Publicis profits after amortisation of goodwill and exceptional items were up 18% on last year's €128m. The company was upbeat about its performance and said it expects to achieve even bigger growth in 2002.
Publicis's performance comes as one of the first signs of confidence this year that a recovery in the advertising and media sector is in sight.
Havas, the world's fifth-largest advertising group, was less optimistic on the back of its losses -- it predicted a year ahead in which it expects a further "degradation" of the advertising sector. Analysts had predicted losses, after charges, of between €10.8m and €39.5m.
Publicis chairman Maurice Levy said: "We believe that we will be able to outperform the world market once again this year. And we expect earnings to rise further in 2002."
Publicis, the world's sixth-largest ad group, had been expected to achieve net profit after goodwill of between €108.5m and €143m.
The company said operating profit rose 24.4% to €342m, narrowly beating the top end of expectations of between €310m and €341. Revenues, released last month, jumped 37.5% to €2.43bn, up from €1.8bn last time.
The year 2001 included the first full year of trading since the company almost doubled in size through its acquisition of UK-based Saatchi & Saatchi. This compared with just four months of trading at the end of 2000.
Levy said: "Not only did we successfully integrate the operations of Saatchi & Saatchi (with no loss of clients or staff) and other acquisitions, we also kept the financial impact of these operations well in hand.
"Our group is currently prepared to expand further and we are well positioned as 2002 gets under way," he said.
The results also include four months' trading from media-buying powerhouse Zenith Optimedia, which Publicis jointly owns with Cordiant Communications.
The company added, in a statement, that it won €2.3bn in new business and won 28 Lion awards at the International Festival in Cannes, which the group largely attributed to Saatchi & Saatchi.
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