Like fellow agency umbrellas Publicis and Omnicom, the economic slump and automotive spending cuts put a hurting on Interpublic Group, which reported a 20% fall in revenue that led to a net income of $27.8 million and a share price of $0.04 in Q2. Compared to same time last year when IPG’s take was $88.1 mil and stocks were $0.17 a share, the numbers might make one presume CEO Michael Roth isn’t feeling as “magnificent” as he was this past February.
In an earnings call statement this morning though, Roth said, “We have responded to the difficult market conditions with effective cost control across the organization. We also recently took steps to further strengthen our balance sheet, which positions us to successfully move through the current economic turmoil.” Cost control in this case included cutbacks in IPG agencies like McCann Erickson, Lowe Worldwide and Universal McCann.