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WPP Group Reports Organic Revenue Decline of 8.7%

WPP Group reported an 8.7% decline in organic revenue, to $3.319 billion, in the third quarter, compared to the same quarter a year ago.

The decline followed a 10.5% decline in the second quarter.

The company said the results were indicative of overall conditions being “less worse, reflecting no Armageddon” for the marketing communications industry, writes Adweek. Consumer and corporate confidence has recovered somewhat but remains fragile, WPP said.

The U.K. and Japan remain “very difficult” advertising markets, while the U.S., Asia and Latin America should be the regions to improve first, according to WPP (via the Wall Street Journal).

The Q3 results were better than analysts had predicted.

WPP’s headcount is in decline, now standing at about 101,300 or a 10% reduction from the end of last year.

Publicis organic revenue was also down, slipping 7.4% for Q3, with sales down 5.3%. Publicis expects a better fourth quarter - both for Publicis and for the ad market - and a return to growth in the second half of 2010.

Publicis CEO Maurice Levy said the market hit bottom in June, and that the improvement seen in the third quarter will continue throughout the rest of 2009 and 2010.