Interpublic Shares up on Strong 2Q Results

Interpublic Group of Cos. (NYSE:IPG), the world’s fourth-largest advertising company, was trading up more than 5% Thursday after reporting stronger-than expected second quarter earnings.

Net income was $105.3 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with $20.9 million, or 4 cents a share, in the same quarter last year, and landing ahead of average analyst estimates of 10 cents, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.

Revenue for the New York-based company increased 9.7% to $1.62 billion, beating the Street’s view of $1.51 billion. Organic revenue in the U.S. grew 13.6% last quarter, which, CEO Michael Roth said, emerged from new and existing clients across a range of industry sectors.

Roth said he was “pleased” with the quarter’s “strong performance” in terms of profitability and growth and noted the company has the talent and tools to benefit from a macro-recovery

Despite a strong second quarter, Roth said Interpublic will continue conducting business conservatively, due mostly to remaining uncertainties in the global economy.