WPP plc Q1 FY2024 Earnings Call

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to WPP's 2024 First Quarter Trading Update. I'm Mark Read, and I'm here with our CFO, Joanne Wilson; Tom Waldron, who leads our Investor Relations team; and their team. Let's move on to the presentation. Before we begin, please review our cautionary statement on Page 2. On Page 3, you will find the agenda. I will first introduce the results briefly, then Joanne will go through the details, and I'll return at the end to quickly review our strategic progress against the objectives we set during the Capital Markets Day at the end of January. On Page 4, we have a summary. In the first quarter, we focused on implementing the strategic moves we outlined in January. The impression we have received is that our changes have been well-received by our people and our clients, who are recognizing the advantages of our transition to a simpler, more agile organization, along with the benefits of integrating technology and AI. Our performance in the first quarter was not as strong as we hoped, but it aligned with our expectations given the tough comparisons from last year, primarily due to ongoing pressure from technology clients and some client losses in 2023 and even 2022. However, we anticipate that momentum will improve throughout the year. We expect technology clients to shift from negative to positive as the year progresses, budget cut impacts to lessen, and our new business pipeline to remain strong. Additionally, our new structure is enhancing our agility and competitiveness, and we are seeing the impact of AI reflected in our client interactions. This leads us to reaffirm our guidance for the full year at this point. Turning to the highlights on Page 5, as noted, we did encounter top-line pressure, which aligns with our expectations, and Joanne will explain the trends within that. We secured a notable number of client wins, especially in media with Nestle, and in healthcare we can now better serve clients in sectors we previously could not. From an awards standpoint, both our creative and media agencies received recognition in WARC and the Drum creative rankings. We are particularly proud that Ogilvy was named Ad Age's Global Network of the Year, an accolade they have received multiple times over the past decade. This recognition is a great achievement for Devika, Liz, and the team, highlighting Ogilvy as a leading creative network globally. Strategically, we have concentrated on executing the actions announced at CMD, and the structural changes at VML, GroupM, and Burson are progressing well. All three agencies are on track to deliver the expected savings, and we have received positive responses from clients and staff with very limited setbacks. In terms of AI, we are investing significantly and have seen user growth for WPP Open, which now has 50,000 users across the group. We are incorporating the latest models, including Bria, the visual AI tool, as well as the latest tools from Google Gemini and recent OpenAI releases. Earlier this month, we showcased the first release of our Performance Brain at Google Next in Las Vegas, which facilitates predictive judgments and adjustments on content, marking it as a significant feature in the keynote presentation. Our new, simpler organization is helping us move more quickly and in a more coordinated way, allowing for the deployment of these AI tools across our company. Overall, the quarter was in line with our expectations, and we do not anticipate changes in our outlook, so we are reaffirming our guidance for both the top and bottom line for the year. Now, I’ll hand it over to Joanne. Thank you.

