In sintesi:
- Q1 revenue -4.9%; LFL1 revenue -3.8%
- Q1 LFL revenue less pass-through costs -3.3%, with impact of COVID-19 felt more strongly in March, at -7.9%, as expected
- Top five markets Q1 LFL revenue less pass-through costs: US -1.9% (March -3.7%); UK -4.2% (March -9.8%); Germany -4.3% (March -14.9%); Greater China -21.3% (March -29.9%); India 6.1% (March -1.1%)
- China: offices back to around 90% occupancy, rapid recovery in economic activity
- Encouraging net new business performance: $1 billion won in first quarter
- Strong liquidity and balance sheet: average net debt £2.1 billion, down £2.1 billion year-on-year, with £4.4 billion of cash and undrawn facilities
Tra le misure di contenimento prese, come già pubblicato, sospensione dei dividendi 2019, riduzione dei salari volontaria tra gli oltre 3.000 dipendenti senior, incentivazione dei part time.
Così il Ceo Mark Read nella nota ufficiale:
“After a good start to the year, with growth outside of China in January and February, our business started to be materially impacted by COVID-19 in March. Our response has focused on four areas: the health of our people, serving our clients, helping to mitigate the impact of the virus on our communities and ensuring WPP is financially strong.
Close to 95% of our 107,000 people are working from home, providing uninterrupted service to clients, helping them to communicate their own actions, sustain their brands and develop new ways to market their products. We have also won $1 billion of new business in the first quarter, including the global integrated Intel account, creative duties for Discover and the media accounts for Hasbro and Novo Nordisk.
We have witnessed a decade’s innovation in a few short weeks, with the way people meet, shop, work and learn increasingly reliant on technology. We are seeing clients rapidly shift emphasis and budget into digital media and direct-to-consumer channels and continue marketing technology investments. And, while many clients are significantly impacted by a reduction in consumer demand, other sectors such as packaged goods, technology and food retail brands have been more resilient. As in previous downturns, those who are most prepared and most far-sighted will be at an advantage when we come through the current situation.
At a time of great uncertainty, I am very proud of how our people and clients have responded. Despite the economic challenges that will, no doubt, be with us for some time, the way we have come together gives us real confidence in our future.”
