• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, August 15, 2022

Dentsu Group reported 8.2% organic growth for the second quarter including 8.4% growth for its international operations and 7.9% growth for Dentsu Japan.

Net revenue in the period totaled about $1.95 billion.

The firm had previously provided full-year organic growth guidance of between 4% and 5% but said that given the “robust” first-half performance it is now guiding “to the upper end” of that range.

Q2 growth in the Americas region, which includes North and South America, was 9.6% -- below last year’s Q2 pace of 15.5%. First-half growth in the region was 11.4%. The firm said strong growth in the U.S. and Canada “offset weakness seen in Brazil and Mexico.”

In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, growth was 4% in the first half. Excluding Russia, growth in the region was 7.2%. Dentsu said it had reached an agreement in principle to sell its Russia operation to local partners, subject to legal and binding agreements.

Dentsu Group President and CEO Hiroshi Igarashi stated that while the macro-outlook “remains uncertain,” clients “continue to invest in their brands, supported by hyper-personalized customer experiences, driven by insights, data and technology.”

Igarashi said the firm remains focused on growing revenues from the high-demand area of customer transformation and technology as the company pursues its own strategic shift to a hybrid agency-consultancy business model.