Resilient performance in 2023 with 0.9% like-for-like growth and improved headline margin up 0.2pt like-for-like. Investing in AI and innovation to deliver improved growth, margin and cash
Key figures
£m |
2023 |
+/(-) % reported1 |
+/(-) % LFL2 |
2022 |
||||
Revenue |
14,845 |
2.9 |
3.2 |
14,429 |
||||
Revenue less pass-through costs |
11,860 |
0.5 |
0.9 |
11,799 |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Reported: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Operating profit |
531 |
(60.9) |
|
1,358 |
||||
Profit before tax |
346 |
(70.1) |
|
1,160 |
||||
Diluted EPS (p) |
10.1* |
(83.5) |
|
61.2 |
||||
Dividends per share (p) |
39.4 |
– |
|
39.4 |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Headline3: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Operating profit |
1,750 |
0.5 |
|
1,742 |
||||
Operating profit margin |
14.8% |
0.0pt |
0.2pt |
14.8% |
||||
Profit before tax |
1,525 |
(4.8) |
|
1,602 |
||||
Diluted EPS |
93.8 |
(4.8) |
|
98.5 |
* includes the impact of accelerated amortisation of previously indefinite life brands and impairment of leases related to the 2023 property review
Full year and Q4 financial highlights
- FY reported revenue +2.9%, LFL revenue +3.2%
- FY revenue less pass-through costs +0.5%, LFL revenue less pass-through costs +0.9%
-
Q4 LFL revenue less pass-through costs +0.3% with ex-US4 +3.1% benefiting from strong growth in the
UK andIndia partially offset by declines inGermany andChina . US Q4 LFL decline of 4.5% primarily due to lower spend by technology, healthcare and retail clients, partially offset by growth in CPG, telecoms and automotive sectors - Global Integrated Agencies FY LFL revenue less pass-through costs +1.3% (Q4: +0.7%): within which GroupM, our media planning and buying business, grew +4.9% (Q4: +5.7%), partially offset by a 1.6% decline in other Global Integrated Agencies (Q4: -3.4%)
-
Solid new business performance:
$4.5bn net new billings5 (2022:$5.9bn ) with Q4 net new billings$1.1bn (Q4 2022:$0.8bn ). The current pipeline of potential new business remains higher year-on-year - FY headline operating profit margin in line with original guidance6 of 15.0% (excluding the impact of FX). Headline operating profit margin of 14.8% (2022: 14.8%) reflecting a 0.2pt drag from FX, disciplined cost control and continued investment in our technology, data and AI offer
- Reported EPS of 10.1p (2022: 61.2p) reflects the impact of accelerated amortisation of intangible assets as a result of the creation of VML, and property impairments announced earlier in the year
-
Headline EPS of 93.8p (2022: 98.5p) reflects a zero contribution from
Kantar in income from associates in 2023, which in 2022 represented 3.3p in headline EPS7 - Adjusted operating cash flow of £1,280m (2022: £669m) reflecting an improved working capital performance
-
Adjusted net debt at
31 December 2023 of £2.5bn, flat year-on-year - Final dividend of 24.4p proposed (2022: 24.4p) resulting in a proposed total dividend of 39.4p (2022: 39.4p) in line with our payout policy of approximately 40% of headline diluted EPS
Strategic progress and 2024 guidance
- VML launched in January following the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson with senior leadership appointed. GroupM simplification plan on track. Burson, created from the merger of Hill & Knowlton and BCW, scheduled to launch in July
- Acquisitions in the year included influencer marketing agencies Goat and Obviously and are contributing well to growth
-
2020 transformation programme gross annual savings of £475m in 2023 against a 2019 base, ahead of planned £450m, with savings from our campus programme, procurement initiatives, simpler
WPP and lower travel costs - 2024 guidance: LFL revenue less pass-through costs growth of 0-1%, with improvement in headline operating profit margin of 20-40bps (excluding the impact of FX)
Innovating to Lead
At our Capital Markets Day in
-
