By Adria Calatayud

 

WPP PLC said Wednesday that it is cutting costs further after the coronavirus pandemic led to a 3.3% fall in like-for-like net sales for the first quarter.

The world's largest advertising company, which owns agencies such as Wunderman Thompson and GroupM, said it will be able to respond quickly and will reduce costs further if the depth and length of the downturn requires it. Many clients have been significantly hurt by a reduction in consumer demand, though other sectors such as packaged goods, technology and food retail brands have been more resilient, WPP said.

In March, WPP's like-for-like net sales--a closely watched metric of its underlying performance--declined by 7.9%, the company said.

WPP last month withdrew guidance and suspended its buyback program and final dividend for 2019.

 

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@dowjones.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2020 02:19 ET (06:19 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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