Resilient performance in 2023 with 0.9% like-for-like growth and improved headline margin up 0.2pt like-for-like. Investing in AI and innovation to deliver improved growth, margin and cash

WPP (NYSE: WPP) today reported its 2023 Preliminary Results.

Key figures

* includes the impact of accelerated amortisation of previously indefinite life brands and impairment of leases related to the 2023 property review

Full year and Q4 financial highlights

• FY reported revenue +2.9%, LFL revenue +3.2%
• FY revenue less pass-through costs +0.5%, LFL revenue less pass-through costs +0.9%
• Q4 LFL revenue less pass-through costs +0.3% with ex-US⁴ +3.1% benefiting from strong growth in the UK and India partially offset by declines in Germany and China. US Q4 LFL decline of 4.5% primarily due to lower spend by technology, healthcare and retail clients, partially offset by growth in CPG, telecoms and automotive sectors
• Global Integrated Agencies FY LFL revenue less pass-through costs +1.3% (Q4: +0.7%): within which GroupM, our media planning and buying business, grew +4.9% (Q4: +5.7%), partially offset by a 1.6% decline in other Global Integrated Agencies (Q4: -3.4%)
• Solid new business performance: $4.5bn net new billings⁵ (2022: $5.9bn) with Q4 net new billings $1.1bn (Q4 2022: $0.8bn). The current pipeline of potential new business remains higher year-on-year
• FY headline operating profit margin in line with original guidance⁶ of 15.0% (excluding the impact of FX). Headline operating profit margin of 14.8% (2022: 14.8%) reflecting a 0.2pt drag from FX, disciplined cost control and continued investment in our technology, data and AI offer
• Reported EPS of 10.1p (2022: 61.2p) reflects the impact of accelerated amortisation of intangible assets as a result of the creation of VML, and property impairments announced earlier in the year
• Headline EPS of 93.8p (2022: 98.5p) reflects a zero contribution from Kantar in income from associates in 2023, which in 2022 represented 3.3p in headline EPS⁷
• Adjusted operating cash flow of £1,280m (2022: £669m) reflecting an improved working capital performance
• Adjusted net debt at 31 December 2023 of £2.5bn, flat year-on-year
• Final dividend of 24.4p proposed (2022: 24.4p) resulting in a proposed total dividend of 39.4p (2022: 39.4p) in line with our payout policy of approximately 40% of headline diluted EPS

Strategic progress and 2024 guidance

• VML launched in January following the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson with senior leadership appointed. GroupM simplification plan on track. Burson, created from the merger of Hill & Knowlton and BCW, scheduled to launch in July
• Acquisitions in the year included influencer marketing agencies Goat and Obviously and are contributing well to growth
• 2020 transformation programme gross annual savings of £475m in 2023 against a 2019 base, ahead of planned £450m, with savings from our campus programme, procurement initiatives, simpler WPP and lower travel costs
• 2024 guidance: LFL revenue less pass-through costs growth of 0-1%, with improvement in headline operating profit margin of 20-40bps (excluding the impact of FX)

Innovating to Lead

At our Capital Markets Day in January 2024 we announced the next phase of our strategy – ‘Innovating to Lead’ – which is built on four strategic pillars:

1. Lead through AI, data and technology, by building on our leadership position in the application of artificial intelligence through the acquisition of the AI research firm Satalia in 2021; organic investment in WPP Open, our AI-driven platform, client technology and data; and deep partnerships with strategic technology partners such as Adobe, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI. Our plans include annual cash investment of around £250m in proprietary technology to support our AI and data strategy
2. Unlock the full potential of creative transformation to drive growth, expanding our client relationships by further leveraging WPP’s global scale, integrated offer in creative, media, production and PR, and capabilities in growth areas such as commerce, influencer marketing and retail media to capture share in a growing market
3. Build world-class, market-leading brands through our six powerful agency networks – VML, Ogilvy, AKQA, Hogarth, GroupM and Burson – which now represent close to 90% of WPP’s revenue less pass-through costs, and in particular reap the benefits of unrivalled scale from VML as the world’s largest integrated creative agency, leverage GroupM’s simplified operating model and scale as the world’s largest media agency and establish Burson as a leading global strategic communications agency by bringing together BCW and Hill & Knowlton
4. Execute efficiently to drive strong financial returns, by delivering growth and structural cost savings from the creation of VML and Burson, and simplification of GroupM, unlocking scale advantages and further efficiency savings

