WPP expects 2008 revenue boost

WPP expects 2008 to be a good year for the advertising business

WPP, the world's second-biggest advertising group, expects 2008 to be a bumper year for the industry.

The Beijing Olympics, the US presidential election and the European football championships are expected to boost business, it said.

WPP said total group revenues rose 4.9% to £1.48bn in the three months to the end of September, although the strong pound dented sales growth.

The company said it had seen little impact from the recent credit crunch.

On a constant currency basis, which takes into account fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, revenues rose 8.1%.

The firm said the strength of the pound against dollar was the main factor in reducing revenue.

For UK companies, the pound's rise above $2 has meant that revenues generated in dollars are worth less when converted for sterling accounts.

The results were in line with analysts' expectations.

It said that despite concerns about the impact of the recent liquidity crisis on levels of client spending, there had been "little or any effect on spending levels across the board, both functionally and geographically".

"Any possible impact is unlikely to be reflected anyway, until the group's budgets for 2008 are finalised, at the beginning of next year," the company said.

"In any event, we continue to believe that 2008 will be a good year for the industry, better than 2007."