• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, August 9, 2019

WPP shares were up 8% in midday trading on the London Exchange after releasing second-quarter results the firm said were slightly above expectations and in line with full-year guidance, which remains unchanged. 

Reported revenue for the first half was up 1.6% to £7.6 billion ($9.2 billion), with an organic revenue decline of 0.6% for the period. 

But the company made progress quarter-to-quarter, posting organic growth of 0.1% in Q2 versus a 1.3% decline in Q1. 

North America remains the firm’s weakest-performing region, although results improved significantly in the second quarter with an organic decline of 5.3%, compared to a decrease of 8.5% in the first quarter. 

Noting the second-quarter improvement, WPP CEO Mark Read said: “Clients are responding well to our new offer, as evidenced by recent wins and expanded assignments, including from eBay, Instagram and L’Oréal. An encouraging number of our businesses and markets are achieving good growth.” 

But Read cautioned: “we are still in the early stages of our three-year turnaround plan, and we remain focused on returning the company to sustainable growth over that period.”

The company unveiled details of its turnaround plan in December 2018. 

Streamlining plans are proceeding apace, with 102 office mergers in progress or completed, surpassing an initial target of 100 offices. Another 68 offices have been closed or are in the process of closing against a target of 80. 

Also, about 3,100 redundant staff positions have been eliminated, from a targeted 3,500 positions. The company said the first-half costs of implementing the turnaround plan, much of it earmarked for severance packages, was about £55 million ($66 million). But it also gained £65 million ($78 million) from asset disposals. 

In July, the company announced an agreement to sell 60% of Kantar to Bain Capital in a deal that values the unit at about $4 billion. WPP said its disposal program is now largely complete, subject to ongoing review.