Lead through AI, data and technology, by building on our leadership position in the application of artificial intelligence through the acquisition of the AI research firm Satalia in 2021; organic investment in WPP Open, our AI-driven platform, client technology and data; and deep partnerships with strategic technology partners such as Adobe,
Google , IBM, Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI. Our plans include annual cash investment of around £250m in proprietary technology to support our AI and data strategy - Unlock the full potential of creative transformation to drive growth, expanding our client relationships by further leveraging WPP’s global scale, integrated offer in creative, media, production and PR, and capabilities in growth areas such as commerce, influencer marketing and retail media to capture share in a growing market
- Build world-class, market-leading brands through our six powerful agency networks – VML, Ogilvy, AKQA, Hogarth, GroupM and Burson – which now represent close to 90% of WPP’s revenue less pass-through costs, and in particular reap the benefits of unrivalled scale from VML as the world’s largest integrated creative agency, leverage GroupM’s simplified operating model and scale as the world’s largest media agency and establish Burson as a leading global strategic communications agency by bringing together BCW and Hill & Knowlton
- Execute efficiently to drive strong financial returns, by delivering growth and structural cost savings from the creation of VML and Burson, and simplification of GroupM, unlocking scale advantages and further efficiency savings
Our strategy will continue to be underpinned by a disciplined approach to capital allocation with ongoing organic investment, a progressive dividend policy and a disciplined approach to M&A, supported by a strong balance sheet and an investment grade credit rating.
“At our recent Capital Markets Day we detailed our strategy to capture the opportunities of AI, data and technology, while harnessing the full power of our offer to clients, building world-class agency brands, and driving strong financial returns through efficient execution.
“AI will be fundamental for our business and we are embracing the opportunities that it presents, putting it at the heart of our operations and our work for clients. Our AI-powered platform, WPP Open, is now being used by more than 30,000 people across
“While 2023 was more challenging than we expected due to cuts in spending by technology clients, we delivered a resilient performance for the year with 0.9% like-for-like growth and a 0.2 point improvement in our headline operating margin at constant currency. This was driven by disciplined cost control, while continuing to invest in AI, data and technology.
“Our net new business of
“We are optimistic about the strategic opportunities ahead of us and are confident that we can deliver accelerated and increasingly profitable growth over the medium term.”
To access
Full year overview
Revenue was £14.8bn, up 2.9% from £14.4bn in 2022, and up 3.2% like-for-like. Revenue less pass-through costs was £11.9bn, up 0.5% from £11.8bn in 2022, and up 0.9% like-for-like.
|
Q4 2023 £ m |
% r eported |
% M &A |
% F X |
% L FL |
|||||
Revenue |
4,116 |
0.4 |
1.3 |
(4.2) |
3.3 |
|||||
Revenue less pass-through costs |
3,211 |
(2.8) |
0.9 |
(4.0) |
0.3 |
|||||
|
2023 £ m |
% r eported |
% M &A |
% F X |
% L FL |
|||||
Revenue |
14,845 |
2.9 |
1.2 |
(1.5) |
3.2 |
|||||
Revenue less pass-through costs |
11,860 |
0.5 |
0.9 |
(1.3) |
0.9 |
Business segment review
Business segments - revenue less pass-through costs
% LFL +/(-) |
Global I ntegrated Agencies |
Public Relations |
Specialist Agencies |
|||
Q4 2023 |
0.7 |
2.4 |
(6.8) |
|||
2023 |
1.3 |
1.4 |
(3.4) |
Global Integrated Agencies : GroupM, our media planning and buying business, grew well in 2023, benefiting from continued client investment in media, with like-for-like growth in revenue less pass-through costs of 4.9% (Q4 +5.7%), partially offset by a 1.6% LFL decline at other Global Integrated Agencies (Q4 -3.4%).
