WPP Stock Recent News

British ad group WPP reported a 1.6% drop in organic growth in the first quarter, lagging its major rivals, after it was hit by loss of business from a healthcare client and reduced spending by technology companies.

WPP continues to reorganize its business with the launch of VML after merging VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson. The company aims to improve its business performance with targets for revenue growth, operating profit margin, and operating cash flow conversion. WPP's dividend remains below pre-pandemic levels, but the attractive yield and potential for dividend growth make the shares appealing.

WPP's full-year core profit slightly missed expectations and the advertising group guided for like-for-like revenue growth in 2024 of 0% to 1%, adding that it was confident of delivering accelerated and increasingly profitable growth over the medium term.

WPP PLC (LSE:WPP) will publish results for 2023 on Thursday 22 February with its shares mounting a gentle rally after sinking to almost a three-year low in the autumn.  Helping this, the company said last month that the outturn for last year would meet headline guidance, meaning investor attention at the results will be on recent trends, new business momentum and expectations on media spend in 2024.

WPP PLC (LSE:WPP) shares were up 5.4% in early trade after the advertising giant upgraded medium-term financial targets and announced a significant investment in artificial intelligence technology. WPP revealed plans to invest £250 million this year in AI, a strategic move expected to revolutionize the advertising sector.

British advertising group WPP said its revenue less pass-through costs grew 0.9% last year, and it expects at best a similar result in 2024, with a small increase in its operating profit margin of 20 to 40 basis points.

Ad agency WPP has a capital markets day on 30 January followed by full-year results on 22 February and broker UBS is not expecting good news at either event. Indeed the broker has slapped a double downgrade to sell on the ad agency and slashed its target price to 700p from 1,200p.

WPP "weighing options" for its 40% stake in Kantar should drive a reassessment of what this asset or parts of the group's portfolio could be worth, suggests US bank Citi. Reports last week suggested WPP was mulling a sale of its Kantar holding and Citi reckons that, plus all the other associate and investment holdings, might be worth as much as £2.5 billion.

Ad agency WPP got a double-downgrade, to sell from buy, at UBS, which argues organic sales growth will be below consensus and below the sector for both this year and the medium term, and that free cash flow will remain at depressed levels this year, limiting any share buyback. UBS noted that WPP has high exposure to TMT clients compared to rivals, and GroupM has been growing more slowly than some of its peers.

WPP PLC (LSE:WPP) climbed on Friday afternoon on reports the Kantar Media, of which it owns 40%, is set to be sold this year. Kantar Media, itself a division of the market research firm, is to be put up for sale by majority owner Bain Capital in the coming months, according to Sky News.