Publicis Groupe : Full Year 2023 Results

Full Year 2023 Results
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Another record year on all KPIs

Confident for 2024

February 8, 2024

• Full year 2023 net revenue organic growth at +6.3% with stronger than expected Q4 at +5.7%
• Industry-leading financial ratios: 18.0% operating margin rate; headline EPS up +10% at €6.96; adjusted free cash flow at €1.7bn¹
• #1 rank in new business over the last 5 years²  
• 2023 proposed dividend at €3.40 per share, fully paid in cash
• Confident in outperforming in 2024, despite macroeconomic challenges:
  • Organic growth expected at +4% to +5%
  • Operating margin rate at 18%
  • Free cash flow between €1.8 and €1.9bn

¹ Free cash flow (FCF) before change in working capital requirement.
Reported 2023 FCF at €1,547M when including net cash impact for Rosetta settlement of €148M.
² JP Morgan rankings 2019 – 2023.

Arthur Sadoun, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe:

“In a very challenging macroeconomic context, and after 6 years of transformation, Publicis definitely extracted itself from the pack in 2023.

Our +6.3% net revenue organic growth for the full year, coming after a stronger than expected end to the year at +5.7% in Q4, means that not only are we substantially outperforming our holding company peers, we are also growing twice as fast as the main IT consulting firms. 

What is true for organic growth is also true for our financial KPIs, be it on margin or on free cash flow. 

At a moment when our clients need partners that can truly help them transform in a challenging and ever-changing environment, our unique model has made the difference, allowing us to significantly gain market share and rank first in new business for the fifth year in a row.
  
With a reported revenue of close to 15 billion euros in 2023, up 35% versus 2019, Publicis has firmly established itself as our industry’s second largest player and the first in terms of market capitalization. 

Entering 2024, we feel confident in sustaining this momentum, just as we’ve done for the last four years with a +4.7% CAGR, twice the industry average. We anticipate delivering +4 to +5% organic growth while maintaining our historically high operating margin at 18%. When it comes to Q1, we expect to significantly outperform the industry with an organic growth within our full year guidance.

I would like to thank of our clients for their trust during this transformation journey and our people for their outstanding efforts. Thanks to all of them, we have reached new heights as a group, and are now in a position to face what will be another year of uncertainties with confidence and ambition.”

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*

Publicis Groupe’s Supervisory Board met on February 7, 2024, under the chairmanship of Maurice Lévy, to examine the 2023 annual accounts presented by Arthur Sadoun, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board.

KEY FIGURES

¹ Net income attributable to the Groupe, after elimination of impairment charges, real estate consolidation charge, amortization of intangibles arising on acquisitions, the main capital gains (or losses) on disposals, change in the fair value of financial assets, the revaluation of earn-out costs, divided by the average number of shares on a diluted basis.
² To be proposed to the shareholders at the AGM of May 29, 2024.
³ Adjusted for the net impact of the Rosetta settlement for 148 million euros in 2023 and the additional 107 million euros cash tax payment made in January 2023 relating to 2022 (110 million euros at 2022 rates).

NET REVENUE IN FY 2023

Publicis Groupe’s net revenue for the full year 2023 was 13,099 million euros, up +4.2% compared to 12,572 million euros in 2022. Exchange rate variations over the period had a negative impact of 340 million euros and acquisitions (net of disposals) had a positive impact of 100 million euros.

Organic growth was +6.3% in FY 2023 versus 2022. Compared to 2019, this implied organic growth of +21%, accelerating in H2 at +22% after +19% in H1.

The Groupe’s strong and consistent performance in 2023 was reflected in each and every of its unique capabilities.
Media, one third of revenue, grew double-digit on top of double digits last year, benefitting from both market shares gains and organic growth at existing clients. Data and tech activities, another third of revenue, posted a very solid growth overall. On the one hand, despite a context of slowdown in digital business transformation experienced by comparable consulting firms, Publicis Sapient achieved a solid +3.2% organic growth on top of a very high comparable base of +19% in FY 2022. On the other hand, Epsilon’s performance accelerated in the second half of the year, posting +9.6% organically in FY 2023, supported by a sustained high demand in first-party data management. Creative, the remaining third, showed its resilience with organic growth in the low-single digits for the year.

Breakdown of FY 2023 net revenue by sector

Based on 3,641 clients representing 91% of the Groupe’s net revenue.

Breakdown of FY 2023 net revenue by region

In North America, net revenue was up +4.9% organically. The region grew +2.3% on a reported basis in 2023, which includes a negative impact of the U.S. dollar to euro exchange rate. The U.S. posted a very solid +5.0% organically, on top of a double-digit growth last year, fueled by Media activities at double-digit. Epsilon saw its net revenue increase by +9.6% organically on the year, with a particularly strong performance in Digital Media. Creative activities were broadly stable on the year. Finally, Publicis Sapient was up +2.5% organically on a strong comparable base, impacted by the delays in DBT projects experienced by all comparable IT consulting firms.

