WPP WPP PLC

By Nick Kostov

PARIS--WPP PLC on Thursday reported a rise in first-quarter revenue in sterling terms, boosted by strong growth across key markets including North America, the U.K. and Western continental Europe.

WPP, which competes with companies including Publicis Groupe SA and Omnicom Group Inc., said revenue rose 11% to 3.08 billion pounds ($4.48 billion) as sales in all of the company's regions expanded compared with the same period a year earlier.

In the first quarter, comparable net sales--a closely tracked revenue measure which strips out costs linked to acquiring digital media space and currency swings, acquisitions and disposals--rose 3.2% in sterling terms.

The world's largest advertising firms have all reported improving sales growth for the latest quarter, driven by the U.S., the world's largest advertising market, but also a return to growth in Europe. A recent forecast from Publicis-owned ZenithOptimedia projects global advertising spending growth of 4.6% this year, pointing to a healthy advertising market overall.

The owner of agencies such as Grey and Ogilvy & Mather confirmed its goal for full-year like-for-like net sales to grow by more than 3% in the full year.

Write to Nick Kostov at nick.kostov@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 28, 2016 02:21 ET (06:21 GMT)

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