WPP posts 3.6% increase in data investment revenue

2013 revenue came in at £2.55bn, up 3% on a constant currency basis. Headline pre-tax profit was £264m, up 10.3%. Margin increased by 0.3 percentage points year-on-year to 14.3%.

In its review of the year, WPP said: “North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East performed well above the average in the fourth quarter, as they did for the year as a whole. The United Kingdom and Western Continental Europe were more difficult.

“Although there has been marked improvement during 2013, the weakest sub-sector continues to be like-for-like revenue growth in the custom businesses in mature markets, (with North America maybe now the exception), where discretionary spending remains under review by clients. Custom businesses in faster growth markets and syndicated and semi-syndicated businesses in all markets, remain robust, with strong like-for-like revenue and gross margin or net sales growth.”

For the group as a whole, including advertising and media investment management, public relations and brand work, WPP reported revenue up 6.2% to £11bn, with headline pre-tax profit up 8.5% to £1.66bn.

Pictured is WPP CEO Martin Sorrell.