Our strategy will continue to be underpinned by a disciplined approach to capital allocation with ongoing organic investment, a progressive dividend policy and a disciplined approach to M&A, supported by a strong balance sheet and an investment grade credit rating.

Mark Read, Chief Executive Officer of WPP, said:

“At our recent Capital Markets Day we detailed our strategy to capture the opportunities of AI, data and technology, while harnessing the full power of our offer to clients, building world-class agency brands, and driving strong financial returns through efficient execution.

“AI will be fundamental for our business and we are embracing the opportunities that it presents, putting it at the heart of our operations and our work for clients. Our AI-powered platform, WPP Open, is now being used by more than 30,000 people across WPP with growing adoption by our clients.

“While 2023 was more challenging than we expected due to cuts in spending by technology clients, we delivered a resilient performance for the year with 0.9% like-for-like growth and a 0.2 point improvement in our headline operating margin at constant currency. This was driven by disciplined cost control, while continuing to invest in AI, data and technology.

“Our net new business of $4.5bn in 2023 included major new assignments with clients such as Allianz, Krispy Kreme, Mondelēz, Nestlé, PayPal and Verizon and reflects a stronger year-on-year performance in the fourth quarter.

“We are optimistic about the strategic opportunities ahead of us and are confident that we can deliver accelerated and increasingly profitable growth over the medium term.”

To access WPP's 2023 preliminary results financial tables, please visit www.wpp.com/investors

Full year overview

Revenue was £14.8bn, up 2.9% from £14.4bn in 2022, and up 3.2% like-for-like. Revenue less pass-through costs was £11.9bn, up 0.5% from £11.8bn in 2022, and up 0.9% like-for-like.

Business segment review

Business segments - revenue less pass-through costs

Global Integrated Agencies: GroupM, our media planning and buying business, grew well in 2023, benefiting from continued client investment in media, with like-for-like growth in revenue less pass-through costs of 4.9% (Q4 +5.7%), partially offset by a 1.6% LFL decline at other Global Integrated Agencies (Q4 -3.4%).

GroupM grew in all major regions with mid-single digit growth in ex-US markets and low-single digit growth in the US. The digital billings mix within GroupM increased to 51% (2022: 48%).

Ogilvy’s performance benefited from recent new business wins including SC Johnson and Verizon, which contributed to mid-single digit growth.

Hogarth grew well benefiting from increased spend by CPG clients and growing demand for its technology and AI-driven capabilities as clients seek to produce more personalised and addressable content.

Other Global Integrated Agencies: Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R (which were merged in January 2024 to become VML) and AKQA felt the greatest impact from reduced spend across the technology sector and delays in technology-related projects. Revenue less pass-through costs in the retail sector was impacted by 2022 and 2023 client losses and lower spend by some retail clients in an uncertain macroeconomic environment.

Public Relations: FGS Global continued to grow strongly in 2023, while Hill & Knowlton delivered modest growth lapping strong performance in 2022; partially offset by a weaker year for BCW.

Specialist Agencies: CMI Media Group, our specialist healthcare media planning and buying agency, grew strongly, offset by declines at Landor and Design Bridge and Partners. Our smaller specialist agencies continued to be affected by more cautious client spending, including delays in project-based spending.

Regional review

Regional segments - revenue less pass-through costs

North America declined by 2.7% in 2023 reflecting lower revenues from technology clients and in the retail sector. This was partially offset by growth in CPG and telecommunications. Lower revenues from technology clients had a greater adverse impact on our integrated creative agencies, whilst GroupM grew low-single digits in the region.

The United Kingdom delivered good growth, building on a strong prior year performance (2022: +7.6%) with both GroupM and Ogilvy performing well. CPG and healthcare were the strongest client sectors.

