WPP sales return to growth as Cindy Rose’s turnaround gathers pace

Advertising giant WPP returned to revenue growth in the third quarter as chief executive Cindy Rose’s turnaround plan began to show signs of progress, although its creative business continued to struggle. The London-listed group reported revenue of £3.27bn in the three months to September, up 0.5 per cent from a year earlier, following a prolonged slump in sales. However, revenue excluding pass-through costs, a closely watched measure of underlying performance, fell 2.1 per cent to £2.41bn. The decline marked an improvement from the second quarter, when the measure fell 2.8 per cent, although WPP’s creative agencies continued to weigh on the business. WPP Media returned to growth for the first time in the turnaround, edging up 0.3 per cent, while its production arm grew 2.5 per cent. Creative revenue, meanwhile, fell 5.1 per cent as clients continued to rein in spending. The group maintained its full-year outlook, forecasting a low to mid-single-digit decline in underlyi