WPP’s Australian business declines 4.8% in third quarter

WPP’s revenue less pass-through costs fell 2.1% on a like-for-like basis to A$4.55bn in the third quarter. Its Australian business fell 4.8%, a steeper decline than the previous quarter, according to the holding company’s trading update released in London on 29 October 2026.

The Australian result was well below the second quarter, when the market fell 1.8%. It helped push the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region down 4.3%, the weakest result of WPP’s four regions.

Revenue less pass-through costs excludes costs WPP passes on to clients, such as media bought on their behalf. Headline revenue, which includes those costs, rose 0.5% to A$6.18bn in the quarter.

Australia drags on APAC

APAC reversed from 0.3% growth in Q2. Revenue less pass-through costs for the region fell to A$690m, down from A$716m a year earlier.

WPP said the decline was “driven primarily by a step down in China”, which contracted 8.7% after growing 15.6% in Q2. The company said that result was in line with expectations and reflected timing factors. India returned to growth at 2.9%, after falling 6.0% in Q2.

The update gave no further detail on Australia.

WPP Media returns to growth

Globally, WPP’s Global Integrated Agencies segment fell 2.1%, down from 2.8% in Q2.

WPP Media grew 0.3%, after falling 2.8% in Q2. WPP said the unit was still affected by client losses from the prior year. It benefited from higher spend from existing clients, new account wins, an easier comparison with Q3 2025, and some timing benefits.

WPP Creative, which includes WPP Enterprise Solutions, fell 5.1%, down from a 3.5% decline in Q2. WPP said the declines were centred on its integrated creative agencies. PR returned to growth and its brand and design agencies grew by mid-single digits. WPP Production grew 2.5%, supported by “strong performance across APAC and LATAM”.

North America fell 1.8%, EMEA 1.7% and Latin America 1.2%. Revenue, less pass-through costs from WPP’s top 25 clients, fell 2.7%, an improvement from the 3.2% decline in Q2.

By client sector, Telecom, Media & Entertainment fell furthest, down 15.7%. Automotive grew 6.7% and Healthcare & Pharma grew 4.3%. Consumer packaged goods (CPG), which accounts for 27% of revenue less pass-through costs this year to date, fell 6.4%.

Rose holds guidance

WPP Chief Executive Officer Cindy Rose said the business was on track to deliver the first phase of its Elevate28 strategy.

“We are on track to deliver phase one of Elevate28: stabilising our business performance and laying the foundations for a simpler, more unified WPP,” said Rose.

“Our third quarter results show further sequential improvement in LFL growth, in line with our expectations. This reinforces my confidence in our strategy and our ability to deliver our plan. We remain focused on disciplined execution as we prepare for the ‘Build’ phase of Elevate28 and position WPP for a return to growth during 2027.”

WPP kept its 2026 guidance. It expects like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs to decline by low to mid-single digits in the second half, with Q4 towards the better end of that range. It expects a full-year headline operating margin of 12% to 13%. Second-half margins are forecast to fall by up to about 2 percentage points year-on-year. WPP said this reflects investment in growth initiatives, the ramp-up of new business wins and the rebuilding of incentives.

Year to date, revenue less pass-through costs fell 3.9% like-for-like to A$13.52bn.

WPP’s Australian slide

The Q3 result follows a 4.7% decline in Australia over the first half of 2026.

Financial statements filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) show WPP Australia and New Zealand revenue fell 9% to A$700.3m in 2025. Headcount fell by 335 to 2,357 over the same period.

Elevate28, unveiled on 26 February 2026, has three phases. It aims to stabilise the business in 2026, build in 2027 and accelerate growth from 2028.

Client wins and leadership changes

During the quarter, WPP retained The Coca-Cola Company as its global media partner. The review excluded North America, Japan and South Korea. WPP also secured new assignments or retained business with DoorDash, Nestlé, Uber, and Waymo.

Chief Financial Officer Joanne Wilson is stepping down, and the board has begun searching for her successor. Tyler Turnbull, currently Global CEO of McCann, will join as CEO of WPP Creative in early 2027. He succeeds Jon Cook, who will stay in the role until March 2027. Adam Gerhart has been appointed Global Chief Client Officer.

Adjusted net debt was A$5.67bn at 30 September, down from A$6.80bn a year earlier.