In Western Continental Europe, Germany, our largest market, had a challenging end to the year with a more uncertain macro environment weighing on client spend in the second half. France returned to growth in Q4 after several quarters of decline as new clients were onboarded.

The Rest of World saw good growth in 2023 driven by India which was up 7.7% reflecting strong double-digit growth in the second half. This was partially offset by China which declined 3.3% with a consistent level of decline across the first and second half.

Top five markets - revenue less pass-through costs

Client sector review

Client sector - revenue less pass-through costs⁸

Strategic progress

Clients: We won $4.5bn of net new business in 2023 (2022: $5.9bn) including the loss of certain Pfizer creative assignments. Key assignment wins include Adobe, Allianz, Estée Lauder, Ford, Hyatt, Krispy Kreme, Lenovo, Lloyds Banking Group, Maruti Suzuki, Mondelēz, Nestlé, Pernod Ricard, SC Johnson and Verizon.

Creativity and awards: Creativity is applied to everything that we do at WPP, and we are proud that our world-class talent has continued to be recognised through prestigious awards. We had another successful year at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, with WPP agencies winning a total of 165 Lions including one Titanium Lion, five Grand Prix, and 24 Gold awards. Mindshare was named Media Network of the Year.

At the Effies, WPP was awarded the most effective communications company globally, with Ogilvy ranked the most effective network. WARC named WPP the top company in all three of their rankings, the Creative 100, Effective 100 and Media 100 lists. Ogilvy ranked as the top network of the year in both the Creative 100 and Effective 100 while EssenceMediacom took first place in the Media 100.

WPP was named holding company of the year and VMLY&R network of the year at the New York Festivals Advertising Awards. Ogilvy was the most awarded agency at the Global Influencer Marketing Awards for the fifth year running and was recently named AdWeek’s 2023 Global Agency of the Year. Gain Theory, WPP’s global marketing effectiveness consultancy, was recognised by Forrester as a Wave Leader in marketing measurement and optimisation.

Investment for growth: We have invested significantly in client-facing technology over the last five years and this continued in 2023, with priorities including WPP Open, our AI-driven platform; Choreograph, our data products and technology unit; and other AI tools and services delivered through WPP Open.

WPP Open brings together all of WPP’s proprietary tools, technologies, data and services into one operating system, and is already being deployed across some of our largest global clients, with broad adoption by over 30,000 of WPP’s people.

We have bolstered our capabilities through acquisitions during the year, including: influencer marketing agencies Goat, based in London and Obviously, based in New-York; 3K Communication, a Frankfurt-based healthcare PR agency; and amp, one of the world’s leading sonic branding companies. We also made a minority investment in Majority, a diversity-focused US creative agency.

In July, KKR completed their minority investment to become a 29% shareholder in FGS Global, after acquiring all of Golden Gate Capital’s equity and a proportion of the interests of WPP and FGS Global management. WPP remains the majority owner at 51%. The transaction valued FGS Global at $1.425bn.

Transformation: At our Capital Markets Day in December 2020 we set out a plan to deliver £600m of annual gross savings by 2025 against the 2019 cost base. At the end of 2023 we had delivered around £475m of gross savings, which is ahead of the originally planned £450m.

Savings have come from our operating model, including a simpler WPP and lower travel costs; from efficiency initiatives driven by our procurement team and our successful campus strategy; and from functional effectiveness, focused on IT and finance with savings from our cloud migration and workforce optimisation.

Our ERP consolidation has taken longer than we originally expected, but we are realising benefits from the deployment of Workday at VML (formerly Wunderman Thompson) in North America and from Maconomy in Asia Pacific and other markets. We anticipate the bulk of new systems will be rolled out by 2026 with associated restructuring costs reducing accordingly.

At our Capital Markets Day in January 2024 we outlined an updated target for headline operating margin of 16-17% over the medium term underpinned by a plan focused on structural cost savings and efficiencies which will enable us to deliver more profitable growth whilst continuing to invest in the business.