Thank you, Mark, and good morning, everyone. Let me provide some additional details on our financial results for the first quarter, starting with Slide 7. Our revenue minus pass-through costs decreased by 5% on a reported basis, affected by a 3.9 percentage point decline due to foreign exchange fluctuations from the strengthening of sterling compared to last year and a 0.5 percentage point increase from acquisitions. On a comparable basis, revenue minus pass-through costs fell by 1.6%. This performance in the first quarter reflects ongoing reductions in year-on-year spending by technology clients, which we will begin to compare against in Q2, as well as the impact of client losses, including Pfizer. Two months ago, during our full-year results, I mentioned that Q1 had the toughest year-over-year comparison at 2.9%. The first quarter unfolded pretty much as anticipated, and we expect to see growth return for the remainder of the year. Moving to Slide 8, our Global Integrated Agencies experienced a 0.7% decline year-on-year in the quarter. Within this category, GroupM, our media planning and buying division, grew by 2.4%, thanks to ongoing growth in client media investments, although this was somewhat countered by assignment losses from U.S. clients in previous years and reduced spending by technology clients. Our global integrated creative agencies saw a like-for-like decrease of 3.3%, also driven by lower technology client spending and the full quarter's impact of Pfizer's exit. These challenges were somewhat mitigated by Ogilvy, which continues to perform well due to recent client assignment successes, and Hogarth, which is taking advantage of production opportunities. In Public Relations, which makes up about 10% of WPP, revenue minus pass-through costs decreased by 3.3% in the quarter. FGS Global, our prominent strategic advisory and communications firm, achieved growth against a tough comparison, but this was more than offset by declines at BCW and Hill & Knowlton, affected by the loss of Pfizer and clients' cautious spending habits. Finally, our Specialist Agencies, representing around 7% of WPP, saw a 7.6% decline, largely due to ongoing impacts from delays in project-based spending among smaller agencies. CMI, our specialist health care media and buying agency, continued to show strong growth. Turning to Slide 9, we review our performance by region. North America declined by 5.2%, primarily due to its significant exposure to technology clients, the loss of Pfizer at our creative agencies, and client assignment losses at GroupM. We expect our strategic actions to enhance performance in the region throughout the rest of 2024. The U.K. grew by 0.3%, down from 7.4% a year prior, with growth in consumer packaged goods balancing out declines from technology client spending. Western Continental Europe grew by 3.3%, driven by strength in France and Spain from client assignment wins, partially offset by losses in Germany. The rest of the world decreased by 0.6%, mostly due to a 3.2% decline in Asia Pacific, while India grew by 6.6%, reflecting last year's strong new business momentum, countered by a 15.4% drop in China, which continues to face a tough macroeconomic and client climate. We have a new management team in China and are approaching budgeting for the remainder of the year cautiously, which aligns with our overall guidance of 0% to 1% for the full year. Slide 10 illustrates Q1 performance across our client sectors, with sustained strength in consumer packaged goods, as clients in this space continue to invest in our brands, while telecom, media, and entertainment benefited from client wins in 2023. However, this growth was offset by decreased spending from technology clients and previously announced assignment losses in healthcare and retail sectors. Now moving to Slide 11, which details the changes in net debt through the end of March, adjusted net debt remained stable year-on-year, and the change since December reflects our typical cash cycle. We have confirmed our guidance of flat working capital for 2024 and continue to anticipate net debt at the end of 2024 to remain approximately the same as in 2023. In March, we successfully refinanced our 2024 and 2025 maturities by issuing two bonds: a EUR 600 million five-year bond with a coupon of 3.625% and a EUR 650 million nine-year bond with a coupon of 4%. Both issues attracted over three times subscription and were priced lower than our initial expectations. Finally, on Slide 12, you will notice that our full-year guidance remains unchanged, although we now project a smaller negative impact from foreign exchange on revenue minus pass-through costs in 2024. Based on current exchange rates, that headwind is now at minus 1.3%, compared to prior guidance of minus 2%. The first quarter faced the toughest year-on-year comparison for 2024, and we expect to return to growth for the rest of the year, supported by our new business pipeline and improved opportunities with existing clients. We are making significant progress on our strategic initiatives, which bolsters our confidence in achieving the expected 20 to 40 basis point improvement in operating margin in 2024. This improvement will be more pronounced in the second half as year-on-year growth picks up and structural cost savings increase. Thank you, and I will now turn it back to Mark.

