WPP reported net revenue of 4.7 billion GBP (approximately $6.4 billion), down 3.2% on an organic basis which excludes M&A and currency impact. Net revenue in Q2 was 2.5 billion GBP ($3.3 billion) with an organic decline of 2.8%. 

WPP Media posted a 5.4% decline for the first half and 2.8% for the second quarter.  WPP Creative was down 4.9% in the first half and 3.5% in Q2. WPP Production was up in both periods with a 1.6% gain for the half and a 1.3% gain in Q2. 

The firm noted improvement sequentially during the first two quarters and that it expects continued organic improvement during the second half.  

Investors appeared to be impressed with the progress, sending WPP shares on the London Exchange up 26% during Tuesday afternoon trading.  

The company did not provide specific organic growth guidance for the full year but stated, "We continue to expect an improving trajectory in the second half" and expect net organic growth to decline to low- to mid-single digits during that period.  It reiterated that full-year pre-tax profit margin is expected to be in the 12% to 13% range. 

CEO Cindy Rose said results were in line with expectations and that the sequential improvement shows that the company's turnaround plan (known internally as "Elevate 28) is beginning to deliver.  

“Our objective for the first half was to put in place the building blocks of the new organizational structure and this is now complete,” said Rose. “We are successfully transitioning from a complex holding company to a single, integrated company – with four operating units across four regions, all underpinned by WPP Open, our agentic marketing platform, which enables and connects everything we do.” 

In addition to Media, Creative and Production, the fourth unit is the technology and business transformation division, WPP Enterprise Solutions. The four global regions are North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East & Africa and Asia Pacific.  

By region NA declined 6.0% (Q2: -4.3%), EMEA -4.3% (Q2: -3.0%), APAC -3.8% (Q2: +0.3%) and LATAM -1.2% (Q2: +0.9%). 

“Organic growth remains our North Star,” said Rose. “While the turnaround of our financial performance will take time to fully flow through, our strong new business wins and improved client retention, as well as progress on cost savings and portfolio actions, demonstrate that we are building a simpler, more competitive and higher-performing WPP.” 

Major account wins this year include, The Estée Lauder Companies, Jaguar Land Rover, Wendy's, Henkel among others.