LONDON: WPP, the world’s largest advertising group, cut its full-year sales target on Wednesday after consumer goods giants slashed their spending, forcing it to miss half-year targets and sending its shares tumbling.
Led by the high profile businessman Martin Sorrell, WPP said it had been hit in June and July as the likes of Unilever, Nestle and others cut their spending, while demand in the United States deteriorated further, in line with peers.
As a result, the London-based group reported first-half like-for-like net sales down 0.5 percent, below a consensus of 0.7 percent growth. It cut its full-year underlying net sales target to between 0 and 1 percent growth, from a previous forecast of 2 percent growth.
Its shares fell 12 percent in early trading.
“July was weak, June was tough,” Sorrell told Reuters.
“The weakest part was the US (and in terms of categories), we have activist investors in consumer goods groups putting pressure on companies to perform.”
Despite the slowdown in the top line, tight cost controls helped the group to reiterate its target for a 0.3 point improvement in its operating margin.
“All regions, except the United Kingdom, Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe showed lower revenue than the prior year and all sectors were down,” it said.
WPP rattled investors in March when it cut its 2017 sales forecast, citing an ultra competitive environment in which rivals were having to scrap for every dollar of ad spend.
From 3.1 percent net sales growth in 2016, WPP had set a 2017 target of 2 percent to reflect “tepid” economic growth and weaker net new business trends, before it cut it again on Wednesday.
The group has seen a particular slowdown in the US, in line with the other major ad groups, where underlying net sales fell by 2.2 percent in the first half of the year.
Consumer goods group have also been on a quest to cut costs as growth has slowed, with activist investors and a failed takeover attempt at client Unilever shaking up the industry and forcing companies to rethink how they spend.
WPP said a cyberattack in June had not affected revenue or its data and could not be blamed for the slowdown.
— REUTERS
WPP cuts sales forecast on weak consumer goods demand
WPP cuts sales forecast on weak consumer goods demand
Aramco’s 13% rally helps Saudi stocks post second weekly gain
RIYADH: Saudi Aramco extended its year-to-date rally to nearly 13 percent on Thursday, helping the Kingdom’s benchmark stock index secure a second straight weekly gain despite a weaker final trading session.
Saudi Aramco shares, which carry the heaviest weighting on the Saudi Exchange, closed at SR26.86 ($7.16), leaving the stock 12.72 percent higher since the start of 2026. The stock also remained 3.09 percent above last week’s close, even after falling 1.1 percent in Thursday’s session.
The rise in energy shares came as escalating tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel, after attacks on tankers in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz heightened concerns over supply disruptions.
The Tadawul All Share Index maintained its weekly uptrend, rising nearly 1.07 percent week on week to close at 10,778.32, despite falling 0.45 percent in Thursday’s session. Compared with the first trading day of the year, the index has gained 4.01 percent.
Total trading turnover on the benchmark index reached SR5.05 billion at Thursday’s close, with 88 stocks advancing and 176 declining.
Aramco’s performance continued to anchor sentiment after the company reported adjusted net income of $104.7 billion for 2025 earlier this week, while net profit fell 12.1 percent year on year to $93.39 billion, compared with $106.25 billion in 2024, as lower crude prices weighed on earnings despite higher sales volumes across oil, gas and refined products.
On a March 10 earnings call, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned that prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could have severe implications for global energy markets. Roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil normally passes through the waterway each day, but shipments have been largely blocked.
“There would be catastrophic consequences for the world’s oil markets and the longer the disruption goes on ... the more drastic the consequences for the global economy,” he said.
“While we have faced disruptions in the past, this one by far is the biggest crisis the region’s oil and gas industry has faced.”
Saudi equities showed mixed performance in Thursday’s session. The MSCI Tadawul Index fell 5.99 points, or 0.40 percent, to close at 1,476.76.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu gained 132.47 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 22,370.4, with 38 stocks advancing and 34 declining.
On March 11, the International Energy Agency announced the release of 400 million barrels of oil from its reserves, the largest such move in its history. As part of that, the US said it would release 172 million barrels starting next week.