Net revenue in Europe grew +10.3% on an organic basis (+10.2% reported), including a very strong +10.4% in the United Kingdom, +5.2%¹ in France, +7.2% in Germany and +16% in Central and Eastern Europe. Excluding the impact of our Outdoor Media activities and the Drugstore, organic growth was +9.0% in Europe.

Asia Pacific saw its net revenue grow by +2.9% organically and decline by 1.7% on a reported basis. China posted +2.2% organic growth despite difficult macroeconomic conditions throughout the year.

The Middle East and Africa region was up +12.4% organically and +5.8% on a reported basis.

In Latin America, organic growth was at +8.9%, while reported growth was at +18.0%.

¹ Excluding Outdoor Media activities & the Drugstore.

NET REVENUE IN Q4 2023

Publicis Groupe's net revenue in Q4 2023 was 3,540 million euros compared to 3,462 million euros in Q4 2022, up +2.3%. Exchange rate variations had a 139 million euros negative impact. Acquisitions (net of disposals) had a 28 million euros positive impact.

Organic growth was +5.7% in Q4 2023, ahead of the Groupe’s upgraded guidance in October 2023.

Media, one third of revenue, accelerated to double-digit growth in Q4, supported by a solid ramp up in new business. Data & tech activities, another third, saw contrasted trends like in Q3. Epsilon, on the one hand, posted a second consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, led by the high demand for 1P data. As anticipated, Publicis Sapient saw ongoing delays in DBT projects, like all comparable IT consulting firms, leading to a slight organic decline in Q4. Creative was again resilient in Q4, with low-single digit growth.

Breakdown of Q4 2023 Net revenue by region

North America net revenue was up +6.0% organically in Q4 2023. Taking into account a negative impact of the U.S. dollar to euro exchange rate, reported growth was at +1.2%. The U.S. accelerated in Q4 with +6.1% organic growth as Media grew a strong double-digit, while Creative activities were softer on the quarter, affected by localized cuts in classic advertising and on top of a high comparable base last year. Epsilon posted +10% organic on the quarter, largely driven by its Digital Media and Data divisions. In the context of delays in IT consulting projects, Publicis Sapient was broadly stable, facing a strong comparable base of +15% in Q4 2022.

Europe net revenue was up +4.3% on an organic basis (+4.5% reported). It grew +2.5% organically when excluding the contribution of Outdoor Media activities and the Drugstore. The United Kingdom posted a 4.2% organic decline on the quarter, facing a particularly high comparable base of +38% in Q4 2022 which was largely fueled by Publicis Sapient. France recorded a +6.3%¹ organic growth, driven by Creative and Publicis Sapient. In Germany, organic growth was up by +5.3%. Net revenue in Central & Eastern Europe was up +20.3% organically.

¹ Excluding Outdoor Media activities & the Drugstore

Net revenue in Asia Pacific grew +4.0% organically and declined 1.5% on a reported basis. This was led by China that improved sequentially to +1.4% in Q4, thanks to a more favorable macroeconomic context. South-East Asia was double-digit again this quarter, mainly driven by India, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. Australia and New Zealand posted negative performances, the latter having a very strong comparable in Q4 last year.

Net revenue in the Middle East and Africa region was up +9.7% organically (+1.9% on a reported basis), largely driven by Publicis Sapient.

In Latin America, net revenue was up +13.9% organically (+21.6% on a reported basis) led by Argentina, a strong Colombia at double digits and solid Mexico and Brazil.

ANALYSIS OF FY 2023 KEY FIGURES

Income Statement

EBITDA amounted to 2,845 million euros in 2023, compared to 2,801 million euros in 2022, up 1.6%. EBITDA was 21.7% as a percentage of net revenue.

Personnel costs totaled 8,514 million euros in 2023, up by 3.7% from 8,211 million euros in 2022. As a percentage of net revenue, the personnel expenses represented 65.0% in 2023, compared to 65.3% in 2022. Fixed personnel costs were 7,531 million euros representing 57.5% of net revenue versus 56.5% in 2022. The cost of freelancers decreased by 124 million euros in 2023, representing 332 million euros. Restructuring costs reached 111 million euros representing less than 1% of net revenue, up from 82 million euros in 2022.

Non-personnel costs amounted to 2,222 million euros in 2023, compared to 2,095 million euros in 2022. This represented 17.0% of net revenue versus 16.7% in 2022. They comprised:

• Other operating expenses (excluding pass-through costs, depreciation & amortization) amounted to 1,740 million euros, compared to 1,560 million euros in 2022. This represented 13.3% of net revenue in 2023 compared to 12.4% in 2022.
• Depreciation and amortization expense was 482 million euros in 2023, versus 535 million euros in 2022, a reduction of 10% or 53 million euros. It reflects the consolidation of our real estate footprint as well as an increase in the share of SaaS platforms used by the Groupe and directly expensed.

