It also reported its international business, the Dentsu Aegis network which includes Carat and iProspect, delivered organic gross profit growth of 5.7% in the year, including 5.8% in Q4 FY2016 with digital overtaking traditional revenue for the first time.

It also acquired a majority stake in the data and performance marketing agency Merkle last year.

In terms of regions, EMEA’s gross profits increased 6.9% with Spain, Italy and Russia performing particularly well. In the Americas it recorded 3.1% organic gross profit growth and in APAC 7.9%.

Last year was a difficult year where Japan’s labour authorities reported the suicide of one of its workers was due to overwork and its CEO ultimately stepped down. But it also announced it was forming an independent advisory committee to implement and supervise a series of labour environment reform measures in Japan.

The company said in a statement: "We are closely monitoring the progress of the initiatives we have augmented, and will continue to explore measures to redefine our corporate culture."