Publicis Groupe has exceeded its own estimates for organic growth in 2023, reporting a record year.
The France-based advertising group, which has been leading its global holding company peers in revenue growth, has released its full year profit results early.
The company had been due to reveal results in Paris on February 8 before the local stock market opens.
But Publicis, during a major announcement on investment in AI, also revealed full year organic growth was 6.3%, above the 5.5% to 6% guidance last upgraded in October. The group in 2023 increased its full year result outlook three times.
This delivered revenue of almost Euro 13.1 billion (AUD 21.5 billion) for the 12 months to December.
And momentum is strong, with a stronger than anticipated finish to the year, with 5.7% organic growth in the December quarter.
“Our journey from a holding company to a platform has not been easy, but it definitely paid off, as you can see with our 2023 organic growth outperforming the industry for the fourth year in a row," said CEO Arthur Sadoun.
He was confident Publicis would continue to outperform its peers on organic growth, sustain the highest financial KPIs, and lead the "change in our industry".
Other global advertising groups haven't yet delivered 2023 full year numbers but as of the September quarter Publicis was well ahead of its peers.
In 2023, media, one third of Publicis' net revenue, grew by double digits organically, accelerating in the fourth quarter supported by a faster ramp up in new business.
Data & tech activities, another third, were "very solid" on the year while seeing contrasting trends.
Data unit Epsilon recorded 10% organic growth in 2023, further with double-digit growth in the fourth quarter, led by the rise in demand for first-party data.
Digital transformation consulting business Publicis Sapient, with delays in projects, posted 3% organic growth on the year despite a "modest" fall in the December quarter.
Creative reported low single-digit organic growth.
The US, with 60% of revenue, delivered a “remarkable” 5% organic growth for the year, accelerating to +6.1% in the fourth quarter.
Europe grew at 10.3% in 2023, with the fourth quarter at +4.3% despite high comparables, mainly in the UK.
Asia posted 2.9% organic growth on the year, accelerating to 4% in fourth quarter led by China returning to growth.
Middle East and Africa grew by 12.4% in the full year and 9.7% in the fourth quarter, and Latin America was up 8.9% in the full year and 13.9% in December quarter.
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