GroupM grew in all major regions with mid-single digit growth in ex-US markets and low-single digit growth in the US. The digital billings mix within GroupM increased to 51% (2022: 48%).
Ogilvy’s performance benefited from recent new business wins including SC Johnson and Verizon, which contributed to mid-single digit growth.
Hogarth grew well benefiting from increased spend by CPG clients and growing demand for its technology and AI-driven capabilities as clients seek to produce more personalised and addressable content.
Other Global Integrated Agencies: Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R (which were merged in
Public Relations : FGS Global continued to grow strongly in 2023, while Hill & Knowlton delivered modest growth lapping strong performance in 2022; partially offset by a weaker year for BCW.
Specialist Agencies
:
Regional review
Regional segments - revenue less pass-through costs
% LFL +/(-) |
|
|
Western Continental
|
Rest of World |
||||
Q4 2023 |
(4.1) |
5.1 |
(0.8) |
5.3 |
||||
2023 |
(2.7) |
5.6 |
1.8 |
3.7 |
The
In Western Continental Europe,
The Rest of World saw good growth in 2023 driven by
Top five markets - revenue less pass-through costs
% LFL +/(-) |
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
Q4 2023 |
(4.5) |
5.1 |
(5.3) |
(1.2) |
22.0 |
|||||
2023 |
(2.8) |
5.6 |
0.1 |
(3.3) |
7.7 |
Client sector review
Client sector - revenue less pass-through costs8
2023 |
% share, revenue less pass- through costs 8 |
% LFL +/(-) |
||
CPG |
27.0 |
14.2 |
||
Tech & Digital Services |
17.5 |
(6.9) |
||
Healthcare & Pharma |
12.0 |
0.6 |
||
Automotive |
10.3 |
1.3 |
||
Retail |
9.2 |
(11.3) |
||
Telecom, |
6.4 |
2.9 |
||
Financial Services |
6.2 |
4.3 |
||
Other |
5.4 |
(3.4) |
||
Travel & Leisure |
3.5 |
7.1 |
||
Government, Public Sector & Non-profit |
2.5 |
0.2 |
Strategic progress
Clients:
We won
Creativity and awards
: Creativity is applied to everything that we do at
At the Effies,
Investment for growth: We have invested significantly in client-facing technology over the last five years and this continued in 2023, with priorities including WPP Open, our AI-driven platform; Choreograph, our data products and technology unit; and other AI tools and services delivered through WPP Open.
WPP Open brings together all of WPP’s proprietary tools, technologies, data and services into one operating system, and is already being deployed across some of our largest global clients, with broad adoption by over 30,000 of WPP’s people.
We have bolstered our capabilities through acquisitions during the year, including: influencer marketing agencies Goat, based in
In July, KKR completed their minority investment to become a 29% shareholder in FGS Global, after acquiring all of Golden Gate Capital’s equity and a proportion of the interests of
Transformation:
At our Capital Markets Day in
Savings have come from our operating model, including a simpler
Our ERP consolidation has taken longer than we originally expected, but we are realising benefits from the deployment of Workday at VML (formerly Wunderman Thompson) in
At our Capital Markets Day in
This plan builds on the 2020 programme and the structural changes announced in the last six months with the creation of VML and Burson and the simplification of GroupM.
Structural cost savings from the creation of VML and Burson and simplification of GroupM are expected to deliver annualised net cost savings of c.£125m in 2025, with 40-50% of those savings expected to be realised in 2024. Restructuring costs associated with the completion of these programmes in 2024 are expected to be around £125m.
Targeted efficiency savings across both back office and commercial delivery represent a further opportunity for annualised gross savings of around £175m over the next three to five years which will support delivery of our medium-term margin target and investment for growth.
Purpose and ESG
WPP’s purpose is to use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities.