The operating margin amounted to 2,363 million euros, up +4.3% compared to 2022. This represents a margin rate of 18.0%, stable versus 2022.

Operating margin rates by region were 19.0% in North America, 17.7% in Europe, 19.0% in Asia-Pacific, 6.7% in Latin America and 8.7% in the Middle East and Africa region.

Amortization of intangibles arising from acquisitions totaled 268 million euro in 2023, down 19 million euros from 287 million euros in 2022. Impairment losses amounted to 153 million euros (109 million euros in 2022), essentially related to the real estate consolidation plan "All in One", which leads to a reduction in the number of sites, while allowing better collaboration between the teams.

In addition, net non-current income is negative at 202 million euros in 2023 (versus a negative 103 million euros in 2022), largely reflecting a 203 million euros net charge related to the Rosetta settlement. A comprehensive resolution was reached with all 50 State Attorneys General, the District of Columbia, and certain U.S. territories related to past work undertaken for opioid manufacturers primarily by former advertising agency Rosetta, bringing to a close almost three years of discussions. In the context of this settlement, following the payment of 343 million dollars to the States, Publicis Health was compensated 130 million dollars by its insurers. Consequently, it has recorded a non-recurring charge of 213 million dollars before tax in the fourth quarter of 2023. In addition, 7 million dollars to be paid to the Attorney Generals for the cost of investigation and other various costs have been accounted for. The total impact of the settlement before tax in the non-current income is a charge of 220 million dollars, corresponding to 203 million euros. This settlement, in which the Attorneys General recognized Publicis Health’s ‘good faith and responsible corporate citizenship’, is in no way an admission of wrongdoing or liability.

Operating income totaled 1,740 million euros in 2023, after 1,767 million euros in 2022.

The financial result, comprising the cost of net financial debt and other financial charges and income, was a charge of 21 million euros compared to a charge of 117 million euros in 2022.

• The cost of net financial debt was an income of 78 million euros in 2023 compared to a charge of 17 million euros in 2022. It included 99 million euros of interest largely related to Epsilon’s acquisition debt (102 million euros in 2022), partly mitigated by financial income of 178 million euros, improving from 85 million euros in 2022, largely reflecting higher remuneration on cash balances.
• Other financial income and expenses were a charge of 99 million euros in 2023, notably composed by 79 million euros interest on lease liabilities and 1 million in income from the fair value remeasurement of Mutual Funds. In 2022, other financial income and expenses were a charge of 100 million euros, notably composed of 87 million euros interest on lease liabilities and 9 million in income from the fair value remeasurement of Mutual Funds.

The revaluation of earn-out payments amounted to an income of 12 million euros compared to a loss of 2 million euros in 2022.

The income tax charge was 415 million euros in 2023, corresponding to an effective tax rate of 24.1%. This compared to 431 million euros in 2022, corresponding to an effective tax rate of 24.8%.

The share in profit of associates was an income of 6 million euros (versus an income of 5 million euros in 2022).

Minority interests were a gain of 10 million euros in 2023, when they were negligible in 2022.

Overall, net income attributable to the Groupe was 1,312 million euros in 2023, an increase of 7.4% compared to 1,222 million euros in 2022.

Finally, the Groupe’s earnings per share was 5.23 euros in 2023, an increase of 7.4% compared to 4.87 euros in 2022.

Free cash flow

The reported Groupe’s free cash flow, before change in working capital requirements, was 1,547 million euros.

This included two main non-recurring cash outflows.

• TCJA, for a net impact of 107 million euros: In January 2023, the Groupe proceeded to an additional 107 million euros cash payment related to 2022 fiscal year (110 million euros at 2022 USD/EUR exchange rate), reflecting the implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in the U.S. (TCJA) that was confirmed late December 2022. This change in tax legislation requires companies to capitalize and amortize U.S. R&D expenses over five years and has no impact on effective tax rate. Including this additional payment, the free cash flow for the Groupe was 1,700 million euros for 2022.
  
  
• Rosetta settlement, for a net impact of 148 million euros. Adjusted for this settlement, the free cash flow for the Groupe was 1,695 million euros for 2023, in line with the guidance of the Groupe of close to 1.7 billion euros.
  
  

Financial interests were an income of 93 million euros, compared to financial interest paid of 17 million euros in 2022, reflecting higher remuneration on cash balances.

¹ Adjusted for the net impact of the Rosetta settlement for 148 million euros in 2023 and the additional 107 million euros cash tax payment made in January 2023 relating to 2022 (110 million euros at 2022 rates).

Repayment of lease liabilities and related interests amounted to 423 million euros in 2023 (404 million euros in 2022). Net investments in fixed assets amounted to 178 million euros, decreasing by 16 million euros compared to 194 million euros in 2022.