Thank you very much, Joanne. I want to share some insights on our progress since our Capital Markets Day. On Page 14, which we refer to as innovating to lead, we outlined four objectives, and I believe we are making excellent strides in each area. First, we aim to lead through investments in AI, data, and technology. I've mentioned the increased deployment of WPP, our intelligent marketing operating system, which is gaining traction globally among our clients. Recently, we had 1,500 participants in a webinar to learn about new features being added to the platform. We are integrating more potent models into WPP Open, and our ability to be model agnostic is proving advantageous for us and our clients. This flexibility allows them to achieve better results. Our new business strategies also leverage this model integration. Most notably, we showcased the first prototype of our Performance Brain at Google Next, which uses AI to predict the performance of creative content before deployment. Additionally, our partnership with NVIDIA is advancing, and we were honored to be recognized by them as their Innovation Partner of the Year in Europe. Moving on to our second objective, we are driving growth through creative transformation. We continue to witness strong client demand for simpler and more integrated solutions. Our offerings reflect a balanced approach with leading capabilities in media, creative, production, digital, and public relations, supported by our extensive global presence. The recognition of our creative agencies further strengthens our position. Our third objective centers on building strong, world-class brands. We are actively engaged in this area. Currently, six brands account for 90% of WPP's business. To highlight a few, Ogilvy is performing exceptionally well and has been named Agency of the Year, along with notable growth in the U.S. for the first time in years. The merger with VML is positively affecting clients, and we've made strides in restructuring and appointing leadership teams globally. AKQA is leading in technology and digital transformation, though it has faced challenges in this transition; however, we are observing revenue stability from technology clients. GroupM's synergy efforts remain a priority as we enhance our performance in the U.S. Hogarth, recognized as the top production firm globally, is growing and securing new business. Burson is now considered the second-largest PR firm in the world and is attracting top talent, enhancing our appeal among clients. All these factors contribute to our fourth objective: to strengthen financial performance, focusing on margin performance and cash conversion. We are dedicated to achieving the targets laid out on Page 15 for growth, operating margin, cash flow conversion, and net debt levels. We stand firm on these targets and are making steady progress, consistent with our expectations shared in January. In summary, on Page 16, we remain confident in our strategy, which is resonating with clients and throughout the business. We've delivered Q1 results as anticipated and foresee improving momentum for the rest of the year. Therefore, we are reiterating our full-year guidance. Thank you, and that concludes our opening remarks; we are now ready for questions.

We will now take our first question that is from Nicolas Langlet from BNP Paribas.

I got three questions, please. First, on the tech clients. So you mentioned you expect a sequential improvement in the next quarters, is it related to business wins? Or do you see existing clients increasing the spending for the rest of the year? Second question on China. So momentum was still pretty soft there. What are the key initiatives to regain momentum and what sort of organic sales trend you have baked into the full year '24 guidance for the country? And finally, on the generative AI tools, curious, how long do you think it will take for the deployment of those gen AI tools to be at least neutral on margin? Because I think there is still increased investment in the short term for the training and implementation. And longer term, what's your view on the gen AI tools impact on margin? Do you expect some of the benefit to drop through to the bottom line? Or you plan to reinvest most of the gain into the top line?

Sure, I'll address the technology question first. Joanne will discuss China later, and then we can revisit the AI implementations. In terms of our technology clients, we experienced a 9% decline in the first quarter, which is essentially flat compared to last year, where it was up 0.6%. Last year's second quarter was down 8.7%. Moving forward, the comparisons should become easier as the year progresses. Conversations with these clients indicate that their spending is stabilizing, and we anticipate it will become positive as the year unfolds. While I can't specify if this will happen in Q2 or Q3, we are observing a positive trend in our recent reforecast, which reinforces our confidence that this uptick will occur this year. This expectation largely hinges on an increase in spending from these clients. While there are new projects involved, the growth isn’t primarily based on new business wins; it comes from our ongoing relationships and the work we’re doing with our current clients. Joanne, would you like to discuss China now?

China is a crucial market for us, accounting for less than 4% of our total revenue. The recovery in this market has been more difficult than anticipated over the last few years. We have continued to experience macroeconomic pressures in the first quarter, which is common across the industry. Much of the growth in China is driven by exports, leaving the domestic market subdued with low consumer confidence, which was evident in our Q1 performance. Additionally, we faced timing challenges in the market, resulting in decreased spending from our media clients and negatively impacting our quarter-on-quarter results. In response, we have appointed a new management team in China, consisting of a mix of local and global clients. For the remainder of the year, we are adopting a cautious planning approach, with expectations for Q2 to follow similar trends as Q1, though we hope to see improved performance. However, we anticipate the market will still be down for the full year, and our focus is on how to foster growth across both our media and creative businesses in this market beyond 2024.

