THE ADVERTISING and media giant WPP has reported above 2019 levels in all business lines, showing fierce pandemic recovery.

This caused its share price to rocket yesterday, with a 67.30p increase, making it the top riser on the FTSE100.

Results showed revenue jump to £3.2bn, which is a 14.7 per cent on like-for-like third quarter figures.

Mark Read, chief executive of WPP, said the performance "goes well beyond a cyclical recovery", making the company "even better positioned for growth."

He said the advertising powerhouse had made strategic progress through its merger of Finsbury Glover Hering and SVC, as well as its acquisition of Satalia, a specialist in artificial intelligence Crucially, WPP has retained and gained clients, including a longstanding partnership with Unilever, and new faces like Beiersdorf, L'Oreal and Sainsbury's. This all accounts to the $1.7bn (£1.4bn) won in the third quarter, and the impressive $4.6bn (£3.9bn) net year-to-date results.

Analysts at JP Morgan stated WPP's figures demonstrate how it is "well placed" to help guide global digital advertising spend and are confidence in its role in helping "agencies to move beyond traditional marketing."

Read told City A.M.: "Ours is a momentum business, and this momentum bodes well for next year."

He cited investment in people and data as the key drivers, with tech playing an essential role in shaping the future of marketing. He laughed, with reference to Facebook: "the metaverse and augmented reality (AR) has almost become more fashionable than reality!".

Chris Daly, chief executive at the Chartered Institute of Marketing, cited WPP's AR collaboration with social media giant Snap as a key signal of its innovation and continued relevancy. Daly said the positive results "provide gentle assurance" that despite supply chain problems across the globe, we can still have confidence in the world's largest communications group. The company has also retained clients, including their longstanding partnership with Unilever, and growing their relationship with Bayer.

(c) 2021 City A.M., source Newspaper