WPP AUNZ says the advertising market in Australia is lifting from the depths of the pandemic.
The local arm of WPP plc, the world's biggest advertising group, saw 2021 start with better than expected earnings.
“The market is bouncing back," says CEO Jens Monsees.
"We are seeing optimism return and excellent momentum in client engagements.
January earnings were ahead of budget and above levels in January 2020 and January 2019, providing further confidence in the budgeted improvement in earnings for 2021.
"We are well positioned to continue to execute on our transformation strategy and drive growth and operational
excellence.”
WPP AUNZ’s GroupM business predicts a bounce back in media market demand, with total market demand expected to increase by 15% in the 2021 financial year, returning to 2019 levels of activity at the end of that year.
The company says the growth outlook is expected to be enhanced by the benefits from WPP AUNZ's transformation strategy which seeks to drive revenue growth in the areas of communications, technology, commerce and experience.
Monsees says tailwinds for the business include:
• Continued spend on e-commerce
• Increased investment in marketing technology
• Returning confidence in the advertising and media markets
Hee also says there's scope for growth via acquisitions.
Forecast:
The table below outlines the headline results for 2019 and 2020 with the outlook for 2021. This excludes the impact of significant and non-cash items and the results of two major units disposed of in 2019, Kantar and Ogilvy NZ.
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