Publicis Groupe SA is the parent Company of Publicis Groupe.
It acts primarily as holding Company by managing its investments, allowing it to have direct or indirect control of the Groupe’s companies, and also providing services to all Groupe companies.
Additionally, and to a lesser extent, the Company receives rental income from leasing the building it owns in Paris, at 133 avenue des Champs-Élysées.
It has opted for the tax consolidation regime, which includes the parent Company as head of the tax consolidation Groupe and its main French subsidiaries.
It also implements a large part of the Groupe’s external financing policy with the banking and capital markets in order to maintain a certain level of liquidity to meet its commitments and investment needs.
In April 2022, the Groupe received a notification of grievances from the competition Authority in relation to practices implemented in the outdoor advertising sector in France (Metrobus). The procedure is ongoing.
In June 2022, the subsidiary Publicis Ré, in which Publicis Groupe SA holds 100% of the share capital, was created. This is a captive reinsurance Company designed to cover a portion of the Groupe’s cyber and pecuniary loss risks. At the end of December 2022, the subsidiary’s share capital amounted to euro 20 million.
The parent Company financial statements for the 2022 financial year have been prepared in accordance with the French Chart of Accounts (Plan Comptable Général) and in compliance with applicable legal and regulatory texts in France.
The valuation methods used to prepare the 2022 financial statements are unchanged from those used to prepare the financial statements for the previous financial year.
Intangible assets subject to amortization consist of the concession of parking spaces, amortized over 75 years (length of the concession), and the goodwill of Publicis Cinema, already fully amortized.
Property, plant and equipment are recognized at net acquisition cost and are subject to annual depreciation calculated on a straight-line basis over the following periods:
The gross amount of long-term equity investments is composed of the acquisition price of the securities excluding ancillary expenses. Foreign currency-denominated securities are recognized at their acquisition price translated into euros.
Impairment is recognized whenever the investment’s value in use is lower than its carrying amount. Value in use is determined on the basis of objective criteria, such as net asset value, capitalized earnings or market capitalization, associated where necessary with more subjective criteria, such as specific industry indicators or ratios determined, in the context of economic assumptions and the Company’s growth forecasts, on the basis of the present value of projected future cash flows, and the strategic nature of the investment for the Groupe.
Marketable securities primarily include treasury shares, which are classified according to their intended purpose.
A provision for liabilities is recognized for treasury shares allocated to stock option or free share plans in order to reflect the loss resulting from the difference between the subscription price (zero for the free shares) and their cost price.
A provision is recognized for treasury shares that are not allocated to such a plan as well as for other marketable securities, whenever their current value at year-end is lower than their carrying amount. The current value of publicly traded securities equals the average quoted price for the final month of the financial year, and for non-listed securities, the probable selling price.
