It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the following comments are based on Income Statement and balance sheet data before application of IFRS 16.
Publicis Groupe’s net revenue in 2020 was euro 9,712 million, down by 0.9% compared to euro 9,800 million in 2019. Exchange rate variations had a euro 219 million negative impact. Acquisitions (net of disposals) have a contribution of euro 729 million on net revenue, most of it being related to the acquisition of Epsilon.
As a whole, 2020 was impacted by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which spread from March onwards. Thanks to its transformation, the Groupe recorded a resilient performance, with organic growth of -6.3%, which was notably driven by its activities in the United States (organic growth of -2.0%). The pandemic began to have an impact at the end of the first quarter, which led to a low point in terms of organic growth in the second quarter (-13.0%) following the lockdown measures put in place by governments in different geographical areas. Organic growth was then -5.6% and -3.9% in the third and fourth quarters respectively. The activity continued to be affected by the crisis, although it showed an improvement. Throughout the year, the Groupe’s long-standing investments in data and technology, its country organization and its Marcel platform enabled it to contain the decline in revenue related to the crisis, by capturing the shift in client investments to digital channels
e-commerce and direct-to-consumer.
The following table shows the changes in the breakdown of net revenue in Publicis Groupe’s major markets.
(in millions of euros) | Net revenue | Growth | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | 2019 | Reported | Organic | |
Europe | Europe Net revenue 2,278 | Europe Growth 2,630 | -13.4% | -12.7% |
% of total | % of total Net revenue 23% | % of total Growth 27% |
|
|
North America | North America Net revenue 5,997 | North America Growth 5,516 | +8.7% | -2.4% |
% of total | % of total Net revenue 62% | % of total Growth 57% |
|
|
Asia-Pacific | Asia-Pacific Net revenue 932 | Asia-Pacific Growth 1,006 | -7.4% | -6.7% |
% of total | % of total Net revenue 10% | % of total Growth 10% |
|
|
Latin America | Latin America Net revenue 230 | Latin America Growth 326 | -29.4% | -13.9% |
% of total | % of total Net revenue 2% | % of total Growth 3% |
|
|
Africa and Middle East | Africa and Middle East Net revenue 275 | Africa and Middle East Growth 322 | -14.6% | -11.7% |
% of total | % of total Net revenue 3% | % of total Growth 3% |
|
|
Total | Total Net revenue 9,712 | Total Growth 9,800 | -0,9% | -6.3% |
Net revenue in Europe was down 13.4% on a reported basis and 12.7% on an organic basis. At the beginning of the year, all major European countries took drastic measures to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, with lockdowns or successive curfews that took place between the second and fourth quarters. Against this backdrop, the United Kingdom posted organic growth of -12.4%. France, at -19.7% on an organic basis, was particularly affected by its outdoor media activities and the Drugstore, which were closed for part of the year. Excluding this impact, organic growth was -12.5% in France and -10.8% in Europe in 2020. Net revenue in Germany was down by 7.7% on an organic basis. Creative and Media performances varies by country, but overall they were resilient and outperformed the Groupe average in the region, while Publicis Sapient was down and Healthcare activities were up over the year.
In North America, reported growth was +8.7% and organic growth was -2.4%. The United States posted a decline in organic growth limited to 2.0%. After a positive first quarter, activities in the United States proved resilient in the second and third quarters of the crisis, to finally end with a slightly positive fourth quarter. Epsilon 2.0 has contributed to the organic growth in the United States from the third quarter and recorded growth of 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Organic growth for Publicis Sapient in the United States was negative over the year as some projects were suspended during the crisis, but returned to a positive level in the fourth quarter. Healthcare had a particularly strong year, with double-digit growth. Organic growth in Canada decreased by 10.9% in 2020.
