LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Shares of WPP plc (WPP, WPP.L) were plunging around 15% on the London Stock Exchange as well as in pre-market activity on the NYSE, after the British advertising major trimmed its outlook for first half and fiscal 2025.
The company said its performance worsened in the second quarter, prompting the firm to lower its expectations.
The company expects H1 revenue less pass-through costs to be around 5 billion pounds, which is consistent with a LFL decline of 4.2% to -4.5%, and a steeper 5.5% to 6.0% drop in the second quarter alone, below expectations.
The company now expects headline operating profit for the first half to range between 400 million pounds and 425 million pounds, implying a margin of 8.0% to 8.5%, down 280 to 330 basis points from a year earlier, due to weaker revenue and severance costs at the company's Media unit.
Further, for the full year, the revised outlook reflects continued pressure from the macroeconomic environment and the pull-forward of some client losses previously expected in 2026.
The company now expects full-year like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs to decline by 3% to 5%, compared with its earlier guidance of flat to a 2% decline.
While the company is taking cost-cutting measures, including severance actions at the Media unit expected to generate over 150 million pounds in annualised gross savings, it now expects its headline operating profit margin to fall by 50 to 175 basis points for the year.
The company said it will report its interim results on August 7.
WPP is currently trading, 15.90% lesser at 443.73 pence on the London Stock Exchange.
In the pre-market trading, WPP is 16.33% lesser at $29.98 on the New York Stock Exchange.
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