Worldwide and US revenues both increased 15% to $1.7bn (£1.2bn) and $925.3m (£652m) respectively.
Net income for the six months ended June 30 2001 was up 19% to $246.6m (£173.7m) from $207.1m (£145.9m), excluding an after-tax gain in the first six months of 2000 of $63.8m (£44.9m) on the sale of 25% of its interest in new-media consultancy Razorfish.
Worldwide revenue for the six months increased 15% to $3.3bn (£2.3bn) from $2.8bn (£2bn) in 2000. US revenue for the same period increased 20% to $1.8bn (£1.2bn).
The advertising market has been enduring a severe downturn as a result of an overall slowdown in the US economy, combined with the absence of dotcom advertising which bolstered revenues for advertising firms and media companies a year ago.
Omnicom reported new business wins totalling $1.05bn (£740m) for the second quarter and, according to chief financial officer Randall Weisenburger, it hopes to repeat this in the remaining quarters of 2001. "Despite the slowdown in pace, we remain aggressive and committed to net wins of $1bn per quarter for the rest of the year," he said.
Omnicom shares rose $3.90 (£2.74) to $82.40 (£57.97) on the New York Stock Exchange on the back of the positive results.
John Wren, chief executive officer at Omnicom, said, "I think it is another outstanding performance on the part of the company, given the current economic environment. The environment remains challenging -- it is a difficult market here in the US. The second quarter outside of the US was strong, but there is a certain nervousness out there. It is a lot of hard work by a lot people from across the world that have turned these results in."
Omnicom owns the BBDO Worldwide, TBWA\ and DDB Worldwide international advertising networks, as well as media buying network OMD.