WPP maintains annual guidance after third quarter in line with expectation

WPP PLC on Thursday reiterated its annual guidance following a third-quarter performance in line with expectations, as the company continued implementing its Elevate28 strategic turnaround plan.

The London-based advertising and marketing services group said revenue for the three months to September 30 rose 0.5% to £3.27 billion from £3.26 billion a year earlier.

Revenue less pass-through costs fell 2.0% on a reported basis to £2.41 billion from £2.46 billion.

For the nine months to September 30, revenue fell 2.8% to £9.65 billion from £9.92 billion, while revenue less pass-through costs declined 4.4% to £7.16 billion from £7.49 billion.

Broken down by region, third-quarter like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs fell 1.8% in North America, 1.7% in Europe, the Middle East & Africa, 4.3% in Asia Pacific and 1.2% in Latin America. The group's top 25 clients also recorded a 2.7% decline in like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs, narrowed from 3.2% quarter-on-quarter.

Looking ahead, WPP said it continued to expect like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs to decline by a low to mid-single-digit percentage in the second half of 2026, with fourth-quarter performance towards the better end of this range.

The group maintained its full-year headline operating profit margin guidance of 12% to 13%.

It expects adjusted operating cash flow before working capital of £800 million to £900 million, or £1.00 billion to £1.10 billion excluding anticipated restructuring costs associated with previous plans and Elevate28.

Elevtate28, announced in February, is WPP's multi-year strategic plan to simplify the company, seeing it transition from a holding company structure to a single company made up of four core operating units.

Chief Executive Officer Cindy Rose said: "We are on track to deliver phase one of 'Elevate28': stabilising our business performance and laying the foundations for a simpler, more unified WPP."

Rose said demand remained healthy for the group's artificial intelligence-enabled media, creative, production and enterprise solutions, powered by its WPP Open marketing platform. She added that third-quarter results showed further sequential improvement in like-for-like growth.

"We remain focused on disciplined execution as we prepare for the 'Build' phase of 'Elevate28' and position WPP for a return to growth during 2027," she added.

WPP shares rose 2.2% to 392.50 pence on Thursday morning in London.

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