French advertising
firm PublicisGroupe SA announced Thursday that it was progressing to confirm
its 2011 full-year targets, the
Wall Street Journal reported.
Strong demand in
Europe and Latin America boosted its second-quarter earnings by 2.7%, while the
company's organic revenue growth increased 7.6% on revenue of €1.41
billion ($2 billion).
Publicis saw its
net income rise 8.5% to €231 million as revenue increased 6.3% to €2.70
billion. Its operating margins, however, fell 1.4% to
€364 million in the
beginning of the year as the company increased hiring and investment in new
technologies after a two-year pay freeze.
"Boosting our margin remains a priority, and in the
second half we'll be harvesting the results of that goal," said Maurice
Levy, CEO, Publicis said in a statement.
The group spent about
€500
million on acquisitions in the interest of boosting its digital business and
expanding geographically into emerging markets. Levy said they would look to increase
its presence in the Asian market by searching for acquisitions in China.
Publicis also saw 9.1% organic
growth in Europe n the first half of the year, alongside the company's
increased ad spending in the cosmetic and automobile industries, but North
American organic growth was slower, at 6.7%.