People
: We are committed to building a strong, purpose-driven culture at
Planet: In 2021, we set near-term science-based targets to reduce our absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by at least 84% by 2025 and reduce Scope 3 emissions (including emissions from media buying - an industry first) by at least 50% by 2030, both from a 2019 base year.
In April, our 2022 Sustainability Report stated that we have delivered a reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions of 71% in absolute terms since our 2019 baseline. Our 2023 Sustainability Report will be issued in
Clients:
Sustainability is a priority for all stakeholders including our clients. We aim to use our creativity for good, delivering client work which is inclusive and accessible and supporting clients on their own sustainability journeys. At the Ad Net Zero Awards, which recognise the companies and organisations that are leading the way on sustainability and the move to a net zero carbon economy, we were proud to win six awards including both International and
Scrutiny over brands’ environmental claims continues to grow. To support clients in making effective claims, in 2023 we launched a client version of our Green Claims Guide and ran targeted training for employees and clients in high emissions sectors.
Communities:
We aim to use the power of our creativity and voice to support the communities in which we live and work. For example, during the year we launched the
Further detail on how
Outlook
Our guidance for 2024 is as follows:
Like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs growth of 0-1%. Headline operating margin improvement of 20-40bps (excluding the impact of FX) |
Other 2024 financial indications:
- Mergers and acquisitions will add 0.5-1.0% to revenue less pass-through costs growth
-
FX impact: current rates (at
15 February 2024 ) imply a c.2% drag on FY 2024 revenues less pass-through costs, with no meaningful impact expected on FY 2024 headline operating margin - Headline income from associates and non-controlling interests at similar levels to 2023
- Net finance costs of around £295m
- Effective tax rate (measured as headline tax as a % of headline profit before tax) of around 28%
- Capex of around £260m
- Cash restructuring costs of around £285m
- Working capital expected to be broadly flat year-on-year
Medium-term targets
In
- 3%+ LFL growth in revenue less pass-through costs
- 16-17% headline operating profit margin
- Adjusted operating cash flow conversion of 85%+9
Financial results
Unaudited headline income statement10:
£ million |
2023 |
2022 |
+/(-) % reported |
+/(-) % LFL |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Revenue |
14,845 |
14,429 |
2.9 |
3.2 |
||||
Revenue less pass-through costs |
11,860 |
11,799 |
0.5 |
0.9 |
||||
Operating profit |
1,750 |
1,742 |
0.5 |
|
||||
Operating profit margin % |
14.8% |
14.8% |
– |
0.2pt* |
||||
Income from associates |
36 |
74 |
(51.0) |
|
||||
PBIT |
1,786 |
1,816 |
(1.6) |
|
||||
Net finance costs |
(261) |
(214) |
(21.8) |
|
||||
Profit before taxation |
1,525 |
1,602 |
(4.8) |
|
||||
Tax |
(412) |
(409) |
(0.8) |
|
||||
Profit after taxation |
1,113 |
1,193 |
(6.7) |
|
||||
Non-controlling interests |
(87) |
(93) |
6.4 |
|
||||
Profit attributable to shareholders |
1,026 |
1,100 |
(6.8) |
|
||||
Diluted EPS |
93.8p |
98.5p |
(4.8) |
|
||||
*margin points |
