WPP plans to spend USD 382 mn over 3 yrs to reboot advertising group

WPP plans to spend 300 million pounds ($382 million) over the next three years to return the world's biggest advertising group to growth by reducing the number of agencies it runs and hiring more talent in New York.

The British owner of the JWT and Ogilvy agencies has lost 40 per cent of its value in the last year and been forced to cut its sales and profit forecasts after it lost some major clients and others cut their spending.

On Tuesday it said it would maintain and prioritise its dividend over buybacks and deals. It added that full-year organic net sales were likely to be down by 0.5 per cent this year, an improvement on the 1 per cent drop it predicted in October.

(With inputs from agencies.)