Publicis Groupe reported revenue of approximately $2.04 billion in the first quarter of 2013, up 7.6%. Organic revenue growth was lower—just 1.3%, down from the 4.1% organic growth the
company posted in the same period a year ago.
The firm cited a sharp organic revenue decline in Europe for the period—down 6.5%, with a much better story in North America, where growth
was up 4.4%.
Publicis Groupe CEO Maurice Levy stated, “As I predicted, 2013 is turning out to be a difficult and contrasted vintage, with on the one hand the United States consolidating
their growth and on the other Europe suffering…and while 1.3% organic growth may seem modest, it is above our internal objectives.”
The company said it had $2.1 billion in net new
business wins for the period, including American Honda Motors $1.14 billion media assignment to MediaVest and the Kohl’s $300 million-plus media win by Zenith.