Reconciliation of profit before taxation to headline operating profit:
£ million |
2023 |
2022 |
||
|
|
|
||
Profit before taxation |
346 |
1,160 |
||
Finance and investment income |
(127) |
(145) |
||
Finance costs |
389 |
359 |
||
Revaluation and retranslation of financial instruments |
(7) |
(76) |
||
Profit before interest and taxation |
601 |
1,298 |
||
(Earnings)/loss from associates - after interest and tax |
(70) |
60 |
||
Operating profit |
531 |
1,358 |
||
|
63 |
38 |
||
Amortisation and impairment of acquired intangible assets |
728 |
62 |
||
Investment and other impairment charges |
18 |
77 |
||
(Gains)/losses on disposal of investments and subsidiaries |
(7) |
36 |
||
Gains on remeasurement of equity interests arising from a change in scope of ownership |
– |
(66) |
||
Litigation settlement |
(11) |
– |
||
Restructuring and transformation costs |
196 |
219 |
||
Property related costs |
232 |
18 |
||
Headline operating profit |
1,750 |
1,742 |
Business sector11
Revenue analysis
£ million |
2023 |
2022 |
+/(-) % reported |
+/(-) % LFL |
||||
Global Int. Agencies |
12,595 |
12,192 |
3.3 |
3.7 |
||||
Public Relations |
1,262 |
1,232 |
2.4 |
2.0 |
||||
Specialist Agencies |
988 |
1,005 |
(1.8) |
(2.5) |
||||
|
14,845 |
14,429 |
2.9 |
3.2 |
Revenue less pass-through costs analysis
£ million |
2023 |
2022 |
+/(-) % reported |
+/(-) % LFL |
||||
Global Int. Agencies |
9,808 |
9,743 |
0.7 |
1.3 |
||||
Public Relations |
1,180 |
1,161 |
1.6 |
1.4 |
||||
Specialist Agencies |
872 |
895 |
(2.6) |
(3.4) |
||||
|
11,860 |
11,799 |
0.5 |
0.9 |
Headline operating profit analysis
£ million |
2023 |
% margin* |
2022 |
% margin* |
||||
Global Int. Agencies |
1,474 |
15.0 |
1,433 |
14.7 |
||||
Public Relations |
191 |
16.2 |
192 |
16.5 |
||||
Specialist Agencies |
85 |
9.7 |
117 |
13.0 |
||||
|
1,750 |
14.8 |
1,742 |
14.8 |
* Headline operating profit as a percentage of revenue less pass-through costs
Regional
Revenue analysis
£ million |
2023 |
2022 |
+/(-) % reported |
+/(-) % LFL |
||||
|
5,528 |
5,550 |
(0.4) |
(0.4) |
||||
|
2,155 |
2,004 |
7.6 |
6.5 |
||||
W Cont. |
3,037 |
2,876 |
5.6 |
3.8 |
||||
AP, LA, AME, CEE12 |
4,125 |
3,999 |
3.1 |
6.3 |
||||
|
14,845 |
14,429 |
2.9 |
3.2 |
Revenue less pass-through costs analysis
£ million |
2023 |
2022 |
+/(-) % reported |
+/(-) % LFL |
||||
|
4,556 |
4,688 |
(2.8) |
(2.7) |
||||
|
1,626 |
1,537 |
5.8 |
5.6 |
||||
W Cont. |
2,411 |
2,319 |
4.0 |
1.8 |
||||
AP, LA, AME, CEE |
3,267 |
3,255 |
0.3 |
3.7 |
||||
|
11,860 |
11,799 |
0.5 |
0.9 |
Headline operating profit analysis
£ million |
2023 |
% margin* |
2022 |
% margin* |
||||
|
834 |
18.3 |
771 |
16.4 |
||||
|
215 |
13.2 |
187 |
12.2 |
||||
W Cont. |
258 |
10.7 |
301 |
13.0 |
||||
AP, LA, AME, CEE |
443 |
13.6 |
483 |
14.8 |
||||
|
1,750 |
14.8 |
1,742 |
14.8 |
* Headline operating profit as a percentage of revenue less pass-through costs
Operating profitability
Reported profit before tax was £346m, compared to £1,160m in the prior period, principally reflecting the accelerated amortisation of previously indefinite life brands related to the creation of VML and the impairment taken as a result of the 2023 property review.
Reported profit after tax was £197m compared to £775m in the prior period.
Headline EBITDA (including IFRS 16 depreciation) for the year was down 1.4% to £1,976m. Headline operating profit was up 0.5% to £1,750m.
