Europe has been hardest hit by the decline, with revenue for the fourth quarter of the year down by 11.4%, compared with the last quarter of 2001, to 拢176.5m. Earnings before interest and taxation margin was up by more than 1% to 10.4%.
However, the company has won more new business than any other of the major advertising groups during the year, with 拢1.07bn in new billings from companies such as Yahoo!, Dunlop, Cadbury and Reckitt Benckiser. Account losses included Procter & Gamble in North America, lost by Arnold Worldwide when the consumer goods giant reorganised its advertising agency roster, and Macquarie Bank in Australia.
According to CSFB's New Business Monitor, Havas new-business wins as a percentage of total 2002 billings was 8.5%, ahead of the WPP Group at 7% and Omnicom at 4.6%.
Alain de Pouzilhac, chairman and CEO of Havas, said: "We can already say that, over the course of a challenging year, our significant efforts to focus on the fundamentals -- new business, the development of integrated communications with our existing clients, cross-fertilisation across disciplines and divisions, as well as cost reductions, a cautious approach to acquisitions and a drive to generate free-cash flow have enabled us to continue to confirm a rebound in our profitability to 2001 and a reduction of our debt."
Along with Arnold Worldwide, Havas owns the Euro RSCG Worldwide advertising network and the Media Planning Group. The company employs 18,700 people worldwide.
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