WPP’s Australian slide sharpens Cindy Rose’s turnaround test

WPP’s Australian revenue less pass-through costs fell 4.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis during the first half of 2026. The decline outpaced the broader APAC region, which fell 3.8 per cent.

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The result adds a local challenge for Cindy Rose OBE, chief executive officer of WPP, as she pushes ahead with the advertising group’s Elevate28 turnaround. Globally, WPP’s revenue dropped 4.4 per cent to A$12.17 billion.

• Revenue less pass-through costs fell 4.7 per cent like-for-like to A$9.06 billion.
• Headline operating profit declined 3.4 per cent to A$760 million.
• Reported profit attributable to shareholders fell 56.8 per cent to A$36 million.
• WPP ended June with 97,388 employees, down 6.4 per cent from a year earlier.

Australia trails APAC recovery

Australia and India, where revenue less pass-through costs declined 2.9 per cent, drove the APAC fall. China partly offset those results, returning to growth of 2.6 per cent across the half.

APAC improved as the period progressed, recording growth of 0.3 per cent in the second quarter. China surged 15.6 per cent during the quarter, although WPP said timing factors supported that increase.

The interim results release did not disclose a separate second-quarter figure for Australia.

Legacy account losses continue to weigh

WPP’s global revenue less pass-through costs reached A$9.06 billion, down 5.6 per cent on a reported basis and 4.7 per cent like-for-like. The second-quarter decline moderated to 2.8 per cent.

WPP Media fell 5.4 per cent across the half, while WPP Creative declined 4.9 per cent. WPP Production grew 1.6 per cent.

“I am encouraged by our first-half performance which is in line with our expectations,” Rose said.

“While legacy account losses continue to weigh, Q2 saw a further sequential improvement in LFL growth, highlighting the momentum we are building across the company and demonstrating that our strategy to become the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands is beginning to deliver.”

Profit margins rise as headcount falls

Headline operating profit declined 3.4 per cent to A$760 million. However, its margin increased by 0.2 percentage points to 8.4 per cent as WPP reduced staff, severance and property costs.

Reported operating profit rose 18.1 per cent to A$498 million, helped by lower impairment charges. However, profit attributable to shareholders dropped 56.8 per cent to A$36 million, while reported diluted earnings per share fell 57.5 per cent.

Staff costs declined 5.9 per cent to A$6.63 billion. The company’s average workforce fell from 105,958 people to 97,490, while its period-end headcount declined to 97,388.

WPP’s adjusted net debt stood at A$5.61 billion at 30 June. That figure included an approximately A$239 million benefit from accounting amendments adopted in January.

Elevate28 reset moves into action

Rose said WPP had completed the organisational building blocks for the first phase of Elevate28. The group is moving from a traditional holding company into four operating units spanning media, creative, production and enterprise solutions.

WPP Enterprise Solutions officially launched on 1 July to target demand for enterprise artificial intelligence services. WPP has also expanded its technology and data partnerships with Google, Meta and Amazon Web Services.

The company expects Elevate28 to deliver about A$191 million in savings during 2026. It is targeting approximately A$955 million in gross annualised savings by 2028.

WPP also expects to raise more than A$382 million from asset sales during the full year.

New business provides some momentum

First-half account wins included consolidated assignments from The Estée Lauder Companies, Henkel and Wendy’s. WPP also retained L’Oréal across Australia and New Zealand and Uber across APAC.

Other retentions included Skechers across several markets, Tesco in the United Kingdom and Central Europe, Huawei in China and Deutsche Bahn in Germany.

WPP expects its revenue less pass-through costs to decline by a low to mid-single-digit percentage during the second half. It maintained its full-year headline operating margin forecast of between 12 per cent and 13 per cent.

The group also expects adjusted operating cash flow before working capital of between A$1.53 billion and A$1.72 billion.