PG Procter and Gamble Co

PARIS—Publicis Groupe SA said Thursday that it expects to post "modest" growth this year, after the French advertising group finished a difficult 2015 on a more positive note.

Publicis Chief Executive Maurice Levy said he had asked his lieutenants to focus on an internal reorganization and efforts to continue to integrate Sapient Corp., the U.S.-based digital agency that it bought last year.

"It's a transition year, so we will be very prudent," Mr. Levy said. "We're in an economy characterized by low growth and low inflation, and we've given ourselves a certain handicap by asking our people to focus on our transformation."

Mr. Levy said he is aiming for Publicis to post "modest growth" in 2016, without elaborating. The company would be "firing on all cylinders" by 2017, he said.

The cautious outlook came as Publicis disclosed a better-than-expected performance for the fourth quarter.

"We've had some difficulties but, paradoxically, we're posting some very good numbers," Mr. Levy said.

The company said organic revenue—a key measure in the advertising industry that strips out acquisitions, disposals and currency swings—rose 2.8% in the fourth quarter, allowing Publicis to post organic growth of 1.5% for the year. Although still below its rivals, it topped analyst expectations of organic growth of 1% for 2015.

"The fourth quarter was far better than expected," Mr. Levy said. "We won a lot of business, and clients invested more than expected."

Publicis in the fourth quarter was seeking to bounce back from a challenging year. The company was hard-hit by a wave of big advertisers reviewing their agency contracts in a bid to cut costs. Publicis was a net loser of the reviews as a number of long-standing clients such as Procter & Gamble Co. and Coca-Cola Co. switched their accounts to competitors.

Mr. Levy said he expected the wave of reviews to continue—albeit at a slower pace.

In December, the company overhauled its structure and shuffled its leadership ranks in a bid to make it easier for clients to navigate its myriad agencies.

The CEO said organic growth from the company's "digital activities" was particularly strong, up 8.8%. He said Sapient was a bright spot, growing 5% in the quarter.

For the year overall, Publicis reported a 25.1% rise in net profit to €901 million ($1.02 billion), due largely to positive currency effects. Full-year revenue rose 32.3% to €9.60 billion, driven by North America and some emerging markets and helped by a number of small acquisitions.

Publicis said it would pay a dividend of €1.60 a share, a 33.3% increase on last year.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 11, 2016 01:35 ET (06:35 GMT)

Procter and Gamble (NYSE:PG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024

Procter and Gamble (NYSE:PG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024