Beleaguered WPP has reportedly cut staff bonuses by 60% and halved its dividend payout after a sharp drop in Q2 revenues, as the global agency group braces for a full strategic review under incoming CEO Cindy Rose.
The London-headquartered business, which has a major Northern campus at the former Granada Studios site in Manchester, reported a 5.8% decline in revenues in the second quarter. It follows a profit warning last month and ongoing concerns about client spend and new business performance.
Outgoing CEO Mark Read, who will hand over to Rose on September 1, confirmed the slump in the company’s half-year results. Revenues less pass-through costs fell 4.3% to $6.7bn (£5bn), with headline operating profit down 29% to $552m (£412m).
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WPP’s integrated creative agencies were hit hardest, down 7.2%, with Ogilvy singled out for a “high-single digit” decline. UK operations at Ogilvy, however, were one of the few bright spots. WPP Media (formerly Group M) declined 4.7%, affected by “cuts to client spending and lower net new business,” including the high-profile loss of Coca-Cola in North America.
All of WPP’s major markets saw a downturn, including the UK (–6.5%), North America (–4.6%), China (–15.9%), India (–3.9%) and Germany (–1.6%).
Read acknowledged the “challenging” conditions and said the dividend had been halved to 7.5p to give incoming CEO Cindy Rose scope to reshape strategy and capital allocation.
“The board recognises the importance of dividends to shareholders and today’s step balances that, creating room for our incoming CEO to review the group’s strategy and capital allocation policy while maintaining financial flexibility,” WPP said.
Rose, a former Microsoft executive and WPP non-executive director for six years, will take the helm as the group’s share price hovers at its lowest point since the 2009 financial crisis. Shares fell 4% on the update to $5.16 (£3.85), giving the company a valuation of $5.36bn (£4bn).
WPP also revealed a significant reduction in staffing and freelancer usage as part of ongoing cost-cutting measures. Bonuses were slashed to $79m (£59m), down from $198m (£148m) a year earlier. Staff headcount dropped by 4,000 to 104,000 globally since the end of 2024, with 7,000 roles removed over the past 12 months. The group also reduced freelance use by 13% year-on-year and 25% over two years.
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WPP reiterated its full-year forecast of a 3–5% revenue decline – a contrast to rivals Publicis Groupe and Omnicom, which both posted Q2 growth.
In his final results statement as CEO, Read said: “It has been a challenging first half, given pressures on client spending and a slower new-business environment. We have, however, made significant progress on the repositioning of WPP Media, simplifying its organisational model to increase effectiveness and reduce costs.”
He added: “WPP is a company with enormous strengths in creativity and media, technology and AI, talented people, deep client relationships and unmatched global reach. I would like to thank our clients for their partnership and our people for their dedication, and I wish them, and Cindy, every success in the future.”