This plan builds on the 2020 programme and the structural changes announced in the last six months with the creation of VML and Burson and the simplification of GroupM.

Structural cost savings from the creation of VML and Burson and simplification of GroupM are expected to deliver annualised net cost savings of c.£125m in 2025, with 40-50% of those savings expected to be realised in 2024. Restructuring costs associated with the completion of these programmes in 2024 are expected to be around £125m.

Targeted efficiency savings across both back office and commercial delivery represent a further opportunity for annualised gross savings of around £175m over the next three to five years which will support delivery of our medium-term margin target and investment for growth.

Purpose and ESG

WPP’s purpose is to use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities.

WPP maintained a low-risk rating in the 2023 Sustainalytics risk rating, which scores the ESG performance of companies. WPP has the lowest risk rating of its peer group and saw an improvement in its score from 12.1 in 2022 to 11.0 in 2023.

People: We are committed to building a strong, purpose-driven culture at WPP where everyone feels valued. WPP ranked sixth best performer in the 2023 FTSE Women Leaders ranking, recognising our gender diversity in leadership roles. In addition, WPP was awarded Leader status for the fifth year running in the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index. In May, eleven leaders from across WPP were recognised in the 2023 Empower Role Model Lists, designed to celebrate leaders who are championing inclusion for people of colour within global businesses.

Planet: In 2021, we set near-term science-based targets to reduce our absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by at least 84% by 2025 and reduce Scope 3 emissions (including emissions from media buying - an industry first) by at least 50% by 2030, both from a 2019 base year.

In April, our 2022 Sustainability Report stated that we have delivered a reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions of 71% in absolute terms since our 2019 baseline. Our 2023 Sustainability Report will be issued in March 2024.

Clients: Sustainability is a priority for all stakeholders including our clients. We aim to use our creativity for good, delivering client work which is inclusive and accessible and supporting clients on their own sustainability journeys. At the Ad Net Zero Awards, which recognise the companies and organisations that are leading the way on sustainability and the move to a net zero carbon economy, we were proud to win six awards including both International and UK Grand Prix. The Grand Prix awards were won by EssenceMediacom for their partnership eBay x Love Island and Grey Colombia for their Life Extending Stickers innovation for Makro; both were recognised for their simple, scalable solutions to shifting consumer behaviour whilst driving material transformation within their respective industries.

Scrutiny over brands’ environmental claims continues to grow. To support clients in making effective claims, in 2023 we launched a client version of our Green Claims Guide and ran targeted training for employees and clients in high emissions sectors.

Communities: We aim to use the power of our creativity and voice to support the communities in which we live and work. For example, during the year we launched the Creative Data School in partnership with leading non-profit and educational organisations which has already taught essential technical skills to over 6,000 young people across the UK.

Further detail on how WPP is focused on realising a more sustainable, equitable future can be read in our 2022 Sustainability Report.

Outlook

Our guidance for 2024 is as follows:

Other 2024 financial indications:

• Mergers and acquisitions will add 0.5-1.0% to revenue less pass-through costs growth
• FX impact: current rates (at 15 February 2024) imply a c.2% drag on FY 2024 revenues less pass-through costs, with no meaningful impact expected on FY 2024 headline operating margin
• Headline income from associates and non-controlling interests at similar levels to 2023
• Net finance costs of around £295m
• Effective tax rate (measured as headline tax as a % of headline profit before tax) of around 28%
• Capex of around £260m
• Cash restructuring costs of around £285m
• Working capital expected to be broadly flat year-on-year

Medium-term targets

In January 2024 we presented updated medium-term financial framework including the following three targets:

• 3%+ LFL growth in revenue less pass-through costs
• 16-17% headline operating profit margin
• Adjusted operating cash flow conversion of 85%+⁹

Financial results

Unaudited headline income statement¹⁰:

Reconciliation of profit before taxation to headline operating profit:

Business sector¹¹

Revenue analysis

Revenue less pass-through costs analysis

Headline operating profit analysis

* Headline operating profit as a percentage of revenue less pass-through costs

Regional

Revenue analysis

Revenue less pass-through costs analysis

Headline operating profit analysis

* Headline operating profit as a percentage of revenue less pass-through costs

Operating profitability

Reported profit before tax was £346m, compared to £1,160m in the prior period, principally reflecting the accelerated amortisation of previously indefinite life brands related to the creation of VML and the impairment taken as a result of the 2023 property review.

