Ride a black swan? WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell adds Russian crisis to his list August 26, 2014 The Sochi Winter Olympics in February were a key turning point in the West’s deteriorating relationship with Russia, says WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell who now lists the Russian crisis as the most threatening of his unknown unknowns – or “black swans” – supplanting the Eurozone debt crisis. “I think we made a mistake [...]
Advertising giant WPP need not fret over black swans – Bottom Line August 26, 2014 The sun, I hope, has finally made an appearance this morning, to remind us that – despite this week’s cold and wind and rain – we are still, technically, in summertime. There have been several common themes to the summer months of 2014. A constant stream of miserable data about the Eurozone economy, is one. [...]
WPP share price rises as it reports profits ahead of forecast – but it’s been “ravaged” by strong pound August 26, 2014 WPP has reported a 1.5 per cent rise in headline pre-tax profits to £532m in the first half of the year, slightly ahead of forecasts. Taking into consideration currency differences, pre-tax profit grew 15 per cent as the world’s largest advertising group felt the effects of a strong pound. Reported revenue was up 2.7 per cent [...]
Martin Sorrell under fire as WPP clashes with investors June 25, 2014 Advertising titan WPP clashed with investors at its annual meeting yesterday after nearly 30 per cent of shareholders failed to support chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell’s £30m pay package. Sorrell’s total pay for 2013 shot up by 70 per cent, nearing to £29.8m, making him the highest paid executive in the FTSE 100. At the [...]
Just how big is the pay packet of WPP boss Martin Sorrell? June 25, 2014 WPP shareholders have once again aired unhappiness at the size of Sir Martin Sorrell's pay packet at the holding company's AGM today. Sorrell's total pay for 2013 has shot up by 70 per cent nearing the £30m mark making him the highest paid exec in the FTSE 100. At today's meeting which took place at [...]
Five things WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell said at Cannes June 17, 2014 WPP chief exec Sir Martin Sorrell made an appearance at the Cannes Lions ad industry festival today, talking "state of the industry" at an event hosted by Wunderman. Here are the highlights, as shared by the audience on Twitter. 1. There are no such things as mergers, there are only acquisitions. via @RandomlyRuna 2. No [...]
WPP swoops for South African digital agency The Hardy Boys June 11, 2014 ADVERTISING giant WPP yesterday announced it had taken a majority stake in South Africa-based creative ad and brand building agency The Hardy Boys for an undisclosed sum. The deal, made through WPP’s global marketing communications agency JWT, will see The Hardy Boys bring its client list, including Diageo and Unilever, over to JWT. “This investment [...]
WPP swoops for London-based Precise Media to boost Kantar June 10, 2014 MARTIN Sorrell’s WPP yesterday announced the takeover of London-based media monitoring firm Precise for an undisclosed sum. The deal, made through WPP’s data investment management arm Kantar Media, will see Phoenix Private Equity sell the firm it bought in 2006 from 3i for £42m. “This acquisition strengthens the global expertise of Kantar Media in delivering [...]
WPP snaps up leading digital tech consultancy March 24, 2014 British advertising giant WPP has agreed to acquire a majority stake in UK based digital technology consultancy Cognifide Limited. Cognifide founded in 2005, specialises in content management and digital asset management technology and employs over 200 people. The company boasts clients such as Allianz, Direct Line Group, Investec and Shell among many others. Cognifide will continue [...]
WPP falls short on margins but wins big clients February 27, 2014 NEW ADVERTISING clients have helped WPP deliver an industry-beating 18.7 per cent rise in profits for last year, though investors were disappointed yesterday by the FTSE 100 firm’s margin forecast. Sir Martin Sorrell’s media outfit said it expects margins to increase 0.3 percentage points this year, trimmed from an earlier prediction of 0.5 points. Operating [...]