B|Com3 moves into profit

LONDON - B|Com3, which owns the D'Arcy and Leo Burnett advertising agency networks, has moved into profit during its first two reporting a profit of $2.6m (£1.8m) compared with a loss of $64m (£45.5m) last time.

The company reported revenues for the quarter ended March 31 of $447m (£317.6m), up 17% on last time.



B|Com3 cancelled its IPO, which had been slated for late 2001, earlier this year because of the difficult market conditions. Analysts believe that it is looking increasingly like a takeover target.



Dentsu, which owns 20% of B|Com3, is moving ahead with its own IPO later this year and is a strong contender to buy the company.



Yesterday, the two took another step in bringing parts of their business closer together when they merged their respective Australian agencies.



The Dentsu agency BAM-SSB will join with B|Com3's Pure D'Arcy. The merger will be completed by the end of the month and the new agency will take on the D'Arcy name.



It is the latest in a series of moves between the two groups which have followed Dentsu's acquisition of a 20% stake in B|Com3 in March 2000. Earlier this year, the Japanese firm bought a 34% holding in B|Com3's Japanese operation Beacon Communications.



Topics