Martin Sorrell-led S4 Capital said today that it posted a 13.5% net organic revenue decline for the first half of the year with reported net revenue down 15.6% to 376 million GBP. The organic revenue metric excludes the impact of M&A and currency fluctuations. 

The company said that the revenue declines were felt across the company’s practice areas with technology services continuing to be hit hardest.  

It also indicated that full-year organic revenues will be down further than previously expected, but did not provide a figure or range for the expected shortfall.  

Investors reacted by sending company shares on the London Exchange down 6% on Thursday, contributing to a nearly 30% decline over the past month. 

Executive Chairman Sorrell cited continuing macroeconomic uncertainty and client caution particularly among technology clients. The firm lost a large tech client last year that continues to hamper results. On the flip side, it won a piece of GM business that began in July and will fully kick in next year, Sorrell told analysts on an earnings call. 

The company continues to cut costs, including job reductions, in a bid to protect profitability. The staff count was down 12% at midyear versus the year-ago period and more cuts are expected in the second half, the company indicated.  

First half new business wins included Marriot, Burger King, Panasonic, FanDuel, AliExpress, Decathlon, Santander, SC Johnson, PepsiCo and ICBC.  

The firm also said it had been awarded a number of assignments related to artificial intelligence as clients experiment with applications and develop use cases. These are focused on areas like visualization and copywriting, hyper-personalization at scale, media planning and buying and more.