(Reuters) - Publicis Groupe, the world's third-biggest advertising agency, on Thursday forecast organic sales growth of 4% to 5% this year, after its 2021 earnings exceeded their pre-pandemic levels to reach new records.
The French company said growth had been fuelled by its digital and data-driven businesses Sapient and Epsilon, and that it was expecting to maintain this year's record 17.5% operating margin and 1.4 billion euro ($1.58 billion) cash flow in 2022.
Publicis posted organic growth of 10% reaching 10.49 billion euros in revenue last year, beating the 9.1% forecast by analysts in a company-provided consensus. The group's 2022 guidance also landed above analysts' 3% estimate.
After spending some 300 million euros last year, Publicis is planning to double its acquisitions budget to up to 600 million euros as it looks to buy medium-sized firms with expertise in new digital media and first-party data.
Chief Executive Arthur Sadoun said the company's 2019 acquisition of Epsilon, which has access to its own database of consumer data, had helped Publicis navigate a global shift in advertising trends as Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) looks to phase out use of third-party tracking cookies.
"Today we are able to tell our clients that with our solution, they are no longer dependant on cookies," Sadoun told journalists during a call.
Regulators are paying close attention to Google's plans, which have sparked fears among advertisers that their removal will make them more reliant on buying ads from Google and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) because of their vast user databases.
Sadoun added that the automotive sector - which represents 16% of Publicis sales and has been badly hit by component shortages - had cut less ad spending than expected and benefited from data that helped predict consumer demand.
It proposed a 2021 dividend of 2.40 euros per share and announced a salary bonus for its employees.
($1 = 0.8843 euros)