Tax paid amounted to 669 million euros, compared to 430 million euros in 2022, rising by 239 million euros of which 107 million euros were due to the additional TCJA tax payment realized in January 2023 and related to 2022.

Net debt

The Groupe reported a net cash position of 909 million euros as of December 31, 2023 compared to a 634 million euros net cash position as of December 31, 2022. The Groupe's average net debt in 2023 amounted to 432 million euros, down from 685 million euros in 2022.

GROUPE AI STRATEGY

On January 25, 2024, the Groupe announced its ambition to become the industry’s first AI-powered Intelligent System.

In a presentation hosted by Arthur Sadoun, Chairman and CEO, and Directoire+ members Carla Serrano, Chief Strategy Officer, Nigel Vaz, CEO Publicis Sapient and Dave Penski, CEO Publicis Media, the Groupe introduced CoreAI, which infuses a layer of AI across the Groupe’s platform organization to connect its enterprise knowledge under a single entity.

Held at the centre of the Groupe, CoreAI unifies and standardizes Publicis’ expansive bank of proprietary data and combines this with 35 years of business transformation data and coding owned exclusively by Publicis Sapient. CoreAI makes these assets shareable and accessible to everyone across the Groupe, empowering them across five key disciplines: Insight, Media, Creative and Production, Software and Operations.

Publicis plans to invest 300 million euros in this strategy over the next three years. In 2024, the Groupe anticipates an investment of 100 million euros with 50% dedicated to people, focused on upskilling, training and recruitment, and 50% to technology, through licenses, IT software and cloud infrastructure. This investment will be fully accounted for in the P&L. It will have no dilutive impact on the Groupe’s operating margin in 2024 as it will be funded by internal efficiencies. It will be slightly accretive on the operating margin in 2025.

The Groupe began engineering CoreAI in the second half of 2023 and plans to iteratively roll out capabilities in the first half of 2024. It will present MVPs at Viva Tech in May 2024.   

ACQUISITIONS AND DISPOSALS

On January 4, 2023, Publicis announced the acquisition of Yieldify, a London-based marketing technology company. Founded in 2013, Yieldify’s leading platform and service enable companies to better personalize consumers’ website experiences, driving incremental revenue and other desired outcomes by delivering the right message at the right time based on a consumer's profile and stage in their purchase journey. Yieldify will become part of Epsilon, and its onsite personalization, conversion optimization and customer journey offerings will complement Epsilon PeopleCloud to better address the mid-market.

On January 10, 2023, Publicis announced the acquisition of Advertise BG, one of the leading performance marketing agencies in Bulgaria. The strategic acquisition will further reinforce Publicis Groupe Bulgaria’s competencies in digital transformation, adding firepower to its existing offering across digital strategy, data, social media, and digital content creation.

On March 30, 2023, Publicis announced the acquisition of Practia, based in Buenos Aires, a leading Latin America independent technology company and provider of digital business transformation services. With its 1,200 experienced professionals, this acquisition will position Publicis Sapient to enter the Latin America market while establishing a foundation for a nearshore delivery platform that will enable the company to better service clients based in North America.

On May 23, 2023, Publicis announced the acquisition of full stake in Publicis Sapient AI Labs, an innovative artificial intelligence research and development joint venture launched in 2020 in partnership between Publicis Sapient, Elder Research and Tquila. The acquisition will further strengthen Publicis Sapient’s data & AI capabilities and enable the company to develop innovative solutions across industries for a wide range of applications, such as generative AI, natural language processing (NLP), computer vision and autonomous systems.

On June 5, 2023, Publicis announced the acquisition of Corra, based in New York, an ecommerce leader recognized by Adobe as one of the top commerce firms in North America. Corra will augment Publicis Sapient’s existing expertise in commerce solutions, including Adobe Commerce, while extending Publicis Sapient’s offerings in digital and omnichannel commerce. By acquiring Corra, Publicis Sapient will further establish itself as a global leader across the entire Adobe Product Suite, in addition to further cementing its already leading capabilities.

On June 15, 2023, Publicis and Carrefour announced the launch of their joint venture Unlimitail, to address the booming retail media market in Continental Europe, Brazil and Argentina. The launch of the company comes six months after the initiative was announced and has been unveiled during Viva Tech. Unlimitail will partner with retailers and brands, bringing the scale, connectivity and consistency for retail media to reach its full potential in those geographies. It is built on the most advanced technologies, “CitrusAd powered by Epsilon”, and the deepest retail expertise from Carrefour. Unlimitail has already converted its first 13 retail partners, representing together more than 120 million loyalty customers.

OUTLOOK

While the macroeconomic context remains uncertain as we enter 2024, the Groupe is confident in its ability to deliver profitable growth that outperforms the market.

For the full year 2024, the Groupe aims at delivering a 4% to 5% organic growth. Publicis intends to achieve a solid +4% despite the macroeconomic challenges that currently affect classic advertising and delay business transformation projects. Organic growth could reach +5% assuming an improvement in global conditions in the second half of the year.