Headline operating profit margin was flat year on year at 14.8% and up 0.2 points year on year on a constant currency basis. Total operating costs were up 0.5% to £10.1bn. Staff costs, excluding incentives, were up 0.1% year-on-year at £7.8bn, reflecting wage inflation offset by lower use of freelancers. Staff costs include severance costs of £78m (2022: £44m). Incentive costs were down 8.5% year-on-year to £387m, compared to £423m in 2022.
Establishment costs were down 3.8% at £516m reflecting the progress in our campus programme. IT costs were up 12.6% at £698m, reflecting investment in enterprise technology and our IT infrastructure, as well as our global client-facing technology capabilities including WPP Open, Choreograph and AI capabilities.
Personal costs rose 9.3% to £223m, reflecting greater client-related business travel and inflationary pressures. Other operating expenses were down 0.8% at £535m.
The average number of people in the Group in the year was 114,732 compared to 114,129 in 2022. The total number of people as at
Adjusting items
The Group incurred £1,219m of adjusting items in 2023, mainly relating to the amortisation of acquired intangible assets, restructuring and transformation costs, and property and goodwill impairments. This compares with net adjusting items in 2022 of £384m.
Restructuring costs of £196m in 2023 (2022: £219m) mainly relate to: the Group’s IT transformation; property costs associated with impairments prior to 2023; and costs related to the continuing restructuring plan, including the creation of VML and simplification of GroupM.
Charges associated with property, including the property review conducted in 2023, were £232m and primarily relate to non-cash lease impairments in the US.
Interest and taxes
Net finance costs (excluding the revaluation of financial instruments) were £261m, an increase of £47m year-on-year, due to higher levels of debt through the year, higher interest rates and lower investment income partially offset by higher interest earned on cash.
The headline tax rate (based on headline profit before tax) was 27.0% (2022: 25.5%) and on reported profit before tax was 43.1% (2022: 33.1%). The increase in the headline tax rate is driven by lower income from associates and changes in tax rates or tax bases in the markets in which we operate. Given the Group’s geographic mix of profits and the changing international tax environment, the tax rate is expected to increase over the next few years.
Earnings and dividend
Profits attributable to shareholders were £110m, compared to a profit of £683m in the prior period, principally reflecting the accelerated amortisation of indefinite life brands and the impairment taken as a result of the 2023 property review.
Reported diluted earnings per share was 10.1p, compared to 61.2p in the prior period. Headline diluted earnings per share from continuing operations decreased by 4.8% to 93.8p.
The Board is proposing a final dividend for 2023 of
Further details of WPP’s financial performance are provided in Appendix 1.
Cash flow highlights
Twelve months ended (£ million) |
|
|
||
Headline operating profit |
1,750 |
1,742 |
||
Income from associates |
36 |
74 |
||
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment |
165 |
167 |
||
Amortisation of other intangibles |
25 |
22 |
||
Depreciation of right-of-use assets |
257 |
262 |
||
Headline EBITDA |
2,233 |
2,267 |
||
Less: income from associates |
(36) |
(74) |
||
Repayment of lease liabilities and related interest |
(362) |
(402) |
||
Non-cash compensation |
140 |
122 |
||
Non headline cash costs (including restructuring cost) |
(218) |
(174) |
||
Capex |
(217) |
(223) |
||
Working capital |
(260) |
(847) |
||
Adjusted operating cash flow |
1,280 |
669 |
||
% conversion of Headline operating profit |
73% |
38% |
||
Dividends (to minorities)/ from associates |
(58) |
(32) |
||
Earnout payments |
(31) |
(71) |
||
Net interest |
(159) |
(121) |
||
Cash tax |
(395) |
(391) |
||
Adjusted free cash flow13 |
637 |
53 |
||
Disposal proceeds |
122 |
51 |
||
Net initial acquisition payments |
(280) |
(274) |
||
Dividends |
(423) |
(365) |
||
Share purchases |
(54) |
(863) |
||
Net cash flow |
2 |
(1,398) |
In 2023, net cash inflow was broadly neutral, compared to a £1.4bn outflow in 2022. The main drivers of the improved cash flow performance year-on-year were a smaller outflow from investment in net working capital and lower share purchases.
