Dentsu has revealed its Q3 results overnight with third quarter revenues declining six per cent which follows the trend of -4.7 per cent for Q2 and -1.6 per cent for Q1.
Like its competitor agencies, the Tokyo-based holding company blamed the numbers on a decline in spending in the tech and finance sectors.
The Group’s underlying operating profit declined 10.4 per cent year-on-year to JPY 37.5 billion, however, reported net revenue increased by 1.6 per cent in the third quarter.
With no change expected to client spending in the fourth quarter, Dentsu is now forecasting organic growth for 2023 to be down by five per cent.
It said it would implement a range of cost cutting measures such as employment freezes, decreased external spending, and fewer travel and entertainment expenses, while aiming for better utilisation rates.
Japan remained the holdco’s best performing region with three per cent growth.
APAC – which includes Australia – was down a solid 9.1 per cent. North Americas was down 6.6 per cent, while EMEA saw the biggest organic revenue decline of 17.2 per cent.
Commenting on the numbers, Hiroshi Igarashi, president and CEO Dentsu Group, said: “Our third quarter performance continued to show the impact of the reduced spend from clients in the technology and finance sectors, as well as project delays within Customer Transformation & Technology.
“We have seen progress in the US market with the accelerated roll-out of One dentsu. Revenues have stabilised and we have a number of account wins that demonstrates what we can achieve when we drive collaboration and empower our people to thrive,” Igarashi said.
