WPP 2019 AGM Statement
12 June 2019 - 9:00PM
Business Wire
Continued progress on strategy; full-year guidance
unchanged
WPP (NYSE: WPP) held its Annual General Meeting at noon on 12
June 2019 at the Purcell Room in London’s Southbank Centre.
Roberto Quarta, Chairman of WPP, said:
“It has been a year of significant change for WPP. Throughout,
the Board and the executive team have worked together closely to
position the company for future success.
“Under Mark’s leadership, the team has moved rapidly and
decisively to implement the new strategy. We have been pleased by
how well the plan has been received among investors, clients and
partners. Critically, there is also strong backing for the
company’s direction and leadership among our own people.
“The team has listened carefully to all groups with a stake in
WPP’s future. The company has established its first employee forum
in the UK, and similar forums will be established in other markets.
We are fortunate to have so many talented people around the world
and we are committed to ensuring their voice is heard as we take
WPP forward.”
Mark Read, Chief Executive Officer of WPP, said:
“In December we set out our vision for the future of WPP, and we
continue to make progress in delivering our plan to return the
company to sustainable growth over the next three years. Our
financial guidance for the full year is unchanged.
“We continue our programme of new investment in creativity,
technology and our people, and remain absolutely focused on the
needs of our clients and the interests of all our shareholders.
“Our new business performance this year has been solid, with
GroupM in particular maintaining its successful record in pitches.
Notable wins for WPP and our agencies include adidas, Distell,
Duracell, GSK, KangShiFu Drinks, L’Oréal, Signet and
VodafoneZiggo.
“We believe in providing our people with outstanding, creative
environments that enable them to do their best work, and we have
accelerated the roll-out of WPP campuses around the world, with
Amsterdam, Bucharest, Helsinki, Johannesburg, Madrid, Milan and
Mumbai opening this year.
“The transformation of our culture is just as important as the
transformation of our business, and to help drive that change we
have moved WPP’s own headquarters to campus locations in both
London and New York – bringing us closer to our agencies and
reflecting the collaborative spirit we want to foster throughout
the company.”
Kantar update
The previously announced process for the sale of a majority
stake in Kantar is progressing in line with our expectations.
Outlook
Financial guidance
Our 2019 targets remain as:
- Like-for-like revenue less pass-through
costs down 1.5% to 2.0%, with stronger headwinds in the first half,
due to client assignment losses in the latter part of 2018
- Headline operating margin to revenue
less pass-through costs down around 1.0 margin point on a constant
currency basis (excluding the impact of IFRS 16: Leases)
Medium-term financial targets
As outlined at the Investor Day in December 2018, our
medium-term financial targets, to be achieved by the end of 2021,
are:
- Organic growth (defined as
like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs growth) in line with
peers
- Headline operating margin (excluding
the impact of IFRS 16: Leases) of at least 15%
- Free cash flow conversion of
80%-90%
This announcement has been filed at the Company Announcements
Office of the London Stock Exchange and is being distributed to all
owners of Ordinary shares and American Depository Receipts. Copies
are available to the public at the Company’s registered office.
The following cautionary statement is included for safe harbour
purposes in connection with the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 introduced in the United States of America. This
announcement may contain forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the US federal securities laws. These statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results
to differ materially including adjustments arising from the annual
audit by management and the Company’s independent auditors. For
further information on factors which could impact the Company and
the statements contained herein, please refer to public filings by
the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The
statements in this announcement should be considered in light of
these risks and uncertainties.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190612005345/en/
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Richard OldworthBuchanan Communications+44 20 7466 5000+44 7710
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