A working capital outflow of £260m (2022: £847m) includes an adverse impact of £89m from less favourable FX rates at the end of the year compared to the prior year. The movement in total working capital of £260m reflects a favourable movement of £113m in trade working capital and an outflow of £373m from non-trade working capital, primarily reflecting year on year movements in bonus, landlord incentives relating to our campus programme and prepayments.
A summary of the Group’s unaudited cash flow statement and notes for the twelve months to
Balance sheet highlights
As at
We spent £54 million on share purchases during the year to offset dilution from share-based payments.
Our bond portfolio at
In
The average adjusted net debt to Headline EBITDA ratio in the 12 months to
A summary of the Group’s unaudited balance sheet and notes as at
Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements
This document contains statements that are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements”. Forward- looking statements give the Company’s current expectations or forecasts of future events. An investor can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts.
These forward-looking statements may include, among other things, plans, objectives, beliefs, intentions, strategies, projections and anticipated future economic performance based on assumptions and the like that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They use words such as ‘aim’, ‘anticipate’, ‘believe’, ‘estimate’, ‘expect’, ‘forecast’, ‘guidance’, ‘intend’, ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘should’, ‘potential’, ‘possible’, ‘predict’, ‘project’, ‘plan’, ‘target’, and other words and similar references to future periods but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. As such, all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances that are beyond the control of the Company. Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made, as a prediction of actual results or otherwise. Important factors which may cause actual results to differ include but are not limited to: the impact of epidemics or pandemics including restrictions on businesses, social activities and travel; the unanticipated loss of a material client or key personnel; delays or reductions in client advertising budgets; shifts in industry rates of compensation; regulatory compliance costs or litigation; changes in competitive factors in the industries in which we operate and demand for our products and services; changes in client advertising, marketing and corporate communications requirements; our inability to realise the future anticipated benefits of acquisitions; failure to realise our assumptions regarding goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets; natural disasters or acts of terrorism; the Company’s ability to attract new clients; the economic and geopolitical impact of the conflicts in
Other than in accordance with its legal or regulatory obligations (including under the Market Abuse Regulation, the
Any forward looking statements made by or on behalf of the Group speak only as of the date they are made and are based upon the knowledge and information available to the Directors at the time.
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1 |
Percentage change in reported sterling. |
2 |
Like-for-like. LFL comparisons are calculated as follows: current year, constant currency actual results (which include acquisitions from the relevant date of completion) are compared with prior year, constant currency actual results from continuing operations, adjusted to include the results of acquisitions and disposals for the commensurate period in the prior year. |
3 |
In this press release not all of the figures and ratios used are readily available from the unaudited interim results included in Appendix 1. Management believes these non-GAAP measures, including constant currency and like-for-like growth, revenue less pass-through costs and headline profit measures, are both useful and necessary to better understand the Group’s results. Details of how these have been arrived at are shown in Appendix 2. |
4 |
The aggregate of markets outside the US. |
5 |
As defined in the glossary on page 46. |
6 |
Original FY23 guidance given on |
7 |
In accordance with IAS 28: Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures once an investment in an associate reaches zero carrying value, the Group does not recognise any further losses, nor income, until the cumulative share of income returns the carrying value to above zero. At the end of 2022 WPP’s cumulative reported share of losses in |
8 |
Proportion of |
9 |
Adjusted operating cash flow divided by headline operating profit. |
10 |
Non-GAAP measures in this table are reconciled in Appendix 2. |
11 |
Prior year figures have been re-presented to reflect the reallocation of a number of businesses. |
12 |
|
13 |
Adjusted free cash flow is reconciled to cash generated by operations in Appendix 2. |
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