Havas Revenue Increases 8%

Company to consolidate New York offices

By Lindsay Rubino -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/21/2013 6:52:35 PM

Havas has reported that its net profit for 2012 increased by 5% to about $163 million, according to an article by MediaPost.

The ad company also said earlier that revenues for the year were up 8% to 2.4 billion, while organic growth was 2.1%, compared to 2011's 5.9% growth, the report said.

Publicis Groupe and WPP reported full-year 2012 organic growth increases of 2.9%, with Omnicom Group reporting a 4% increase, according to the story.

Havas' operating income was up 11% to about $283 million. Its operating profit margin was hit 12.3% in 2012, up from 12% in 2011, the article said.

David Jones, CEO of Havas, said on a conference call with analysts that the company was dedicated to further margin improvement over the next couple of years. He noted that the North America segment was off to its "slowest start" among other region sin the first quarter, and that Europe has continued to struggle but has shown some improvement in the quarter, the article said.

"While European economies remain challenged, we are confident in our ability to continue to deliver strong results and grow shareholder value for the long-term," Jones said in the report.

Jones said in the story that Havas plans to integrate its creative, digital and media facilities where possible; the company consolidated its Parisian operations to a single location known as Havas Village. The company plans to make a similar move in New York next month, consolidating 2,000 or so staffers in Manhattan, the story said.

Havas will also continue to spend modestly on acquisitions, about $50 million per year, to focus on digital assets in emerging markets, according to the article.

"We're not going to be writing big checks to create large digital silos," Jones said in the piece.

Jones said in the article that Havas would continue to eye agencies startups, citing recent success with BETC London, which won the Diet Coke account for Europe, as well as the global Bacardi account.