Havas APAC posts negative growth in H1; India bucks the trend

"New Delhi: Havas" Asia Pacific and Africa business recorded a 4.8% organic decline in net revenue during the first half of 2026, making it the advertising group"s only geographic region to contract during the period. APAC & Africa generated net revenue of €109 million in the six months ended June 2026 and accounted for 8% of Havas" global net revenue. Organic net revenue in the region fell 3.5% to €59 million in the second quarter, compared with a 6.2% contraction in net revenue of €50 million in Q1. Havas said China continued to weigh on the regional performance, although its impact was lower than in the first quarter. Business in the Middle East also remained under pressure due to the geopolitical conflict. India, however, “remained strongly positive”, even as the wider regional cluster contracted. Havas did not disclose India"s growth rate or country-level revenue. In the first quarter, the company had said all its divisions in APAC & Africa recorded negative growth. The weakness was particularly visible in Havas Media following the loss of some clients in China and Singapore during the previous year. The performance contrasted with Havas" other regions. North America grew 6.9% organically during the first half; Latin America expanded 4%, while Europe reported marginal growth of 0.7%. In Q2, North America grew 6.4%, Latin America 7.7%, and Europe 0.3%. North America"s performance was supported by Havas" creative and media businesses, and client wins secured in the previous year. Europe remained broadly stable, with slight declines in France and the UK offset by stronger growth in Germany, Italy, Portugal, Poland, the Netherlands and Sweden. Europe generated €688 million in first-half net revenue, followed by North America at €475 million, APAC & Africa at €109 million and Latin America at €90 million. Middle East remains under pressure Havas operates in Dubai, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Israel, which together represented 1.6% of the group"s first-half net revenue. The company said its Middle East business continued to decline in Q2, although the contraction was slightly lower than the trend observed at the end of March. Management expects conditions in the region to remain broadly unchanged during the second half. It said the slowdown was not material enough to affect Havas" consolidated financial statements or full-year guidance. Havas continues to view the Middle East as a medium-to-long-term growth opportunity and said the expansion of its Creative Powerhouse operation in the region remains unchanged. In Q1, the company had said tourism and transportation clients were more sensitive to political and military developments, while consumer goods showed greater resilience. India grows despite currency drag Although Havas described India"s underlying business performance as strongly positive, the Indian rupee was among the currencies that weighed on the group"s reported revenue growth. Foreign exchange movements reduced Havas" Q2 net revenue growth by 1.2%. The impact was 3.4% for the first half, largely due to movements in the US dollar and British pound, along with the Indian rupee and Argentine peso. The foreign exchange drag had been 5.8% in the first quarter. As the impact eased in Q2, Havas moved from a reported net revenue decline of 1.6% in Q1 to reported growth of 3.8% in the second quarter. Management expects the currency headwind to ease further during the second half. Assuming exchange rates remain close to current levels, Havas expects the full-year foreign exchange impact to be around negative 1%. Havas strengthens India leadership Havas also highlighted several senior appointments across its India operations during the first half. Tabassum Modi joined Havas Media Network as Chief Content Officer and Head of Havas Play India from Omnicom Media Group. Dorelle Kulkarni joined as Managing Director of Havas Life Mumbai from Publicis Health. Joao Camacho was appointed Chief Creative Officer of Havas Life India and Middle East after joining from Publicis Health Dubai. Group net revenue rises to €1.36 billion At the group level, Havas reported first-half net revenue of €1.36 billion, up 1.2% on a reported basis and 2.5% organically. Organic growth was slightly higher than the 2.3% recorded in the corresponding period last year. Acquisitions added 2.1% to growth, while currency movements reduced it by 3.4%. Yannick Bolloré, Chairman and CEO of Havas, said, "Havas delivered a solid first-half performance in 2026, achieving organic growth of +2.5% and a further 30 basis-point improvement in adjusted EBIT margin. This performance reflects the resilience of our model, the strength of our client relationships, and the continued success of our Converged strategy.” He added, “We are seeing momentum in New Business across the Group. We are also pleased with the progress at Horizon Global, our joint venture with Horizon Media, as we continue to build a differentiated approach for modern marketers. Additionally, we continue to invest in areas of growing client demand through targeted acquisitions that strengthen our capabilities in sports marketing, experiential activation, and corporate influence, helping our clients build more desirable brands and forge deeper connections with consumers.” Havas Creative remained the group"s largest business line, contributing 42% of net revenue. Havas Media accounted for 38%, while Havas Health contributed 20%. Adjusted EBIT increased 4.2% to €150 million, while the adjusted EBIT margin improved by 30 basis points to 11%. Staff costs and share-based compensation expenses stood at €932 million and remained broadly stable year on year. Havas" headcount was 22,960 at the end of June, including 343 employees added through acquisitions. Excluding acquisitions, headcount declined 0.8%. Net income attributable to the group increased 13.5% to €84 million. Operating cash flow before working-capital movements rose to €139 million from €117 million a year earlier. Havas maintained its full-year guidance of 2% to 3% organic net revenue growth and an adjusted EBIT margin of between 13.2% and 13.5%. The company also retained its 2028 target of an adjusted EBIT margin between 14% and 15%."