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Publicis Shows 1H 08 Growth of 5.4%

Publicis Groupe’s first half organic growth was 5.4 percent, which chairman and CEO Maurice Levy characterizes as “very good,” though he acknowledges the company was adversely affected by the Healthcare sector.

Without healthcare, growth would have been 7.1 percent, he says (via MarketWatch).

Taking into account the impact of currency fluctuations and acquisitions, performance was basically flat compared to the first six months of the previous year; still, the company beat most analyst estimates.

“In a somewhat depressed world economy, and against a backdrop of financial unease, we have every reason to believe that we can better resist [a backslide] by virtue of our strong positions in high-growth markets and sectors,” Levy is quoted as saying in Adweek.

Digital businesses and emerging markets continue to drive growth.

Earlier this week, rival Omnicom posted a strong first half, with revenues up more than 11 percent.