Interpublic: shares jump after results, dividend hike

(CercleFinance.com) - Interpublic announced that fourth-quarter profit rose by 40%, and the company said that it sees opportunities for solid growth entering the new year.


This morning the New York-based advertising group posted a fourth-quarter net revenue of 2.4 billion dollars, compared to 2.1 billion dollars in 2017, with organic growth of 7.1%.

Organic growth reached 6.3% in the US and 8% internationally, the company said.

As for earnings, Interpublic's profit jumped to 326.2 million dollars, or 84 cents a share, from 252.3 million dollars, or 66 cents a share, a year ago.

The company said that it targets 2019 organic growth of 2%-3%, with a further 40-50 basis point improvement in full-year operating margin, on top of the 13.5% achieved in 2018.

"Overall, 2018 was a very successful year," said chairman and CEO Michael Roth.

It therefore came as no surprise that Interpublic announced a 12% dividend increase after these solid results.

Interpublic shares, which have risen by about 5% so far this year, rose a further 3.8% to 22.5 dollars on Wednesday morning.

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