In terms of AI, there were many points raised in your questions. I'll start by emphasizing our commitment to invest about GBP 250 million annually in AI. This investment reflects our focus on integrating AI into all workflows with clients, primarily through WPP Open, the platform I mentioned. As this platform becomes more advanced, we are incorporating more AI features, which will naturally integrate into our workflows. Regarding revenue, we see growth opportunities by expanding our services and increasing the scope of work with clients. Larger clients are likely to streamline their rosters to utilize AI more effectively. Therefore, we anticipate growth from both current and new clients, as well as by offering a broader range of services to existing clients. There are additional aspects of our work where we are compensated on a retainer basis, which can enhance our efficiency while also allowing greater scope for expansion. As mentioned in the CMD, much of our work is shifting away from an hourly model. For example, Hogarth, our production company, now conducts over half of its work on a cost per unit basis. This creates opportunities for us to reduce costs for clients while also improving our margins. The issue of volume is something we must address. Over time, I believe we will find growth opportunities and ways to leverage AI for better efficiency. Some of the benefits may contribute to our bottom line, while others will need to be reinvested into operations. Overall, we view this as a pathway to enhance our competitiveness in the short term. There are specific ways we can utilize AI to strengthen our position in new business pitches and improve our service for clients.

Our next question comes from Adam Berlin from UBS.

Three for me as well, if I can. First question on Q2. So if I do some simple math, it looks like without the tech headwind in Q1, organic growth for the group would have been broadly flat. So is that the kind of right way to be thinking about Q2? Or are there any other reasons growth could be different in Q2 than it was in Q1? That's the first question. Second question is, there have been a lot of global media reviews and local media reviews in the press since the beginning of the year, Unilever, Amazon, and Volkswagen to name a few. Can you give us any information about the timing of the news flow around that? Or anything you can say about which ones you're feeling confident around, anything you could add on that news flow that's been in the press? And thirdly, at the CMD, you talked a little bit about the turnaround in GroupM in North America and the things you were doing there to improve the performance there. Is there any evidence so far this year of an improvement in GroupM in North America?

Okay. So why don't I take the last two questions and Joanne can talk about the second quarter, which I thought we would get asked. So I'm not going to answer your second question, sorry, Adam. I mean, I think that there are reviews going on. We have a very strong media business, and the teams are working away at that. And I think in GroupM in North America, we've made a leadership change, I think, back in February. And I think we need to see the impact that that will make, as well as the organizational changes as well as our investments in data. And I think over the course of the year, we will see an improvement in the new business performance, and really your second and third questions are quite linked. So I think we have a really strong business in GroupM, and we're all very focused on doing all we can to improve the performance there. Joanne, do you want to touch on the Q2 topic?

Yes. Thanks for the question, Adam. The way to think about Q2 is we are expecting to see an improved performance relative to Q1 in our Q2. Now there are some ups and downs within that; our comp gets a little bit easier. So instead of 2.9%, it was 1.3% in Q2 last year. And as we've talked about, Q2 '23 was really the start of the sharp downturn that we saw in the tech sector. So they were down 8.7% in Q2 last year. So we'll start to lap that. So both of those will help with that year-on-year performance. On the flip side of that, we talked in February about some of the macro uncertainty continuing to weigh a little bit on clients, and we've seen that in some of our smaller agencies. So particularly around the more project-related assignments that we work on. And we expect that macro trend to really continue a little bit through Q2 and to improve in the second half. And the other factor in Q2 in China last year, we were growing at almost plus 5%, and we're expecting China trends to be similar to Q1. So overall, some ups and downs, but we are expecting an improved position relative to Q1.

Our next question comes from Laura Metayer from Morgan Stanley.

Two questions from me, please, around AI. The first one is, could you give us a sense of the type of conversations you're having with clients around AI and specifically what they're hoping to achieve from AI? And then the second question is more specifically on the impact of Gen AI on your creative business. What do you expect is going to change there? And how do you see the future of your creative business?

