Last checked at 
* Net sales returns to growth, up 3.1%
* Company had expected growth by Q2
* CEO says clients spending ahead of a recovery
(Adds quotes)
By Kate Holton
LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - WPP, the world's
biggest advertising company, returned to underlying net sales
growth in the first quarter, earlier than expected, after
clients started to spend to prepare for a global economic
recovery.
Echoing rivals such as Omnicom and Publicis
that have also reported upbeat trading, Chief
Executive Mark Read said company bosses could now see the
recovery coming and were preparing by launching new products and
new brands.
The group, which posted a 6.5% drop in underlying net sales
in the fourth quarter, said the key figure had jumped by 3.1% in
the first three months of the year as clients "seek to transform
their offer for future growth".
The company, which reiterated its financial outlook for the
year as a whole, has also benefited by helping clients build
e-commerce and digital offerings to reach consumers when
traditional commerce routes had to close.
"There's been a lot of innovation in the last year and
consumers have found ways to spend money," Read told Reuters.
"Those parts of the economy that have innovated are seeing
growth.
"There is a lot of strategic corporate activity as companies
figure out how to prosper in a post COVID world," he added.
The British company, which had said it expected to return to
growth in the second quarter, also won $1.3 billion of new work
from companies such as Absolut and JP Morgan Chase.
Read said a recovery in Asia Pacific and stronger demand in
Britain had helped to drive growth across the business.
The positive trading follow a similarly strong improvement
from France's Publicis which also returned to organic growth for
the first time since the pandemic.
(Reporting by Kate Holton
editing by Michael Holden and Keith Weir)