Reported profit after tax was £197m compared to £775m in the prior period.

Headline EBITDA (including IFRS 16 depreciation) for the year was down 1.4% to £1,976m. Headline operating profit was up 0.5% to £1,750m.

Headline operating profit margin was flat year on year at 14.8% and up 0.2 points year on year on a constant currency basis. Total operating costs were up 0.5% to £10.1bn. Staff costs, excluding incentives, were up 0.1% year-on-year at £7.8bn, reflecting wage inflation offset by lower use of freelancers. Staff costs include severance costs of £78m (2022: £44m). Incentive costs were down 8.5% year-on-year to £387m, compared to £423m in 2022.

Establishment costs were down 3.8% at £516m reflecting the progress in our campus programme. IT costs were up 12.6% at £698m, reflecting investment in enterprise technology and our IT infrastructure, as well as our global client-facing technology capabilities including WPP Open, Choreograph and AI capabilities.

Personal costs rose 9.3% to £223m, reflecting greater client-related business travel and inflationary pressures. Other operating expenses were down 0.8% at £535m.

The average number of people in the Group in the year was 114,732 compared to 114,129 in 2022. The total number of people as at 31 December 2023 was 114,173 compared to 115,473 as at 31 December 2022.

Adjusting items

The Group incurred £1,219m of adjusting items in 2023, mainly relating to the amortisation of acquired intangible assets, restructuring and transformation costs, and property and goodwill impairments. This compares with net adjusting items in 2022 of £384m.

Goodwill impairment, amortisation and impairment of acquired intangibles and other impairment charges were £809m (2022: £177m), mainly related to the accelerated amortisation of indefinite life brands resulting from the VML merger. This includes accelerated amortisation charges of £431m and £202m for Wunderman Thompson and Y&R brands respectively.

Restructuring costs of £196m in 2023 (2022: £219m) mainly relate to: the Group’s IT transformation; property costs associated with impairments prior to 2023; and costs related to the continuing restructuring plan, including the creation of VML and simplification of GroupM.

Charges associated with property, including the property review conducted in 2023, were £232m and primarily relate to non-cash lease impairments in the US.

Interest and taxes

Net finance costs (excluding the revaluation of financial instruments) were £261m, an increase of £47m year-on-year, due to higher levels of debt through the year, higher interest rates and lower investment income partially offset by higher interest earned on cash.

The headline tax rate (based on headline profit before tax) was 27.0% (2022: 25.5%) and on reported profit before tax was 43.1% (2022: 33.1%). The increase in the headline tax rate is driven by lower income from associates and changes in tax rates or tax bases in the markets in which we operate. Given the Group’s geographic mix of profits and the changing international tax environment, the tax rate is expected to increase over the next few years.

Earnings and dividend

Profits attributable to shareholders were £110m, compared to a profit of £683m in the prior period, principally reflecting the accelerated amortisation of indefinite life brands and the impairment taken as a result of the 2023 property review.

Reported diluted earnings per share was 10.1p, compared to 61.2p in the prior period. Headline diluted earnings per share from continuing operations decreased by 4.8% to 93.8p.

The Board is proposing a final dividend for 2023 of 24.4 pence per share, which together with the interim dividend paid in November 2023 gives a full-year dividend of 39.4 pence per share. The record date for the final dividend is 7 June 2024, and the dividend will be payable on 5 July 2024.

Further details of WPP’s financial performance are provided in Appendix 1.

Cash flow highlights

In 2023, net cash inflow was broadly neutral, compared to a £1.4bn outflow in 2022. The main drivers of the improved cash flow performance year-on-year were a smaller outflow from investment in net working capital and lower share purchases.

