WPP shares took another beating Thursday on the London exchange after the firm reported a net organic revenue decline of 5.9% for the third quarter with a decline of 4.8% for the first nine months of the year. 

Shares were down 14% in midday trading. Year-to-date shares are down 62%. 

Q3 declines were attributed to a “step down in WPP Media versus the second quarter,” the company said. The unit, down 5.7% for Q3, has lost several major accounts in recent quarters including Mars and The Coca-Cola Co assignment for North America. On the plus side, it won the global Mastercard account in August.  

The Full-year organic revenue shortfall is now expected to be between 5.5% and 6%. That’s a downgrade from the previous estimate of between 3% and 5%. 

Cindy Rose, the company’s new CEO said the company’s “recent performance was unacceptable and we are taking action to address this.” 

Her ambition, she added, is for WPP to be an industry leader “in terms of innovation, client delivery and organic growth.” 

“We have strong foundations and the ingredients needed to succeed,” Rose added.  

Part of her strategy for success is similar to that of her predecessor, Mark Read—continue to make the company simpler for clients to understand; more integrated; powered by data and AI; and efficiently priced. 

“We will significantly improve our execution, strengthening our go-to-market and dramatically simplifying how we organize ourselves internally, as well as building a high-performance team culture,” Rose stated. “We will expand our addressable market by pushing harder into enterprise and technology solutions. And finally, we will take a disciplined approach to capital allocation with a focus on cost efficiency and maintaining a strong balance sheet while prioritizing the parts of our business where we can deliver the greatest shareholder value.” 

That’s a lot, she acknowledged, “and it will take time to see the impact, but in my first 60 days we are already moving at pace with some initiatives already announced [extended Google partnership; WPP Open Pro] and more to come... we are optimistic, energized and confident that we’re building the right plan and the right culture to secure a bright future for WPP, our people, our clients, and our shareholders.”  

WPP said a new strategic review was underway that is focused on: “(1) simplifying and integrating our client offer and harnessing our AI advantage to deliver growth and business outcomes for our clients; (2) significantly improving our execution and building a high-performance culture; (3) expanding our addressable market through enterprise and technology solutions; (4) strengthening our financial foundations and performance through operational efficiency and a disciplined approach to capital allocation.” 

Full details will be shared early in the new year, the company said.