WPP’s Australian revenue, on a like-for-like basis, dropped by 4.8 per cent in the third quarter as the holding company showed improved results globally.
The declined stipend from 1.8 per cent in Q2, and was one of the large drops that WPP reported globally (see chart below).
The drop in revenue in WPP’s Australian office may come as a surprise, but doesn’t paint the full picture.
In recent years, WPP Media agencies have won some of the largest accounts in the country, including Suncorp, Lion, Asahi, Michael Hill and BYD, which can take several months to a year for onboarding and substantial revenue contributions to trickle through.
Nonetheless, B&T understands that WPP Media has been growing in Q3, picked up Novo Nordisk, Insignia, the SATC and retained Coca-Cola.
Regionally, APAC was down 4.3 per cent with China providing the most drag, down 8.7 per cent—a remarkable turnaround from being 15.6 per cent up in Q2.
Globally, WPP has shown signs of improvement. Its two biggest regions North America revenue less pass through costs was down 1.8 per cent (Q2: -4.3 per cent) and EMEA was back 1.7 per cent (Q2: -3.0 per cent).
By business units, WPP Media was up 0.3 per cent, its first growth since 2024; in Q2 it declined 2.8 per cent.
WPP Creative was down 5.1 per cent (Q2: -3.5 per cent); and WPP Production grew 2.5 per cent (Q2: +1.3 per cent).
WPP’s outgoing chief financial officerJoanne Wilson said Creative’s decline was primarily driven by lower client spending.
WPP chief executive CIndy Rose said that WPP’s improved results are evidence that it is delivering on its Elevate28 plan.
“I spend time with clients every single day, and what I can tell you is that they’re responding very positively to the changes that we’re making. Why? Because we’re showing up as one unified company and we’re able to present the best of WPP, not hundreds of different agencies,” she said in an analysts call.
“The vast majority of our pitches are integrated, the old WPP just wasn’t set up to keep pace with the evolving needs of clients in that way, and now we are. I think our new business wins and client retentions continue to be an important lead indicator of the progress that we’re making.
“Our third quarter results show further sequential improvement in LFL growth, in line with our expectations. This reinforces my confidence in our strategy and our ability to deliver our plan. 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.”
