Havas: +9.3% Organic Growth in Q3 2007

    PARIS, October 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
     - Sharp improvement in organic growth (+9.3% in Q3, after +5.4% in Q2
 and +3.2% in Q1), which has risen to +6.0% for the first nine months of
 2007
     - Revenue progressing well, totalling EUR1,098 million for the first
 nine months of 2007, i.e. a +3.3% increase over the corresponding period in
 2006
     - Net new business(1) has continued its positive trend: EUR1,498
 million over the first nine months of 2007
     "We are very happy with our growth in Q3, and feel all the more
 comfortable about achieving our objectives for the full year 2007". -
 Fernando Rodes Vila, CEO of the Havas Group.
     1. Overview
     After a satisfactory first half-year, Havas is now posting +9.3%
 organic growth in Q3 (after +5.4% in Q2 and +3.2% in Q1). This is the
 strongest quarterly organic growth figure since 2000.
     The strengthening of the Euro against the US dollar adversely affected
 the group by EUR 29 million in the first nine months of 2007 by comparison
 with the corresponding period in 2006.
     Nevertheless, at current exchange rates, revenue for the first nine
 months of 2007 stands at EUR1,098 million, up +3.3% over the first nine
 months of 2006.
     The revenue recorded over the first nine months of 2007 is confirmation
 that the group has been turned around. The main financial indicators at
 September 30, 2007 are in line with the budget. The Q4 revenue figures will
 be published in February 2008.
     2. Detailed presentation of Q3 by region
     The first nine months of 2007 saw Havas reap the benefits of the new
 accounts won in 2006, notably Reckitt Benckiser, Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer,
 Exxon Mobil, GSK, Progressive Direct and SFR.
     Most of our businesses contributed to the organic growth achieved in the
 third quarter, especially media expertise and digital which continues to be a
 high growth sector.
 
     Revenue             Q3        Q3    9 Months   9 Months
                        2007      2006       2007       2006
 
     EUROPE              200       181        613        570
      of which
 
        France            76        67        236        221
        UK                46        44        134        128
        Europe excluding
         France and UK    78        70        242        220
 
     NORTH AMERICA       128       130        379        404
 
     REST OF THE WORLD    40        32        106         89
      of which
 
        AP AC             19        15         49         44
        LAT AM            21        17         57         45
 
     TOTAL               368       343       1098       1063
 
 
 
     Organic Growth       Q3        Q3    9 Months   9 Months
                         2007      2006       2007       2006
 
     EUROPE               8,7%      8,1%       6,0%       5,2%
      of which
 
       France             8,0%      3,4%       4,2%       2,8%
       UK                 4,2%      3,5%       2,6%       0,5%
       Europe excluding
        France and UK    12,3%     16,4%       9,9%      10,6%
 
