By Leo Marchandon and Florence Loeve
(Reuters) -French advertising agency Havas on Wednesday reported a slight 0.8% organic decline in its net income for 2024, compared with the previous year while confirming its financial targets for 2025.
The agency, which reported a net income of 2.736 billion euros ($3.07 billion) for 2024, released its earnings for the first time since its listing on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in December, following its demerger from former parent company Vivendi.
The decline in net income was attributed to the loss of a big healthcare client in the U.S., CEO Yannick Bollore said in a call.
“Excluding this customer, organic growth would have been in excess of 2%,” he said. Healthcare is Havas’ biggest sector, accounting for 29% of its revenue.
The company reported adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 338 million euros for 2024, up 3% versus last year.
Havas was first delisted from the Paris Stock Exchange in 2017 after its acquisition by Vivendi. Since its initial public offering in Amsterdam, the company’s shares have depreciated by approximately 27%.
The advertiser announced a dividend of 0.08 euro per share.
Havas announced a share buyback programme, set to be proposed at its next Annual General Meeting in May 2025, aiming to repurchase up to 10% of its ordinary shares over an 18-month period starting on May 28, 2025.
The marketing group reaffirmed its 2025 financial objectives of organic net revenue growth above 2%, adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) margin between 12.5% and 13.5%, and a dividend payout ratio around 40%.(1 euro = $1.12)
(Reporting by Leo Marchandon in Gdansk and Florence Loeve in Paris; editing by Aidan Lewis)
