(MENAFN- AFP) Global advertising giant WPP said on Friday that revenues rose almost six percent in the first quarter, helped by strong growth in Britain and emerging markets.Revenues gained 5.9 percent to £2.53 billion ($3.9 billion, 3.0 billion euros) in the three months to March, compared with the same part of 2012, the British group said in a trading update.Organic revenues -- stripping out the impact of exchange rate movements, acquisitions and disposals -- advanced 2.1 percent.WPP held its target for organic revenue growth of about 3.0 percent for 2013.The company, which owns the Grey Group, Young & Rubicam and Ogilvy & Mather advertising agencies, also indicated that the year may end better than expected."In the first quarter, profits and operating margins were ahead of budget and well ahead of last year," WPP said.It added: "Early indications are that full year like-for-like revenue growth will be above budget, with a stronger second half."WPP's share price dipped 1.40 percent to 1,060 pence in late afternoon deals on London's FTSE 100 index of top companies, which was 0.39 percent lower at 6,417.19 points."Investors in communications group WPP may feel a little hard done by ... after the firm announced earnings ahead of analyst expectations on strong revenues, and reiterated their outlook for 2013 - only for the stock to tick lower," noted CMC Markets analyst Matt Basi."A strong run in the share price ahead of the earnings suggest the market was pricing good news
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.