(Reuters) – Advertising group Publicis once again raised its organic growth target for 2024 on Thursday, after a better-than-expected third quarter, driven by strong demand for large-scale personalization from customers.

The group remains confident in its ability to benefit from its clients’ spending on digital transformation and targeted marketing, by betting on artificial intelligence and acquisitions, which contrasts sharply with the weak growth of other groups in the sector, considered as a barometer of the economic health of companies.

The marketing giant now expects annual organic growth of between 5.5% and 6%, compared to a range of 5% to 6% previously. The group had already raised its organic growth forecasts in July, after initially anticipating a range of 4% to 5%.

Publicis’ net income stood at 3.42 billion euros for the period from July to the end of September, with organic growth of 5.8%, compared to 5.6% forecast by the consensus provided by the company.

Publicis says it had a very strong quarter in which it continued to gain market share and outperform the industry, a trend that is expected to continue towards the end of the year.

“We have been able to gain market share by capturing a disproportionate share of customer demand for personalization at scale,” Arthur Sadoun, chairman and CEO of Publicis, said in a statement.

The macroeconomic environment, however, proved more difficult during the quarter and remains uncertain as the end of the year approaches, warned the group, which owns advertising agencies such as Leo Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi.

“This objective takes into account current macroeconomic uncertainties, which affect client spending, continue to weigh on Publicis Sapient as on other digital transformation consultancies and could impact client budget adjustments at the end of the year,” said the group in a press release.

(Written by Diana Mandiá, with Leo Marchandon and Gianluca Lo Nostro, edited by Blandine Hénault)

Copyright © 2024 Thomson Reuters