In Q1 2024, the Groupe expects to deliver organic growth within the full year range.

The Groupe expects to maintain financial ratios again in 2024 at historical highs, including:

• Operating margin at 18%. This includes the Groupe’s Opex investment of 100 million euros in its AI plan.
  
  
• Free cash flow between 1.8 and 1.9 billion euros¹ in 2024.

CASH ALLOCATION

Based on its free cash flow prospects and on its strong financial structure, the Groupe has set the following cash allocation for 2024:

• Dividend for a total of close to 900 million euros fully paid in cash, corresponding to a 3.40 euros dividend per share that will be submitted to the vote of its shareholders at its next AGM on May 29, 2024. This corresponds to a 49% payout and is a 17% increase compared to prior year.
  
  
• A share repurchase plan of circa 200 million euros in order to stabilize the number of shares in circulation. The repurchase plan aims to cover the existing Long Term Incentive Plans of the Groupe for a total of circa 2 million shares.
  
  
• An envelope for selective M&A between 700 and 800 million euros, to further strengthen the Groupe’s data, tech, commerce and AI capabilities.
  

¹ Before change in working capital requirements.

GROUPE CSR POLICY IN 2023

With a view to the entry into force in 2025 of the European CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), which requires companies to carry out in-depth sustainability work, in 2023 Publicis Groupe launched internal projects to prepare the required double materiality exercise, as well as the expected level of granularity for the 12 themes set out in the ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards). ESG risk mapping has been presented to the Audit Committee and the ESG Committee of the Supervisory Board.

CSR was one of the themes discussed with employees at the fourth Viva la Difference internal seminar, which brought together virtually all the Groupe's employees in December 2023 to review the year and look ahead to 2024. This seminar provided an opportunity to detail the Groupe's strategic ambitions in terms of artificial intelligence and its application to the Groupe's various businesses. This was followed by a day of internal round-table discussions with each region, to enable Top Management to respond at greater length to any questions employees might have.

E – Environment & the fight against Climate Change

The Groupe's climate targets, validated by SBTi (Science Based Targets Initiative), outline a trajectory to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 (Near-Term Target - Scopes 1+2+3) and by 90% by 2040 (Long-Term Target - Scopes 1+2+3). The Groupe remains aligned with the Paris Agreement and the 1.5° scenario, and continues to focus all its efforts on drastically reducing carbon emissions. In terms of direct-source renewable energies, the Groupe is making progress towards its target of 100% by 2030, having reached the 2023 milestone at over 50%.

Reducing all environmental impacts remains the absolute priority, and various initiatives have been launched to strengthen direct and indirect action levers. In view of the residual unavoidable carbon emissions, and to anticipate the Groupe's future needs to achieve Net Zero by 2040, Publicis Groupe has joined the Climate Fund for Nature (Mirova/Natixis). The fund will support projects dedicated to the protection and restoration of nature with associated benefits for biodiversity and communities. This represents a commitment of €20 million for the delivery of voluntary carbon credits over fifteen years.

Following on from the work carried out in 2022 on climate risks, an ad hoc project was carried out in 2023 to analyse the impact on biodiversity, with the support of an external consultancy.

S – Social, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The end of 2023 was marked by the Hamas attacks in Israel, where the Groupe has some 440 employees. The absolute priority was to ensure the safety of the teams and their families, as had been the case in February 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These wars disrupt many lives and each time we have to put in place tailor-made measures to help our employees. In Ukraine, the Groupe has continued to pay the salaries of local teams in 2023, as it did in 2022. Donations made by employees and the Groupe to a fund dedicated to employees and their families in Ukraine have helped 32 families since July 2022.

By the end of 2023, the international #WorkingWithCancer programme launched by the Chairman of the Directoire to combat the taboo of cancer in the workplace had been signed up by 1,500 companies, representing 40 million employees worldwide.

The Groupe's objective of having 45% women in key positions of responsibility within the Groupe by 2025, with a target of 43% by 2023, has been achieved. In the United States, the United Kingdom, France, India and many other countries, efforts have continued to focus on more open and inclusive recruitment, in particular for young people who are far removed from our businesses, with several programmes, such as the MCTP for the 14th year in the United States, or Publicis Track in France. The diversity and inclusion programmes in place in the United States were presented to the ESG Committee.

In terms of training, the Marcel Classes platform has stepped up its personalised support for employees with the Growth Dashboard. In October 2023, the organisation of remote working was specified for 2024, requiring everyone to be in the office three days a week, in order to give priority to interpersonal relations in situ and encourage team cooperation.

The #WorkYourWorld internal programme, which enables employees to work for six weeks in a country or city of their choice, continues to be very popular in 2023: more than 2,500 employees have taken advantage of it (bringing to more than 4,000 the number of trips made since the programme was launched in January 2022) for an average stay of 29 days.

