 15.0%, up from 14.8% in 2023, reflecting a 0.4 percentage point like-for-like (LFL) improvement. This growth was driven by £85 million in structural cost savings from Burson, GroupM, and VML initiatives, along with disciplined cost control and continued investment in AI and data. However, there was a 0.2 percentage point drag from foreign exchange (FX) effects. Full-year reported operating profit rose to £1,325 million, an increase of 149.5%, primarily due to lower amortisation charges and higher gains on disposals.

For the full year, Global Integrated Agencies saw a 0.8% decline in like-for-like (LFL) revenue less pass-through costs, with a steeper drop of 2.2% in Q4. GroupM, the company’s media planning and buying business, grew by 2.7% for the year and 2.4% in Q4. However, this growth was offset by a 3.9% decline in other Global Integrated Agencies for the full year, with an even sharper 6.5% drop in Q4.

WPP aims to lead through AI, data, and technology by increasing investment in WPP Open, ensuring it remains at the forefront of AI and expanding its deployment across the business and clients. To accelerate growth through creative transformation, the company will drive client transformation with a more integrated offering across creative, production, commerce, and media. Strengthening its global media competitiveness, particularly in the US, is also a priority. Additionally, WPP will focus on enhancing operational efficiency and optimising investment allocation to improve financial returns.

For 2025, the company expects like-for-like (LFL) revenue less pass-through costs to be between flat and -2%, with performance improving in the second half of the year. The headline operating profit margin is projected to remain around flat, excluding FX impacts.

The conglomerate said that It aims for more efficient operations, stronger headline operating margin, cash conversions and balance sheets. It will focus on AI, data and tech in 2025 and will increase investment in WPP Open to keep it at the forefront of AI and further deploy it across the business and clients.

“WPP Open: AI, data and technology increasingly central to the way we serve our clients; critical to new business wins including Amazon, J&J, Kimberly-Clark and Unilever; increasing annual investment to £300m (from £250m),” said the company.

Mark Read, Chief Executive Officer of WPP, said:

“We achieved significant progress against our strategy in 2024 with the creation of VML, Burson and the simplification of GroupM – some 70% of our business. We sold our stake in FGS Global to create significant value for shareholders. And we increased our margin, while stepping up our investment in AI through WPP Open, which is now used by 33,000 people across WPP.

“The top line was lower, however, with Q4 impacted by weaker client discretionary spend. We did see growth from our top 25 clients of 2.0% and an improving new business performance in the second half of the year with wins from Amazon, J&J, Kimberly-Clark and Unilever reflecting the strength of our integrated offer.

“The actions we are taking across WPP will strengthen our existing client relationships and drive our new business results. We expect some improvement in the performance of our integrated creative agencies in the year ahead. At the same time, we have comprehensive efforts underway to improve our competitive positioning through new leadership at GroupM, with further investment in AI, data and proprietary media.

“Though we remain cautious given the overall macro environment, we are confident in our medium-term targets and believe our focus on innovation, a simpler client-facing offer and operational excellence will support our growth and deliver greater value for our shareholders.”