As spin goes, last year’s trading figures provided plenty of material for the WPP boss, Mark Read, to choose from. But the headline? Organic revenue growth of 6.9 per cent came in ahead of the market’s expectations and at the top end of the range flagged in October. That’s even after said guidance was raised three times.
Progress in pushing the top line forward will be slower this year, the result of some punchy annual comparisons at the start of last year, as well as a tough macroeconomic backdrop. Underlying revenue is expected to come in at between 3 per cent and 5 per cent this year, but that is strikingly better than a gloomy consensus forecast for a decline of 1 per cent that
