Annual Revenue up for the First Time Since 2001 SURESNES, France,
February 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- - Euro RSCG Worldwide Named
"Global Agency of the Year" by Campaign and "Advertising Network of
the Year" by Advertising Age 1. General comments For the first time
in five years, Havas reported real growth in annual revenue for
2006. Full-year revenue was 1,472 million euros compared to 1,461
million euros for the previous year, an increase of +0.8%. At
constant exchange rates, the increase was +1.0% over the full year.
Excluding exchange rate and scope of consolidation changes, organic
growth for 2006 was +0.6%. Havas' performance won recognition from
Advertising Age and Campaign, the top advertising trade
publications in the United States and United Kingdom respectively,
both of which named Euro RSCG Worldwide as the best global
advertising agency. BETC Euro RSCG was voted best agency of the
year by CB News. In France, the Recma report ranked MPG France as
the country's leading media agency. Q4 2006 revenue was 410 million
euros, reflecting organic growth of +0.4% compared to +1.8% for Q4
2005. A much weaker dollar in the 4th quarter contributed to a
global exchange rate impact on the Group revenue of 13 million
euros, although exchange rate movements for the first nine months
of the year had remained favorable. 2. Detailed analysis by region
for the 4th quarter Good news came in the form of a return to
growth in North America and confirmation of growth in Asia-Pacific
and in the UK. Elsewhere, Latin America saw an acceleration in the
trend apparent since the start of the year, with double-digit
organic growth. The figures in brackets show revenue (millions of
euros) and organic growth for the periods mentioned: - France (83,
-5.6% in Q4 2006 and 304, +0.4% for full year 2006) Euro RSCG
produced an excellent performance and reported excellent
performance. Healthcare communication produced an excellent
performance but as media consulting, it was penalized by a high
baseline for comparison in Q4. - United Kingdom (48, +6.2% in Q4
2006 and 176, +2.0% for full year 2006) The UK reported its
strongest quarterly growth for five years, thanks to a remarkable
performance by advertising, corporate communication and healthcare
communication. - Europe (95, -3.8% in Q4 2006 and 316, +5.9% for
full year 2006) Overall, healthcare communication and CRM reported
excellent performance over the year as a whole. Even so, certain
key countries - the Netherlands and Portugal - were seriously
affected by high baselines in the fourth quarter. The vitality of
other key countries such as Italy and Poland was noteworthy. -
North America (145, +1.6% in Q4 2006 and 550, -4.0% for full year
2006) The region enjoyed a return to growth in Q4, for the first
time this year. Healthcare and corporate communications again
proved extremely dynamic, particularly at Euro RSCG. After a
difficult first quarter, media consulting at MPG went from strength
to strength. - Asia Pacific (17, +4.8% in Q4 2006 and 60, -0.6% for
full year 2006) Renewed growth in the region is driven by India,
Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. - Latin
America (22, +26.9% in Q4 2006 and 67, +19.0% for full year 2006)
Most countries in the region reported double-digit growth in the
fourth quarter. 3. Net New Business 2006 Net New Business was 1,931
million euros for full year 2006. Lehmann Brothers ranked Havas
number one for New Business in both November and December 2006, as
well as for 2006 overall. The main accounts won in Q4 2006 were: -
Advertising: Weight Watchers Meetings and Staples UK Retail (UK) ;
SNCB and le Pass (Belgium) ; SFR and Manpower (France) ;
Progressive Direct, Pearle Vision, Trex Company, Life Time Fitness,
Select Comfort, Boniva for GlaxoSmithKline & Roche and Circuit
City (USA); Viartril-S (Taiwan); CiticFirst Wealth Management (Hong
Kong) - Media: Peugeot-Citroen, Forte Pharma, Schmidt/Cuisinella,
Boostore of Carrefour, Century 21, Cdiscount, Pro BTP and Cheque
Emploi Service Universel (France) ; Orange, Copa America 2007,
Escalona Golf, Fiat, Olimpo, Parrot, Clickair and Banco Santander
Central Hipano (Spain) ; Telefonica (Brazil) ; Transantiago
(Chile). - Marketing services: Practical Action (UK) - Corporate:
EDF, RATP and Sanofi-Aventis (France) 4. Creativity Creative awards
for the final quarter of 2006: At the Cresta International
Advertising Awards in October, BETC Euro RSCG, Euro RSCG Madrid,
Euro RSCG London, Euro RSCG 4D Amsterdam and Arnold Boston took a
total of ten awards. Euro RSCG Shanghai made its mark with eight
awards and Euro RSCG Life with a Gold Award at the 13th National
Awards in China. At the 'El Ojo de Iberoamerica' Latin-American
festival, 11 awards were made to Euro RSCG Buenos Aires, Euro RSCG
Santiago, Euro RSCG Viceversa, Euro RSCG 4D Sao Paulo and EHS Brann
in Argentine, including 3 Gold awards: one to Euro RSCG Argentina
for its "Futbol" campaign for Sony Argentina, another to Euro RSCG
4D Sao Paulo for "Oops" on behalf of Reckitt Benckiser and the
third to EHS Brann for its "El teatro levanta la mano" for
Coca-Cola. Media Contacts Barcelona won a Gold EFFIE Award for its
