Omnicom Group said that profit rose 1.8% to $209.1 million even as revenues fell by about 1% to $3.47 billion in the first quarter of 2015.
That decline was driven by a 7.3% drop in international revenue to $1.51 billion in the first three months of the year, in part due to the impact of currency fluctuations. Domestic revenue rose 4.6% to $1.96 billion during the same period. On an organic basis, which excludes acquisitions and currency fluctuations, revenue grew 5.1%, with advertising revenue increasing 7.7%, CRM up 2.6%, public relations up 3.1% and specialty communications going up by 2.6%.
The holding company also said that its pharma and health business generated 11% of total revenues in the first quarter of 2015, up from 10% in the first quarter of 2014.
A proposed deal to merge Omnicom with Publicis Groupe, another of the world’s largest advertising holding companies, fell through about this time last year. Omnicom owns DDB Worldwide, BBDO Worldwide and TBWA Worldwide.
