Revenue for the first half of the year actually fell to €750m (£495m), which it had forecast, compared with €836m in 2003, but factoring in the impact of exchange rates it represents organic growth of 0.6%. The small increase puts Havas well behind French rival, Publicis Groupe, which last week said its organic growth for the same period was 4.5%.
Havas blamed a decline in traditional advertising at the US operations of its largest agency network, Euro RSCG Worldwide, because of accounts lost at the end of last year.
There was a brighter picture in Europe, where growth in the second quarter was described as being "very satisfactory". Havas's operations in the UK improved in the second quarter, up 2.3%, compared with a 4.6% decline in the first quarter. This trailed behind the exceptional performance on the home turf of France, which saw organic growth for the first half of the year rise by 8.8%.
Alain de Pouzilhac, chairman and CEO of Havas, said: "Less than a year after the strategic reorganisation, the figures for the first half demonstrate that we are on the right track, both in terms of growth and profitability."
Last week, De Pouzilhac revealed in an interview that Havas was interested in making a bid for the US-based advertising group Grey, which is up for sale.
He said in the interview with Le Figaro that the move had financial backing and that it could help Havas create the world's biggest media agency by merging Grey's MediaCom with the Media Planning Group. However, De Pouzilhac said a bid would only go ahead if it were in the best interests of shareholders.
Shares in the company, traded on the Paris Bourse, fell by 0.49% when the market opened this morning, trading at €4.05.
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