The 19th Global Meeting of the Women's Forum for the Economy and the Society took place over two days in Paris in November 2023, bringing together over 1,500 people in person and more than 12,000 online participants from 122 countries.

G – Governance, Business Ethics and Responsible Marketing

A.L.I.C.E (Advertising Limiting Impacts & Carbon Emissions), the Groupe's proprietary tool for assessing the impact of customer campaigns and projects, has been enhanced to refine the calculations for the Groupe's different businesses, and has been certified e-accessible. In 2023, this calculator was used for +250 brands/customers in 30 countries. At the same time, the Groupe is continuing to take part in various sectoral projects, both nationally and internationally, in particular those led by Ad Net Zero, aimed at standardising the methodologies used to calculate the carbon footprint of our businesses, particularly the media.

The Groupe's objective remains to advance professional practices and standards in favour of inclusion and the reduction of environmental impacts. The level of maturity of French agencies is an example of mobilisation; Publicis France maintains its leading position with 11 agencies certified as 'RSE Active' by the French interprofessional body in partnership with Afnor.

In the United States, the OnceForAllCoalition initiated by Publicis Media includes more than 70 active partners, including more than 30 brands and advertisers, all working to promote innovative media and content aimed at under-represented or minority populations. Advertisers have increased their investment in these audiences by 50% over the year.

Business ethics issues are an integral part of the Groupe's businesses and the aim is to train all employees to maintain our high standards in fundamental areas detailed in our Janus Code of Ethics, such as anti-corruption, data protection and information systems security. Lastly, the Groupe was rated 958/1000 by Cybervadis, illustrating continuous improvement linked in particular to effective cooperation between the GDPO (Group Data Protection Office) teams and the GSO (Global Security Office) security teams.

In terms of external ESG ratings, Publicis Groupe finished 2023 at the top of its sector with 8/10 of the main rating agencies, and the company is included in several ESG indices such as DSJI Europe and DJSI World.

NEW BUSINESS

EUROPE

Santen France (Health), GlaxoSmithKline (Health & Media), Comité Colbert (Creative), Speedy (Data), Carlsberg (Creative), Abeille Assurances (Creative), Visa (Technology & Creative), DomusVi (Technology), DocuSign (Creative), The Football Association Premier League (Creative), Allwyn (Creative), Pivovara Daruvar (Creative), heroal (Creative), Deutsche Telekom (Creative), DATEV (Influence), Samsung (DTC), PepsiCo (Media), L’Oréal (Media), Tesco (Creative), Asda (Technology), Renault (Influence), FoodWell (Media), Notino (Media), Casavo (Creative), La Poste (Media), Dream Games (Media), Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (Media), Meggle (Media), Île-de-France Mobilités (Creative), TotalEnergies (Creative), Bioderma (Creative), Pernod Ricard (Influence), Ovo Energy (Creative), Le manège à bijoux (Creative), Inserm (Media), SNCF (Digital), John Lewis (Creative), Alfa Romeo (Air France KLM (Influence), Ikea (Creative & media), Gruppo Iren (Creative), Bulgari (Creative), Gruppo Campari (Influence), Western Union (Media), Beko (Influence), Société Générale (DBT), Iveco (Media), Sony Music (Digital), Legrand (Creative), Nexity (Creative), Skoda (Social Media), Charlotte Tilbury (Media), Ferrero (Media/Creative/Influence), Laya Healthcare (Creative), PublicJobs.ie (Creative), ADAC (Influence), Innomotics (Media), Bosch (Media), ASOS (Media), Sodexo (Media, Portu (Media), Bundesministerium fuer Arbeit und Soziales (DBT), Belvedere Vodka (Creative), SAS Bagel Chef (Creative), Answear.com (Creative), Miele (Commerce), Sandoz (Content), Orange (Creative), Confused.com (Creative), Bundesministerium fuer Arbeit und Soziales (DBT), Grunenthal (Influence), Tediber (Media), Zoopla (Media), Signify Iberia (Media), Glovo App (Media), Stiftelsen Norsk Rikstoto (Media), Henkel (Media), Bausch Health (Media), Stiftelsen Norsk Rikstoto (Content), Norske Boligbyggelags Landsforbund (Content), Storck (Media), Hyundai Motor Company (Influence), Totalizator Sportowy (Media), Interlacto, (Media), Hisense Group Company (Influence), Simba Dickie Group (Media), Waitrose (Retail Media), Burger King (Digital), NDL Pro-Health (Digital), Akind Group (Media), OBI (Media), Salone del Mobile Milano (Media & DBT)

