• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, November 16, 2017

Havas reported modest improvement in organic revenue growth in the third quarter to 0.1%, a full percentage point over Q2’s -0.9%. For the first nine months the firm remains in negative territory at -0.3%.

But company CEO Yannick Bollore said he was particularly pleased with what he termed "the recovery in North America" where organic growth rose to 2.9% in Q3 from -1.7% in the second quarter.

The company attributed the improvement to a turnaround at Boston-based Arnold and improved results at Havas New York, particularly in the healthcare business.

“US agencies also benefitted from the effects of recent account wins and increased spending on the part of certain clients,” the company stated in an earnings release. During the third quarter Havas Media was appointed as Sanofi’s U.S. media agency partner for its Rx business and as strategic media planning partner for the Consumer Healthcare business. 

Consolidated third quarter revenue for the French holding company in Q3 was down around 2% to 525 million euros (about $618 million at today’s exchange rate). The company cited exchange rate fluctuations as a key reason for the decline.

For the first nine months of the year, consolidated group revenue was essentially flat at 1.6 billion euro ($1.9 billion).

Commenting further on the results Bollore stated, “Despite an ever more challenging sector environment, we remain positive over the mid-term because we believe firmly in the positive effects of our strategy and in our client-centric organization.”