Interpublic beats quarterly estimates on steady demand across divisions

(Reuters) -Interpublic Group beat first-quarter revenue estimates on Thursday, helped by steady marketing spend by clients at the company's Mediabrands, Deutsch and Golin divisions, sending its shares up nearly 5% in early trading.

The advertising firm's results show resilience as companies are pulling their marketing and advertising budgets amid an escalating global trade war and fears of a slowing U.S. economy and sticky inflation.

"Account activity over the prior 12-month period will weigh on this year, though that impact was lessened in the quarter by sound underlying performance, with notable growth at IPG Mediabrands, Deutsch and Golin, as well as growth at Acxiom," CEO Philippe Krakowsky, said.

The New York-based company is one of the biggest advertising and communications firms, serving customers in sectors ranging from healthcare to retail and owning brands such as McCann, Weber Shandwick, Mediabrands and MullenLowe.

The advertising industry, often seen as a mirror of corporate strength, will consolidate as Omnicom and Interpublic join forces in a $13-billion all-stock deal. The company remains on track to complete its merger with Omnicom in the second half of 2025.

Interpublic's first-quarter net revenue decreased 8.5% to $2 billion, but beat analysts' estimate of $1.98 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned 33 cents per share in the first quarter, compared with an expectation of 27 cents per share.

It reported a net loss of $85.4 million, which included 203.3 million in restructuring charges.

(Reporting by Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)

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