campaign for Nike "Botas Tempo Legend" in the media effectiveness
category and a Bronze EFFIE for its direct response strategy
campaign for SpanAir. Control Magazine recognised MPG Spain as the
Best Media Agency for the third year running. At the London
International Advertising Awards in November, BETC Euro RSCG was
awarded yet again for the "March of the Emperors" for Canal + and
Arnold Boston took three notable awards for its American Legacy and
Timberland campaigns. 17 awards were made to Group agencies at the
Epica Awards, Europe's premier creative awards, held in December
2006. BETC Euro RSCG did particularly well, taking 8 awards for its
campaigns for Canal+, Air France, 13eme Rue, INPES, Peugeot and
ECPAT. Euro RSCG 4D Amsterdam, Euro RSCG Spain, Euro RSCG Prague,
Euro RSCG London, Euro RSCG Switzerland and Scher Lafarge were also
awarded. At the Eurobest Awards, BETC Euro RSCG won two awards, a
Gold for "March of the Emperors" for Canal + and a Silver for >
for 13eme Rue. 2006 drew to a close with the Meribel Ad Festival
where BETC Euro RSCG walked away with ten Cristal awards, including
a Cristal Europe, while Devarrieuxvillaret and Euro RSCG 4D Paris
each took two Cristal awards and Euro RSCG Germany, Euro RSCG
Brussels and Havas Media UK one Cristal award each. 5. Calendar The
Group will publish its 2006 results in March 2007. About Havas
Havas (Euronext Paris: HAV.PA) is a global advertising and
communications services group. Headquartered in Paris, Havas
operates through its two worldwide networks, Euro RSCG Worldwide
headquartered in New York and Havas Media in Barcelona, and through
Arnold Worldwide Partners. A multicultural and decentralized Group,
Havas is present in more than 75 countries through its networks of
agencies and contractual affiliations. The Group offers a broad
range of communications services, including traditional
advertising, direct marketing, media planning and buying, corporate
communications, sales promotion, design, human resources, sports
marketing, multimedia interactive communications and public
relations. Havas employs approximately 14,400 people. Further
information about Havas is available on the company's website:
http://www.havas.com/ Forward-Looking Information This document
contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs,
projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or
trends and similar expressions, concerning matters that are not
historical facts. These forward-looking statements reflect Havas'
current views about future events and are subject to risks,
uncertainties, assumptions and changes in circumstances that may
cause Havas' actual results to differ significantly from those
expressed in any forward-looking statement. Certain factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from expected
results include changes in global economic, business, competitive
market and regulatory factors. For more information regarding risk
factors relevant to Havas, please see Havas' filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. Havas does not intend, and
disclaims any duty or obligation, to update or revise any
forward-looking statements contained in this document to reflect
new information, future events or otherwise. (a) Net New Business :
Net new business represents the estimated annual advertising
budgets for new business wins (which includes new clients, clients
retained after a competitive review, and new product or brand
expansions for existing clients) less the estimated annual
advertising budgets for lost accounts. Havas' management uses net
new business as a measurement of the effectiveness of its client
development and retention efforts. Net new business is not an
accurate predictor of future revenues, since what constitutes new
business or lost business is subject to differing judgments, the
amounts associated with individual business wins and losses depend
on estimated client budgets, clients may not spend as much as they
budget, the timing of budgeted expenditures is uncertain, and the
amount of budgeted expenditures that translate into revenues
depends on the nature of the expenditures and the applicable fee
structures. In addition, Havas' guidelines for determining the
amount of new business wins and lost business may differ from those
employed by other companies. Contacts : Communications : Anne
Marsan Tel: +33-(0)1-58-47-90-33 Solenne Anthonioz Tel:
+33-(0)1-58-47-90-27 Investor Relations: Herve Philippe Directeur
Financier du Groupe Havas Tel: +33-(0)1-58-47-91-23 2 allee de
Longchamp 92281 Suresnes Cedex, France Tel +33-(0)-1-58-47-90-00
Fax +33-(0)-1-58-47-99-99 http://www.havas.com/ SA au capital de
171 179 760,80 euros - 335 480 265 RCS Nanterre - APE 744 B [1] Net
account wins, expressed in estimated annual billings. Full
definition given on the last page of the press release. DATASOURCE:
Havas CONTACT: Communications : Anne Marsan, Tel:
+33-(0)1-58-47-90-33, , Solenne Anthonioz, Tel:
+33-(0)1-58-47-90-27, , Investor Relations: Herve Philippe,
Directeur Financier du Groupe Havas, Tel: +33-(0)1-58-47-91-23,
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