NORTH AMERICA

Krafton (Influence), Intuit (Creative), Shelter Movers (Influence), Universite de Sherbrooke (Creative), Steak 'n Shake (Creative & CRM), Loblaws (Cretaive), Mattress Firm (Creative), Jasco Games (Creative), Wondery (CRM), McDonalds (CRM), Milton Hershey School (Influence), University of Oklahoma (Production), Progress Residential (Production), Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (Production), Robert Walters (Production), HP (Commerce), Sun Life of Canada (Commerce), Rite Aid (Media), The PUR Company (Media), MTY Food Group (Influence), General Mills (Commerce), Dunkin’ (Creative & Digital), Walgreens (Media), KB Home (Creative), Burger King (Creative), Sanofi (Influence), Virgin Mobile (Creative), Toronto Parking Authority (Creative), HealthPartners Canada (Influence), Groupe Atallah (Media), Kicking Horse Coffee (Creative & Influence), General Motors Company (Production), Tillamook County Creamery Association (Creative), Signet Jewelers (Media & Production), Blue Diamond Growers (Media), Turo (Creative & Production), UPS (Creative), LVMH (Media), Shark Beauty (Creative), New Age Products (Media), Samsung (Commerce), TGI Fridays (Media), National Life Insurance (Media), Sierra Nevada Brewing Company (Creative), Coopers Hawk Winery and Restaurants (CRM), Haribo of America (Creative & Influence), Air Transat (Influence), The Cadillac Fairview Corporation (CRM), Kellogg Company (Content), The Procter And Gamble Company (Influence), Duracell (Creative), Kimberly-Clark (Media), The Container Store (Data), Dicks Sporting Goods (CRM), ConAgra Foods (Creative), QuadReal Property (Content & Influence), GlaxoSmithKline (Production), Edo Japan Restaurants (Influence), Starbucks (Influence), Olymel (Creative), Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (Influence), Foresters Life Insurance (Production), The TJX Companies (Content), Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (CRM), Turo (Production), Edo Japan Restaurants (Influence), Toronto Metropolitan University (Influence), Daily Bread Food Bank (Content), Pricewaterhouse Coopers (Production), Mary Brown's Chicken (Influence), Heineken (Commerce), Nestlé Health Science (Media), KFC (Creative), DSW (Media), Molson Coors (Creative), Cisco Systems (Media), Cuisinart (Content), Perrigo (Creative), AH Capital Management (Content), Jazwares (Influence), Xsolla (Influence), Bath and Body Works (Creative), Quest Nutrition (Creative)

ASIA PACIFIC/MEA

Miele (CRM), United Homeware Company (Creative), Krungthai Bank (Creative), Anker (Media), Royal Automobile Club (Media), Charles & Keith (Commerce), Nick Did This (Media), Nine Network (Creative), Essity (Media), OSHO (DBT), La Trobe University (DBT), LVMH (Production), Cathay Pacific Airways (Commerce), Pepsico (Production), Duolingo (Creative), Aeries Financial Technologies (Media), Central Provident Fund Board (Production), AIA Company (Media), Haleon (Production), LOréal (Media & Production), The Standard Bank of South Africa (Creative), Sanofi (Creative), Nestlé (Production), Diageo (Commerce), Mondelez (Production), Pizza Hut (Creative), Cancer Council Victoria (Media), Emirates NBD (Creative), Grupo Bimbo (Creative), Microsoft (Influence), JioMart (Creative), AkBank (Media), Novartis (Creative & Production), United Breweries (Production), Charlotte Tilbury Beauty (Creative & Production), Genesis Motor (Creative), Torrent Pharmaceuticals (Creative), More Retail (Media), GlaxoSmithKline (Creative), Crocs (Creative), Shanghai Neobio (Creative), FWD Group (Media), Bank of China (Media), Yili (Creative), Singhealth (Digital), P&G (Digital), Oritain (Creative & Media), Neom Company (Creative), Renault (Media), Bosideng (Production), HSBC (Creative), BASF (Creative), Union Bank of the Philippines (Creative), Roborock (Production), Indeed (Influence), Samsonite (Media), New Balance (Production), Keypath Education (Media), Jio-bp (Digital), Enamor (Digital), UniScholars (Creative), The Procter And Gamble Company (Commerce), Friesland Campina (Media), Sony Playstation (Creative), TPG (Media), Iveco (Media), Sace (Media), PUMA (Creative), Microtek (Creative), BikesOnline (Digital), Reliance Retail (Creative), Shimao Hotel Group (Influence), Hong Kong Technology Venture Company (Content), Honor (Influence), Hang Lung Properties (Creative), Amway (Production), BMW (Media), Apoidea Web3 (Media), Dairy Farm International (Media), First Class Innovation (Creative), Walt Disney (Content), Absa Bank (Media), ALDI (CRM), Superloop (Media), Abu Dhabi Investment Office (Media), Huawei (Creative), Auckland International Airport (Creative), Beiersdorf (Production), Tsingtao (Creative), Jindal SAW (Influence), Temple & Webster (Media & Influence), upGrad (Creative)