Yes, I believe that our discussions with clients regarding AI are very extensive. We're increasingly engaging at both CMO and CEO levels as they explore the potential impact on their businesses. Clients are looking for AI solutions to address challenges like content production at scale across various channels, while also seeking opportunities to connect with consumers through more relevant messaging and better data integration. They want to enhance the speed of their operations and decrease approval costs. Therefore, there is a wide array of use cases for our clients. Our focus is on identifying those use cases that deliver the most significant results. For instance, with our Performance Brain, since our clients are investing $70 billion to $80 billion in media, if we can boost content quality and performance by 10% or 20%, that translates to a considerable value increase from their media investments. While there are other AI applications that can increase efficiency, they may not yield a substantial ROI. We are committed to applying AI to the most impactful use cases for our clients. Regarding our creative divisions, I've noticed that the areas of our company utilizing technology, similar to most industries, have grown faster and have higher or improving margins. Both GroupM and Hogarth have experienced sustained growth by leveraging technology to enhance media delivery and production efficiency for their clients. We anticipate that technology will continue to positively impact these sectors. For the first time, we are integrating technology into our creative processes, and I expect it to yield similar benefits as it has for other parts of our operations. We aim to enhance the quality of creative ideas, achieve a better ROI on them, and provide our teams with tools to foster creativity and speed in collaboration with clients. Recently, while working with a client in London, we showcased a creative studio that helps teams brainstorm, develop content, test ideas, and create personas more efficiently. They were genuinely impressed by its potential, which is not something they've encountered elsewhere. There's a common misconception that fewer hours in a creative business equates to lower revenue, but I see it differently. By utilizing AI, we can drive greater impact in our creative efforts, implying higher ROI, which allows us to generate more value for our clients and share some of that value back. Thank you for your question.

Our next question comes from Julien Roch from Barclays.

My first question is regarding the strong progress on the strategic initiatives mentioned in our recent announcement, particularly related to Burson, GroupM, and VML, and their alignment with our target savings. Can you provide an update on the GroupM transition to a country model and the VML merger? When do you expect these changes to be completed so that any potential disruptions are resolved? My second question pertains to media and data. Publicis has frequently highlighted Epsilon, and now Omnicom is promoting Omni, while Interpublic discussed Acxiom recently. What is your data offering? You mentioned AI in your release and presentation, and while there was a question on AI, you did not address media and data. When do you believe your offering will be comparable to Epsilon and Omni, and what distinguishes your offering from those of your competitors?

Yes. So Julien, just on the three strategic initiatives that we're undertaking, really good progress and strong execution by all three leadership teams. VML, we announced that one first and then progressed ahead. They will have broadly completed much of their cost actions by the end of this month, and those have been executed very well. Burson will have largely completed by early summer, and they will officially launch in early summer. And GroupM is a more complicated initiative, if you like, and that will go into the second half, but it's absolutely on track. I'm confident that we'll deliver the GBP 125 million savings on an annualized basis on the 40% to 50% of those in 2024. And of course, that will be weighted to the second half. In terms of your question around disruption, look, of course, you do enter into initiatives like this without some disruption. But I have been incredibly impressed at how quickly the teams have executed and the CEOs of those agencies and their leadership teams are spending as much time, if not more, with clients as they ever would. And so the disruption really on the client-facing side is minimal. And if anything, I would say we are already starting to see some of the benefits not just for our business but for our clients and the feedback has been incredibly positive.

Thanks, Joanne. Regarding your question about data, platforms, and buying patterns, I think it's not beneficial to make direct competitive comparisons. What I can share is that we have developed a robust data offering that includes our own data. As mentioned at the CMD, we have strong consumer profiles both globally and in the United States, and we can enhance those with additional data. Our data offering extends beyond first-party data, which is crucial for clients, as we also incorporate data that we own and data that can be licensed from the market, all with a strategically independent approach. Hogarth is performing well and is increasingly integrated within WPP Open, allowing us to leverage that data across the entire group. As we roll it out to more clients, we anticipate it will become even more powerful, and we are utilizing it to embed our AI services as well. In our discussions with clients, we believe we have a highly competitive offering. Each company in our industry focuses on different aspects, and we are continuously working to enhance our data offering for our clients.

Our next question comes from Simon Baker from Bernstein.

