For the first half of last year, Havas, owner of the Euro RSCG Worldwide and Arnold Worldwide advertising networks, had revenues of €1.065bn.
Hardest hit was revenue from traditional advertising, with organic growth down by 9.6%, while other marketing services and media revenue fell by 2.7%.
The company does not see any advertising recovery in sight. In a statement, it said: "No upturn in overall advertising-related spending has occurred year to date, and it is unlikely that there will be any between now and the end of the year."
However, Havas is confident of a rebound in profitability and restated that it is set to achieve its forecasts -- despite analyst predictions to the contrary.
Alain de Pouzilhac, Havas chairman and CEO, described the conditions as more negative than forecast. However, he was upbeat about the remainder of the year.
"Thanks to all the initiatives implemented, the progression of our profitability in the first half of 2002, compared with the second half of 2001, was significantly improved. This is very encouraging. We can now face the second half of 2002 confidently, with the same goal of improving our profitability," he said.
During the first half of the year, Havas closed the San Francisco office of Arnold and saw its work for the collapsed telecoms company WorldCom come to an end. However, it also picked up several new accounts, including Allied Domecq's champagne brands Mumm and Perrier Jouet, and a slice of Reckitt Benckiser's £300m global business.
Shares in Havas rose by 2.28% when the Paris Bourse opened this morning, trading at €5.39.
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