LATAM

LOréal (Media), Bayer (Media), Samsung (Media), Nestlé (Creative), PicPay (Creative), Pizza Hut (Commerce), Polla Chilena (Media), Telecom Argentina (Media), Paper Excellence (Media), Comgás (Media), Sportingbet (Content), Mondelez (Media), Decathlon (Creative)

GLOBAL

Adobe (Media), Mondelez (Production), King (Creative), Ninjacart (Creative), Alvarium Tiedemann (Creative), Amplifon (Creative), Pfizer (Creative, Media, Data, Production), Miele (Media), Ancestry (Media), Essity (Creative)

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Disclaimer

Certain information contained in this document, other than historical information, may constitute forward-looking statements or unaudited financial forecasts.  These forward-looking statements and forecasts are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These forward-looking statements and forecasts are presented at the date of this document and, other than as required by applicable law, Publicis Groupe does not assume any obligation to update them to reflect new information or events or for any other reason. Publicis Groupe urges you to carefully consider the risk factors that may affect its business, as set out in the Universal Registration Document filed with the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) and which is available on the website of Publicis Groupe (www.publicisgroupe.com), including an unfavorable economic climate, a highly  competitive industry, risks associated with the confidentiality of personal data, the Groupe’s business dependence on its management and employees, risks associated with mergers and acquisitions, risks of IT system failures and cybercrime, the possibility that our clients could seek to terminate their contracts with us on short notice, risks associated with the reorganization of the Groupe, risks of litigation, governmental, legal and arbitration proceedings, risks associated with the Groupe’s financial rating and exposure to liquidity risks.

About Publicis Groupe - The Power of One

Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris FR0000130577, CAC 40] is a global leader in communication. The Groupe is positioned at every step of the value chain, from consulting to execution, combining marketing transformation and digital business transformation. Publicis Groupe is a privileged partner in its clients’ transformation to enhance personalization at scale. The Groupe relies on ten expertise concentrated within four main activities: Communication, Media, Data and Technology. Through a unified and fluid organization, its clients have a facilitated access to all its expertise in every market. Present in over 100 countries, Publicis Groupe employs around 101,000 professionals.
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Appendices

Net revenue: organic growth calculation

(1)  Acquisitions (Practia, Profitero, Corra, Tquila, Yieldify, Tremend, Retargetly, Wiredcraft, Bizon, VivNetworks, Cheat, ARBH, Changi, Perlu, Advertise Bulgaria, Publicis Sapient AI Labs), net of disposals (Russia, Qorvis, Makers Lab)

(2) EUR = USD 1.082 on average in 2023 vs. USD 1.054 average in 2022
EUR = GBP 0.870 on average in 2023 vs. GBP 0.853 on average in 2022

Definitions

Net revenue or Revenue less pass-through costs: Pass-through costs mainly concern production and media activities, as well as various expenses incumbent on clients. These items that can be re-billed to clients do not come within the scope of assessment of operations, net revenue is a more relevant indicator to measure the operational performance of the Groupe’s activities.

Organic growth: Change in net revenue excluding the impact of acquisitions, disposals and currencies

EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization): Operating margin before depreciation & amortization

Operating margin: Revenue after personnel costs, other operating expenses (excl. non-current income and expense) and depreciation (excl. amortization of intangibles arising on acquisitions)

Operating margin rate: Operating margin as a percentage of net revenue

Headline Group Net Income: Net income attributable to the Groupe, after elimination of impairment charges / real estate transformation expenses, amortization of intangibles arising on acquisitions, the main capital gains (or losses) on disposals, change in the fair value of financial assets and the revaluation of earn-out costs

EPS (Earnings per share): Group net income divided by average number of shares, not diluted

EPS, diluted (Earnings per share, diluted): Group net income divided by average number of shares, diluted

Headline EPS, diluted (Headline Earnings per share, diluted): Headline group net income, divided by average number of shares, diluted

Capex: Net acquisitions of tangible and intangible assets, excluding financial investments and other financial assets

Free cash flow before changes in working capital requirements: Net cash flow from operating activities less interests paid & received, repayment of lease liabilities & related interests and before changes in WCR linked to operating activities

Free cash flow: Net cash flow from operating activities less interests paid & received, repayment of lease liabilities & related interests

Net debt (or financial net debt): Sum of long and short financial debt and associated derivatives, net of treasury and cash equivalents, excluding lease liability since 1^st January 2018

Average net debt: Average of monthly net debt at end of month

Dividend pay-out: Dividend per share / Headline diluted EPS

Organic Growth vs. 2019: calculated as
([1 + organic growth (n-3)] * [1 + organic growth (n-2)] * [1 + organic growth (n-1)] * [1 + organic growth (n)])-1

Consolidated income statement

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

Consolidated balance sheet

Consolidated statement of cash flows

Consolidated statement of changes in equity

Earnings per share (basic and diluted)

Headline earnings per share (basic and diluted)

Please find the press release here