• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, August 31, 2012

Havas, the Paris-based advertising holding company, reported that revenues grew more than 8% to $1 billion in the first half of the year. Net income for the period was around $70 million, up nearly 6%.

Organic revenue growth (ORG), which excludes the impact of acquisitions, asset sales and currency fluctuations and a key performance metric for the industry, was 2.7%. That was on the low side, compared with other holding companies reporting their first-half numbers so far.

By comparison, WPP on Thursday reported ORG of 3.6% for the period. Omnicom reported first-half ORG of 5.1%. Media specialist Aegis Group posted 8.6% growth for the period, while MDC Partners reported 7% growth. Publicis and Interpublic reported first-half ORG of 2.8% and 1.7%, respectively.

On a conference call with analysts to discuss results, Havas CEO David Jones said that “all regions grew” during the first half, with strong contributions from digital, media and the healthcare sector.

Jones also noted that new business development strengthened in the period, with net growth (by billings) of approximately $1.6 billion compared to roughly $1.1 billion euros in the first half of 2011. New wins included Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Hershey’s, Intel and New York Life.

The company made several acquisitions during the period, including Victors & Spoils, an agency known for its crowdsourcing techniques, to develop creative advertising and Ignition, the experiential marketing agency.

The company also doubled its stake in the UK marketing services holding company Creston to just over 6%. Asked on the call if Havas had plans to acquire control of the company, Jones declined to comment.

The company also noted that during the period, the board of directors appointed Yannick Bollore to the senior executive team of the holding company. That team now consists of Jones, Bollore and company CFO Herve Philippe. Bollore, executive vice president of Havas, is also CEO of Bollore Media. He is the son of French business magnate Vincent Bollore, who through various subsidiaries of the Bollore Group has financial control of Havas.

advertisement

advertisement