Publicis ANZ Posts 7.6% Growth, Outpaces Global Peers in Q1

Publicis Group flagged its Australian operation as a standout performer in Q1 2025, reporting 7.6% organic growth as both Publicis and fellow French rival Havas released first-quarter earnings.

Australia Leads Publicis's Global Performance

The Australian result exceeded the group's overall global net revenue organic growth of 4.5% and its gross revenue growth of 6.4%. It also outpaced the already-strong APAC regional average of approximately 5.9% to 6%. Chief Financial Officer Lori Nold specifically highlighted the Australian operation during the company's Q1 earnings call.

Publicis generated €4.4 billion (A$7.2 billion) in quarterly revenue. CEO Arthur Sadoun attributed the group's momentum to its AI-powered marketing services division, which drove 86% of total organic growth. "All of our key regions benefited from our momentum in AI-powered marketing services and delivered solid growth," Sadoun said.

The AI-powered division, which covers data, media, creative, commerce, CRM, and production, itself posted 7.6% growth, matching ANZ's rate exactly.

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Publicis completed its acquisition of Atomic 212 in January 2025. Atomic 212 is described as Australia's largest independent media agency. The deal expanded Publicis's media billings capacity in Australia at the start of the Q1 measurement period.

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Michael Rebelo, CEO of Publicis ANZ, described the move as "strengthening and scaling [its] media capabilities." The acquisition coincided with Publicis Media ranking number one in Australia and New Zealand for full-year 2025 new business, according to data from COMvergence, ahead of Zenith, Spark Foundry, and Starcom.

Globally, Publicis secured A$9.1 billion (US$6.4 billion) in new billings in the first half of 2025, with major client wins including Coca-Cola, PayPal, Mars, and Paramount contributing to the revenue base.

Havas APAC Declines 6.2% in the Same Quarter

The contrast with Havas was sharp. Havas posted 3.8% organic growth globally on €638 million in total revenue, but its Asia Pacific and Africa region declined 6.2%. Havas attributed the drop to client losses and an investment write-off in China.

Havas did announce a new product during the results period. Its PR arm Havas Red launched Echowave, a platform that helps brands track and improve how they appear in AI-powered search results, across Australia and the UK.

Independent consultancy Madison and Wall noted that Q1 holdco results confirm agencies are already benefiting from AI adoption. "AI is at least as likely to help, given the growing array of services marketers now need to learn to work with and the human judgment required to make the most of coordinating all of them," the firm said.

Twenty Consecutive Quarters of Growth

Publicis's Q1 2025 result marked its 20th consecutive quarter of growth, with the group outperforming industry peers by 790 basis points. For full-year 2025, the APAC region posted an operating margin of 22.9%, above the group's global record of 18.2%.

Sadoun also clarified the group's position on programmatic trading, stating: "We don't have any competing offer when it comes to self-serve DSP product that could be a direct competitor to The Trade Desk, and we are not planning to build any."

Publicis has set full-year 2026 organic growth guidance at 4% to 5%, supported by 200 basis points of new business tailwinds and strong client retention.