WPP reports stable 1st half sales of £7,227 million, up 2.6% year-on-year on a like-for-like basis (stable on a reported basis).

At the same time, EBIT was up 38% to £423 million, with an operating margin of 5.9%, up 1.7 points.
EPS came to 18.8 pence, up 82.5%.

On an adjusted basis, EBIT was £646 million (-3%), with EPS of 30.9 pence (-6.6%).

WPP is updating its guidance in light of the economic environment, and is now targeting sales growth less passed-on costs of -1% to 0% (previously 0% to 1%), with an improvement in overall operating margin of 20 to 40 basis points (excluding currency impact).

'I am very pleased with the progress we have made over the past six months on each of our strategic objectives, in particular our continued investment in AI, the creation of VML and Burson, and the simplification of GroupM. We are strengthening our offering for customers while building a more efficient business', said Mark Read, WPP's chief executive.

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