Interpublic Announces Second Quarter and First Half 2010 Results

[Redactie Nederlands MediaNetwerk]

Second quarter reported revenue increased 9.7% with organic revenue growth of 8.5% - reflecting increases in client spending and new business wins

Second quarter 2010 operating income of $177.2 million significantly improved from operating income of $96.9 million a year ago

Second quarter 2010 diluted earnings per share was $0.15, compared with $0.04 per share a year ago

Shareholder value further enhanced through successful purchase of 303,526 shares of Series B Preferred Stock


Revenue
- Second quarter 2010 revenue was $1.62 billion, compared to $1.47 billion in the second quarter of 2009, with an organic revenue increase of 8.5% compared to the prior-year period, as well as organic growth of 13.6% in the U.S. and double-digit organic increases in key developing markets.
- First half 2010 revenue was $2.96 billion, compared to $2.80 billion in the first half of 2009, with an organic revenue increase of 3.1% compared to the prior-year period and organic growth in the U.S. of 8.5%.

Operating Results
- Operating income in the second quarter of 2010 was $177.2 million, compared to operating income of $96.9 million in 2009. For the first half of 2010, operating income was $117.8 million, compared to operating income of $15.0 million in 2009.
- Operating margin was 11.0% and 4.0% for the second quarter and first half of 2010, respectively, compared to 6.6% and 0.5% for the second quarter and first half of 2009, respectively.

Net Results
- Second quarter 2010 net income attributable to IPG was $82.5 million, and net income available to IPG common stockholders was $105.3 million, resulting in earnings of $0.22 per basic and $0.15 per diluted share. This compares to net income attributable to IPG a year ago of $27.8 million and net income available to IPG common stockholders of $20.9 million, or $0.04 per basic and diluted share.
- First half 2010 net income attributable to IPG was $17.9 million, and net income available to IPG common stockholders was $33.8 million, resulting in earnings of $0.07 per basic and $0.02 per diluted share. This compares to net loss attributable to IPG a year ago of $39.2 million and net loss available to IPG common stockholders of $53.0 million, or ($0.11) per basic and diluted share.
- Diluted earnings per share for the second quarter and first half of 2010 exclude the benefit associated with the preferred shares transaction.

Michael I. Roth, Interpublic's Chairman and CEO: "We are pleased with the second quarter's strong performance in terms of both growth and profitability. Contributions to our organic revenue growth came from existing and new clients across a range of industry sectors, from the U.S. and emerging international markets and from a broad cross-section of the agencies in our portfolio. We are proving that we have the talent and the tools to benefit from a macro recovery and the ability to convert revenue growth into bottom line results. Of course, there remain areas of uncertainty in the global economy, so we will continue to manage the business conservatively. With revenue stability and growth back in the picture, we feel we are very much on track to deliver on our operating margin objective of better than eight percent for 2010. Combined with our commitment to put the cash on our balance sheet to work on behalf of shareholders, we believe our financial performance positions us well to enhance shareholder value going forward."

www.interpublic.com