Sorrell Still Battening Down the Hatches

WPP Chief Martin Sorrell has told a Reuters summit that with 'vicious' price activity in the market, he expects the group's 2010 revenues to be flat. Sorrell says new business activity in his media businesses is strong, but in MR and creative functions there is less cheer.

Reiterating his belief that the recession has not ended but trading is 'less worse' than it was, Sorrell spoke to the Reuters Global Media Summit via video link from New York, saying clients were still very focused on taking costs out of the business and that the recession was not ending. He commented: 'Has the recession permanently impacted consumer behavior? I'm not sure it has but it's going to take a long time for consumer behavior to go back to where it was.'

Sorrell said recent problems in Dubai were not helpful but would not undermine his long-term confidence in the region. Asked if the firm could go beyond his target of having a third of its revenues coming from emerging markets in the medium term, he suggested it would: 'Once we've got to where I think we should be, I think we would raise the bar again... And I think that applies to new media too.'

Sorrell frequently comments on four-year cycles in media use, with peaks based on events like general elections and sporting summits, and said he had already seen significant investment in brands in Brazil ahead of the 2010 soccer World Cup in South Africa.

Web sites: www.wpp.com and www.reuters.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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