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LONDON (Alliance News) - WPP PLC on Friday said its pretax profit rose in 2015 despite a currency drag on its revenue, but it said that while 2016 had started well, the general sense of optimism in the industry for the coming year looks misplaced.
The advertising and marketing giant said its pretax profit for the year to the end of December was GBP1.49 billion, up 2.8% year-on-year from GBP1.45 billion. Pretax profit would have increased 7.3% in constant currencies, WPP said.
Revenue rose to GBP12.24 billion from GBP11.53 billion, with billings rising to GBP47.63 billion from GBP46.19 billion. WPP said it saw like-for-like revenue growth in all regions, led by strong growth in its North American business.
WPP will pay a final dividend of 28.78 pence per share, up 8.3% year-on-year, meaning its total dividend will rise to 44.69p, a 17% increase. It noted that represents a payout ratio of 47.7%, up from 45.0%, progressing toward with a target payout ratio of 50% for 2017.
WPP said 2016 had started well, with like-for-like revenue growth of 4.2%, ahead of budget. Despite that, however, the group said the general optimism in the advertising industry for 2016 does appear misplaced, with general client behaviour not reflecting this amid "tepid" global GDP growth, weak inflation and a consequent lack of pricing power.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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