Omnicom reported better than expected organic revenue growth of 4% in the March quarter, led by advertising and media, keeping the global advertising business on the road to superior results.
Revenue hit $US3.63 billion, an increase of $136.9 million, and ahead of analyst forecasts of $3.61 billion.
CEO John Wren attributed the result to continued strength in advertising and media and precision marketing disciplines.
He called out Flywheel Digital, the digital commerce business acquired in October 2023 for $835 million, which helps brands to sell more goods more efficiently across hundreds of digital marketplaces, such as Amazon, Walmart and Alibaba.
However, creative was "roughly flat".
Recent business wins, new business opportunities, the Olympics and US elections support the 2024 outlook, the company said.
Omnicom has increased full year organic growth range to between 4% and 5%. The global advertising group had been targeting organic revenue growth between 3.5% and 5% for 2024.
The France-based competitor Publicis Groupe last week posted better than expected March quarter results, with organic growth of 5.3% and gains in market share.
A key to growth across the global advertising groups is how soon the technology sector recovers and starts spending again.
At Omnicom, Wren told analysts the company was defending very little at this point of the year and he saw opportunity for account wins ahead.
"We are uniquely able to combine marketing and sales solutions with a seamless set of information signals to turn our award-winning creativity into measurable dynamic business outcomes for our clients,” said Wren in a prepared statement.
“Our industry-leading tools and platforms, combined with the strength of our operating leadership, has led to our excellent new business performance and, when combined with the new opportunities we are pursuing, give us great confidence in the future."
Organic growth by discipline: 7% for Advertising & Media, 4.3% for Precision Marketing, 9.5% for Experiential, and 2.1% for Healthcare, partially offset by falls of 4.3% for Execution & Support, 3.8% for Branding & Retail Commerce and 1.1% for Public Relations.
Organic growth by region: 4.3% for the US, 3.5% for Euro Markets & Other Europe, 22.3% for Latin America, 3% for Asia Pacific, 3.2% for the UK, and 1.1% for Other North America, partially offset by a decline of 4.2% for the Middle East & Africa.
March 2024 numbers:
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