WPP has delivered strong preliminary results, ahead of our forecasts and the consensus. We expect to upgrade following this morning's meeting.
This is disappointing, as we believe the logic for combining the two businesses is compelling.
In light of the confident outlook statement and the fact that the 2005 results were approximately 4 percent ahead of consensus, we believe an upgrade is likely following this morning's meeting.
If concluded, we believe the merger would add significant value to shareholders.
These are excellent results in a challenging broadcasting environment. The impact of weaker television advertising has been offset by cost savings.
The group is trading well. The group has robust organic growth prospects.