Interpublic is expected to show a steep decline in earnings for the last quarter of 2001, at around $95m (£67m) compared with $144.8m for the same quarter last year. Its shares closed last night at $27.67, down by 0.82% or 23 cents on the previous close.
The market will be looking carefully at what Interpublic, headed by John Dooner, chairman and CEO, has to say about the outlook for 2002. It is thought that downbeat results could be offset by more positive forecasts for the year ahead.
Last November, Sean Orr, chief financial officer for Interpublic, predicted the group could push earnings up by 15%. It owns networks such as McCann-Erickson, the Lowe Group, and Weber Shandwick Worldwide, the PR agency.
So far this year, big wins for Interpublic have included Sony Corporation of America and American Airlines consolidating its advertising accounts with Interpublic agencies.
Accounts going out of the door included Domino's Pizza, which moved its business out of Interpublic-owned Deutsch to WPP Group's J Walter Thompson.
Last week, WPP and Omnicom Group, the second- and third-largest advertising groups in the world respectively, posted their full-year results for 2001. WPP saw profits for the year up by 29% to £489.9m, but chairman and CEO Sir Martin Sorrell has maintained that the outlook for 2002 remains gloomy. In contrast, John Wren, president and CEO of Omnicom, was more upbeat.
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