Yes. I have three questions. First, regarding the tech spending, you've mentioned some stability. How does this situation compare to other segments that have experienced spending freezes in the past, like consumer staples a few years ago with zero-based budgeting and pressure from activists? We eventually saw some recovery in consumer staple spending to regain competitive advantage. Is the current situation more like the auto sector where supply chain issues caused a reduction in spending that hasn't recovered? So, what is your outlook for tech spending in this context? Second, with tech spending making up 17% of the group, could you provide a specific breakdown for the U.S.? Could it be as high as 25% in the U.S. to help us understand the potential impact of that recovery? Lastly, regarding the brand simplification and consolidation of VML, is this the final step, or are we still in the process, roughly 90% complete with that journey?

Turning to the first question about sector trends, the Consumer Packaged Goods sector saw clients shift their spending from brand-focused to more product-oriented, tactical digital media as they moved from analog to digital. However, post-COVID, many CPG clients have recognized the importance of brand building again. For instance, Mondelez has shown significant growth over the past four to five years with our support, among others, as they reinvest in building brands that drive both price and volume growth. This is evident in the strong performance of our CPG clients, who are eager to invest in their brands. The automotive sector faces different economic pressures, especially due to the current intense focus on electrification. It's not a fair comparison. The technology sector, on the other hand, continues to invest heavily as they experience top-line growth coming out of COVID while also focusing on improving their bottom line. Recent results from Meta indicated that the tech spending category was down 16% in the first quarter, but I view this as a reset rather than a shift in strategy. Similar to the CPG sector, I believe technology will experience a reset and eventually grow again as new products are released and the importance of marketing is reiterated. As we assess the situation, easier comparatives will aid us, and companies in the tech sector are expected to continue their investments, as they have indicated in our discussions. Based on our forecasts and conversations with clients, we anticipate increased spending from technology clients throughout the year, though we won't specify which quarter it will occur. In the U.S., spending appears somewhat higher, but I won't provide a precise figure. Regarding brand simplification, we are not announcing any new developments at this time. The VML integration has progressed very well since it began in September, and they are focusing on client relationships and maximizing their offerings as they move forward.

Our next question comes from Adrien de Saint Hilaire from Bank of America.

I have a few questions, please. You mentioned the growth timing between the first and second half of the year. Could you provide similar insights regarding margin expansion? Additionally, some of your competitors have noted an improved advertising market and increased optimism among marketers. Have you noticed this in your discussions? How significantly do you believe this might affect GroupM? Lastly, I would appreciate an update on Kantar. Is there currently any process regarding the sale of one of their businesses or WPP selling its stake in Kantar?

Yes. I believe client sentiment is quite similar to what it was three to six months ago. There seems to be an increased interest in investing in brands. Interestingly, I've noticed that many clients are reconsidering their investment strategies. Some feel they have focused too much on performance and product marketing and not enough on brand development. I'm seeing a trend where clients want to shift some of their marketing efforts back towards brand building. Although this shift is challenging because many brand-related channels are not as straightforward as they used to be, the desire is there. For instance, at the Super Bowl, there were 12 creative commercials compared to 19 media commercials, which clients are starting to view as a branding opportunity. The work we did with Verizon highlights this, as their consumer business has improved significantly over the last six to nine months, showcasing a transformation in their brand. It's important to note that while clients still prioritize performance marketing, there’s a growing concern that excessive focus on performance might overshadow essential investments. I've noticed this sentiment across various sectors like telecom, energy, retail, and consumer packaged goods. There seems to be an increasing focus on brand building, and I consistently hear that clients prefer fewer, larger, and better campaigns. Overall, client sentiment remains relatively positive but cautious due to unpredictable top-line growth and a desire to achieve volume growth. Recent CPG results also indicate slight improvements in volume growth. Regarding Kantar, I have nothing further to add at this moment beyond what has already been stated or reported. Kantar is a strong asset and is performing well, and we anticipate being recognized for our decision regarding it over time.

And maybe just on the phasing of the margin, we've guided to 20 to 40 basis points improvement, and we've reiterated that today. And really, the way to think about that is the structural cost savings related to the three initiatives that I talked about, those savings are weighted to H2, they'll start to come through a little bit in Q2, but very much an H2 benefit. And of course, then there's the top line growth phasing, so with growth more weighted to H2 as well, that, of course, will help the margin in the second half relative to the first half margin. And our investment is phased reasonably, balanced through the year. And so that's really the way to think about it. So that 20 to 40 basis point increase will be H2 weighted.

