Havas reported net organic revenue growth of 2.4% in the third quarter. Reported net revenue was 703 million euro (about $784 million), up 7.2%, with M&A accounting for 3.2% of the total. Organic gains exclude M&A and currency impact.  

The company described the performance as “satisfactory” and attributed most of the gain to creative and media operations with Havas Health lagging due to clients in the US launching fewer drugs and other products. That’s a big change from a year ago when the health division was up double-digits in the US. 

It did not break out figures for the three divisions but did reiterate full-year organic growth guidance for the entire company of between 2% and 3%. It’s venture with Horizon was not mentioned in its press announcement or investor presentation leading advisory firm Madison And Wall to conclude that the partnership (launched a year ago) did not appear to “contribute meaningfully to the company’s growth.” 

By region, North America was the strongest performer with organic growth of 7.5% followed by Europe with a gain of 1.7%. The Asia Pacific and Africa regions combined were down 6.7% while Latin America was down 4.3%.  

The firm also reported that it purchased significant amounts of shares in both Louis Hachette Group and Canal+, two companies that, like Havas, were spun off from Vivendi in late 2024. And like Havas, Bollore Group has the largest single stake (over 30%) in each of the companies. 

Havas confirmed buying 12 million shares of Canal+ in October, for a 1.21% stake in the company. And from March through September, it acquired nearly 29 million shares in Hachette.  

The purchases were described as “opportunistic financial investments” with no impact on Havas’s strategy, M&A approach to building out its marketing assets or financial guidance.  

M&W’s take: “While it’s true that the company has pursued a significant M&A program relative to most of its peers, we also think that deploying capital into non-synergistic businesses where investors could choose to invest directly represents a significant loss of opportunity for the company. Although it’s plausible that the company is simply making these investments for the reasons cited, it’s difficult to interpret investments away from agency services through a lens that reflects a positive view on the industry by company management.” 

For the first nine months of the year the company’s net revenue totaled 2 billion euros ($2.23 billion) with organic growth of 2.8%. 

The company released its Q3 report after the close of markets. Shares traded slightly lower during the day to end down 1.92%.