Havas' revenue was down by -1.7% in North America to $768
million, which the company blamed on account losses at Arnold and a
"softening" of the healthcare business. The fourth quarter was
slightly better, with, with North American revenue down just
1.2%.
Speaking at his first results presentation since being made
Havas CEO, Mr. Bolloré said he was "confident of our U.S.
prospects" and added, "In the U.S., Arnold has had a tough year but
we have a new team in place and Havas Worldwide has won some good accounts
– Green Mountain Coffee, Liberty Mutual, Dish."
Europe grew at 1.4% in 2013 and 2.3% in the fourth quarter. The
U.K. was the strongest country in the region at 6.5%, followed by
France with 3% growth, while the rest of the continent showed a
revenue decline of 2.7%.
Mr. Bolloré said, "Europe accounts for 50% of Havas
revenue, and here the mood of the clients is starting to be better
than in the last four years. In Germany we are expecting double
digit growth this year, and in the U.K. it will be in the high
single figures."
In a statement, Mr. Bolloré said, "We pursued our
strategy of integrating our creative, media and digital teams in
2013. Deploying this new, client-centric organization makes us more
agile, more innovative and quicker to respond to the changes taking
place in our industry. We head into 2014 with dynamism and
serenity."
Asia Pacific posted 17.5% growth in the third quarter -- boosted
by wins from LG Electronics, Emirates and
Danone -- and 5.4% for the full year, while Latin America grew 4.4%
during the year but was down -5.6% in the fourth quarter.