Our next question comes from Richard Kramer from Arete Research.

Two things, I think, haven't really been touched on yet. Mark, given your clients obviously over-indexed in brand and TV ad spend, and we're seeing a huge amount of additional video inventory becoming available with Amazon Prime, with Netflix, with others. Can you comment a little bit about what you're seeing in video ad inventory pricing and complexity and whether that's a bigger opportunity for the likes of GroupM? And specifically on GroupM, have you identified maybe with AI or elsewhere, ways to capture more of the margin that bleeds out into the ad tech supply chain, maybe by securing supply or developing a bit more your own ad tech, which I know that's been a sort of a pendulum swinging back and forth over the last decade?

I can't comment on pricing as it varies significantly by vendor. Some initial pricing attempts in the streaming sector were too high but have since adjusted. I agree that there is more inventory available, which is now more targetable and measurable, something that's crucial for our clients. The increasing complexity requires us to deliver more value. Interestingly, while there was talk years ago about the decline of advertising, today we see many more platforms available to reach consumers. In light of the cost-of-living crisis and media companies' desire to improve margins, they are embracing advertising. I believe a mixed subscription and advertising model is the right approach for successful media companies. It's not just one or the other, it's both, and this complexity will benefit GroupM. Regarding ad tech margins, that was central to Xaxis. When we acquired 24/7 Real Media in 2007, it was to create an ad tech solution aimed at recovering margins for clients and WPP. I believe we may not be as proactive as some competitors in the U.S. regarding proprietary media models, and we definitely need to enhance our proprietary media capabilities, especially in the U.S., where client receptivity appears to be greater than it has been in the past.

Our next question comes from Tom Singlehurst from Citi.

I have two questions, if that's alright. The first is about tech. The run rate from last year showed that after nine months, tech was declining by about 7.5% for the full year, with an implied decrease of around 7%. The fourth quarter saw a drop of approximately 5%, and it has worsened in the first quarter to about a 9% decline. I understand the point about the comparison, which is valid, but since the first quarter comparison was likely more favorable than the fourth quarter, how confident are we that we've truly reached the end of the significant decline in tech? The second question pertains to the magnitude and timing of any quadrennial benefits and where we might see them. I assume that an increase in media spending, particularly in the U.S. during the third and fourth quarters because of events like the Summer Olympics, will help, but where is that impact most likely to be felt? Specifically, will it bring any relief to public relations?

On the technology question, I believe we have covered everything necessary. We analyze the numbers and the budgets of our clients, which suggest that their spending will improve throughout the year. Last year's first quarter benefitted from the onboarding of a significant tech client, giving us more confidence in the comparisons. It's not merely a comparative issue; the logic indicates that these companies will need to keep investing, and that’s what we are hearing from them. Regarding the quadrennial effect, I don’t think it’s as significant as it was in the past, since there are more events now. Our media and creative businesses are less tied to commissions and fees than they used to be. Nowadays, spending tends to shift more within the year rather than between years, and the effects are likely to be more quarterly than annual. However, I would say it certainly supports a stronger second half of the year rather than the opposite.

Tom, I would like to expand on the technology question. Last year, I mentioned that when I looked at our tech clients, there was a significant decline except for one. However, in the first quarter, the situation appears to be more balanced. We are engaged with both hardware and software tech clients, and as we start to compare against a more manageable prior period, I believe we will see a positive trend. In our planning for the year and the guidance we are providing, we do not anticipate a significant recovery or complete turnaround, but we do expect an improved position compared to last year for the remainder of the year. Therefore, we are cautiously optimistic about the sector for the remainder of this year.

There is no further question at this time. I will now hand you over to Mr. Mark Read for any closing remarks.

So thank you very much, everyone, for listening. I think before. I think we have every confidence in our strategy, it's landed well. We delivered Q1 much as we expected, and we continue to see momentum improving as the year, and we're holding as a result of our guidance for the full year. I'm sure we'll be in touch with you in the meantime. But thank you, everybody, for listening, and we'll see you formally in August. Thank you.