     NORTH AMERICA        9,1%     -7,1%       4,0%      -5,9%
 
     REST OF THE WORLD   14,0%      7,9%      13,7%       5,9%
      of which
 
        AP AC            18,9%      1,8%      13,1%      -2,6%
        LAT AM           10,0%     13,9%      14,2%      15,5%
 
     TOTAL                9,3%      1,9%       6,0%       0,7%
     EUROPE
     The trend is good in most European countries. Europe excluding France
 and Great Britain has achieved strong double-digit growth due largely to
 media expertise in the southern European countries and Germany, and to
 advertising especially in Spain and Italy. The excellent performance of
 France was driven by corporate communications and the digital sector. Great
 Britain is strengthening its growth with a strong performance from our
 advertising, direct and digital businesses.
     NORTH AMERICA
     The outstanding performance of the North America region was due to the
 sharp acceleration of all our activities, especially in the digital sector
 for Euro RSCG 4D Chicago and New York, but also Media Contacts, media
 expertise and advertising in the case of Arnold.
     REST OF THE WORLD
     In the rest of the world, Q3 was the third consecutive quarter of
 double-digit growth. In Asia Pacific, growth was driven by India,
 Australia, Singapore, Japan and Korea where all our businesses performed
 well. Growth in Latin America is still very high in most countries we
 operate in.
     3. Net New Business in 2007
     Net New Business totalled EUR256 million in Q3 2007, bringing the total
 for the first nine months to EUR1,498 million versus EUR1,580 million for
 the corresponding period in 2006.
     The main accounts won in Q3 were the following:
     - Advertising: Direct TV and Virgin Atlantic Airways (USA); Kraft Foods
 and Hershey's (Canada); Weight Watchers and Kyocera Mita (Germany);
 Ministerio Fomento (Spain); Worten (Portugal); Fairfax Digital (Australia);
 and Honda (Indonesia).
     - Media: Credit Suisse and Air Asia (Great Britain); Tri Pictures
 (Spain); Festina (Italy), and Bwin (Argentina).
     - Marketing services: British Sky Broadcasting and HMV (Great Britain).
     4. Awards for Creativity
     The following campaigns received awards for creativity in Q3 2007:
     At the Grand Prix de l'Affichage event for posters, BETC Euro RSCG
 carried off the Grand Prix for "Pot de Depart" on behalf of Canal+, while H
 also received an award for the Imagine'R campaign.
     The Grand Prix Strategies du Design awards saw W&Cie take two prizes
 for interior and exterior renovation at the Velizy 2 shopping centre, and
 for the PPR group's annual report.
     The WebAwards, for corporate website creativity, bestowed 13 awards on
 Arnold Boston, four awards on Palm Communication in Canada, and a further
 two awards on Euro RSCG 4D Portland as well as one award on Euro RSCG 4D
 Hong Kong.
     Euro RSCG and MPG Argentina were gold prize winners at the Effie Awards
 in the financial services category for the "Estoy Mirando" campaign for
 BBVA Banco Frances. MPG Argentine also received a silver award for the
 Coca-Cola "Levante la Mano" campaign.
     Euro RSCG 4D Sydney carried off five awards for its client Sony
 Australia at the Australasian Promotion Marketing Association's event.
     At the Promotion Marketing Awards for Asia, Euro RSCG 4D Beijing
 received three awards including the Dragon of China for its "Print it!
 Punch it!" campaign on behalf of Epson. Euro RSCG 4D Shanghai took a Gold
 Dragon award for the Johnnie Walker Black Label campaign it produced for
 Moet Hennessy Diageo.
     Euro RSCG Prague carried off five awards at the Moscow International
 Festival of Advertising, including a gold award for cosmetics brand
 Oriflame.
     MPG International received Media & Marketing's award for the best
 campaign in the financial services and advisory category with "I Shares
 Week" produced for Barclays Global Investors.
     At the Marketing and Interactive Excellence Awards, Media Contacts USA
 received a gold award in the product launch category with "Freedom of the
 Seas" for Royal Caribbean.
     B6 in Argentina took three CAMPRO (Camera Argentina de Empressas de
 Marketing Promocional) awards for the promotional launch of Coca-Cola's
 "Putting Coke in the picture".
     About Havas
     Havas (Euronext Paris: HAV.PA) is a global advertising and
 communications services group. Headquartered in Paris, Havas operates
 through its two worldwide networks, Euro RSCG Worldwide and Havas Media,
 which are headquartered in New York and Barcelona respectively, and through
 a number of independent agencies renowned for their creativity, such as
 Arnold Worldwide Partners. A multicultural and decentralized Group, Havas
 is present in more than 75 countries through its networks of agencies and
 contractual affiliations. The Group offers a broad range of communications
 services, including traditional advertising, direct marketing, media
 planning and buying, corporate communications, sales promotion, design,
 human resources, sports marketing, multimedia interactive communications
 and public relations. Havas employs approximately 14,400 people.
     Further information about Havas is available on the company's website:
 http://www.havas.com
     Forward-Looking Information
     This document contains certain forward-looking statements which speak
 only as of the date on which they are made. Forward-looking statements
 relate to projections, anticipated events or trends, future plans and
 strategies, and reflect Havas' current views about future events. They are
 therefore subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may cause Havas'
 actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any
 forward-looking statement. Factors that could cause actual results to
 differ materially from expected results include changes in the global
 economic environment or in the business environment, and in factors such as
 competition and market regulation. For more information regarding risk
 factors relevant to Havas, please see Havas' filings with the Autorite des
 Marches Financiers (documents in French) and, up to October 2006, with the
 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (documents in English only). Havas
 does not intend, and disclaims any duty or obligation, to update or revise
 any forward-looking statements contained in this document to reflect new
 information, future events or otherwise.
     (1) Net New Business :
     Net new business represents the estimated annual advertising budgets
 for new business wins (which includes new clients, clients retained after a
 competitive review, and new product or brand expansions for existing
 clients) less the estimated annual advertising budgets for lost accounts.
 Havas' management uses net new business as a measurement of the
 effectiveness of its client development and retention efforts. Net new
 business is not an accurate predictor of future revenues, since what
 constitutes new business or lost business is subject to differing
 judgments, the amounts associated with individual business wins and losses
 depend on estimated client budgets, clients may not spend as much as they
 budget, the timing of budgeted expenditures is uncertain, and the amount of
 budgeted expenditures that translate into revenues depends on the nature of
 the expenditures and the applicable fee structures. In addition, Havas'
 guidelines for determining the amount of new business wins and lost
 business may differ from those employed by other companies.
     ---------------------------------
     (1) Net account gains, expressed in estimated annual billings. The
 complete definition can be found on page 4 of this release.
     Contacts:
 
     Communications:
     Lorella Gessa,
     Tel: +33(0)1-58-47-90-36,
     lorella.gessa@havas.com;
 
     Solenne Anthonioz,
     Tel: +33(0)1-58-47-90-27,
     solenne.anthonioz@havas.com;
 
     Investor Relations:
     Herve Philippe,
     Directeur Financier du Groupe Havas,
     Tel: +33(0)1-58-47-91-23,
     relations.actionnaires@havas.com;
 
     http://www.havas.fr.
 
 

SOURCE Havas