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LONDON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Martin Sorrell's advertisinggroup WPP posted a lower than expected 3 percent rise inthird-quarter like-for-like net sales on Friday and said itexpected the fourth quarter to slow from the rate recorded inthe first nine months.
WPP, which has been growing steadily through the year due toits broad geographic reach and strong presence in digitaladvertising, said it had seen some slowdown in North America andBritain. It also cited tough comparatives and concerns over themacro economy for the weaker trading.
The 3 percent rise in like-for-like net sales compared witha consensus of 3.3 percent and a first half of 4.1 percent, butthe group said its full-year forecast remained for growth ofover 3 percent.
(Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Li-Mei Hoang)