A working capital outflow of £260m (2022: £847m) includes an adverse impact of £89m from less favourable FX rates at the end of the year compared to the prior year. The movement in total working capital of £260m reflects a favourable movement of £113m in trade working capital and an outflow of £373m from non-trade working capital, primarily reflecting year on year movements in bonus, landlord incentives relating to our campus programme and prepayments.

A summary of the Group’s unaudited cash flow statement and notes for the twelve months to 31 December 2023 is provided in Appendix 1.

Balance sheet highlights

As at 31 December 2023 we had cash and cash equivalents of £1.9bn (2022: £2.0bn) and total liquidity, including undrawn credit facilities, of £3.8bn. Average adjusted net debt was £3.6bn, compared to £2.9bn in the prior period, at 2023 exchange rates. As at 31 December 2023 adjusted net debt was £2.5bn, against £2.5bn as at 31 December 2022, unchanged on a reported basis and an increase of £0.1bn at 2023 exchange rates.

We spent £54 million on share purchases during the year to offset dilution from share-based payments.

Our bond portfolio at 31 December 2023 had an average maturity of 6.2 years.

In May 2023, we refinanced the November 2023 €750m bond as planned, issuing a May 2028 €750m bond priced at 4.125%.

The average adjusted net debt to Headline EBITDA ratio in the 12 months to 31 December 2023 is 1.83x, which excludes the impact of IFRS 16.

A summary of the Group’s unaudited balance sheet and notes as at 31 December 2023 is provided in Appendix 1.

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

This document contains statements that are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements”. Forward- looking statements give the Company’s current expectations or forecasts of future events. An investor can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts.

These forward-looking statements may include, among other things, plans, objectives, beliefs, intentions, strategies, projections and anticipated future economic performance based on assumptions and the like that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They use words such as ‘aim’, ‘anticipate’, ‘believe’, ‘estimate’, ‘expect’, ‘forecast’, ‘guidance’, ‘intend’, ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘should’, ‘potential’, ‘possible’, ‘predict’, ‘project’, ‘plan’, ‘target’, and other words and similar references to future periods but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. As such, all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances that are beyond the control of the Company. Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made, as a prediction of actual results or otherwise. Important factors which may cause actual results to differ include but are not limited to: the impact of epidemics or pandemics including restrictions on businesses, social activities and travel; the unanticipated loss of a material client or key personnel; delays or reductions in client advertising budgets; shifts in industry rates of compensation; regulatory compliance costs or litigation; changes in competitive factors in the industries in which we operate and demand for our products and services; changes in client advertising, marketing and corporate communications requirements; our inability to realise the future anticipated benefits of acquisitions; failure to realise our assumptions regarding goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets; natural disasters or acts of terrorism; the Company’s ability to attract new clients; the economic and geopolitical impact of the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza; the risk of global economic downturn; slower growth, increasing interest rates and high and sustained inflation; supply chain issues affecting the distribution of our clients’ products; technological changes and risks to the security of IT and operational infrastructure, systems, data and information resulting from increased threat of cyber and other attacks; effectively managing the risks, challenges and efficiencies presented by using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative AI technologies and partnerships in our business; the Company’s exposure to changes in the values of other major currencies (because a substantial portion of its revenues are derived and costs incurred outside of the UK); and the overall level of economic activity in the Company’s major markets (which varies depending on, among other things, regional, national and international political and economic conditions and government regulations in the world’s advertising markets). In addition, you should consider the risks described in Item 3D, captioned ‘Risk Factors’ in the Group’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2022, which could also cause actual results to differ from forward-looking information. Neither the Company, nor any of its directors, officers or employees, provides any representation, assurance or guarantee that the occurrence of any events anticipated, expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements will actually occur. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any particular expectation will be met and investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements.

Other than in accordance with its legal or regulatory obligations (including under the Market Abuse Regulation, the UK Listing Rules and the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority), The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Any forward looking statements made by or on behalf of the Group speak only as of the date they are made and are based upon the knowledge and information available to the Directors at the time.

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