The consolidated interim financial statements for the half-year ended June 30, 2020 and the accompanying notes were approved by the Management Board on July 20, 2020 and reviewed by the Supervisory Board on July 22, 2020.
The consolidated interim financial statements are presented in euros rounded to the nearest million.
Pursuant to European Regulation no. 1606/2002 of July 19, 2002, Publicis Groupe’s consolidated financial statements as of June 30, 2020 were prepared in accordance with the IAS/IFRS international accounting standards as approved by the European Union and mandatory at that date.
The consolidated condensed interim financial statements as of June 30, 2020 were prepared in accordance with IAS 34 “Interim Financial Reporting”. The accounting policies and methods applied in the interim financial statements are consistent with those used by the Group in the consolidated financial statements dated December 31, 2019, and presented in the Universal Registration Document filed with the AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers (the French Financial Markets Authority)) on April 27, 2020 (“2019 Universal Registration Document ”, pages 191 to 200).
As of June 30, 2020, the Group has not adopted any new standards or interpretations.
As of June 30, 2020, the Group has not adopted any new standards or interpretations in advance.
The Group’s financial position and earnings depend on the accounting methods applied, and the assumptions, estimates and judgements made when the consolidated financial statements are prepared. The Group bases its estimates on its past experience and on a series of other assumptions considered reasonable under the circumstances to measure the amounts to be used for the Group’s assets and liabilities. The assets and liabilities which are impacted by the use of estimates in the first half of 2020, are of the same nature as those described as at December 31, 2019 in the 2019 Universal Registration Document. Management revises these estimates when it identifies new events to take into account or in the event of a change in the circumstances on which these assumptions were based. As of June 30, 2020, the assumptions have been revised to take into account the effects of the Covid-19 crisis on the consolidated financial statements. Actual outcomes may, however, vary significantly from these estimates.
The impact of the current crisis on the Group has been as follows:
The review of impairment loss indicators led the Group to conduct impairment tests on all of its goodwill. Given the uncertainty around future projections, a number of scenarios were developed based on different rates of recovery. These tests did not lead the Group to record additional impairment loss in the interim financial statements (see Note 5).
In accordance with the Group’s Accounting policies and methods, a review of trade receivables has been carried out to identify those that present a risk of non-recovery. Impairment of trade receivables has been recognized on a case-by-case basis in the interim financial statements.
In respect of the expected losses on receivables, the simplified approach permitted by IFRS 9 and applied by the Group has been adapted to factor in the growing risks associated with the crisis.
In respect of the first half and due to the consequences of the Covid‑19 crisis, trade receivables have been impaired by euro 40 million and recognized under other operating costs .
