AGM Statement

WPP Group PLC
24 June 2002


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         24 June 2002



                                      WPP

                      ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING TRADING UPDATE

                FIRST FIVE MONTHS REPORTABLE REVENUES DOWN OVER 2%

                    CONSTANT CURRENCY REVENUES DOWN OVER 1%


          OPERATING MARGIN TARGET OF 15% IN 2002 DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE



The following statement was issued by the Chairman at the Company's 30th Annual
General Meeting held in London at noon today:



"First, a few comments on current trading over the initial five months of 2002,
which continues to be difficult with few, if any, signs of recovery in the
advertising and marketing services industry. Our view continues to be that
recovery will be gradual: saucer- or bath-shaped, rather than U- or V- or
W-shaped and will be American led.  2002 will be better than 2001, and 2003
better than 2002, but pronounced recovery will have to wait until the US
Presidential elections and the Athens Olympic Games of 2004.



Worldwide revenues were down over 2% on a reportable basis. As over the period
sterling weakened against the dollar and the Japanese yen, but strengthened less
against the major European countries, constant currency revenues were down over
1%. Again on a constant currency basis, revenues in North America were down over
6%. In Europe, the UK was flat, with Continental Europe up over 5%. Asia
Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East were up over 3%.



By sector, advertising and media investment management was flat, information and
consultancy up over 6%, public relations and public affairs down over 11% and
branding and identity, healthcare and specialist communications down over 3%.



On a like-for-like basis, excluding the impact of acquisitions and excluding the
impact of currency, revenues fell by over 8%.  This like-for-like or organic
growth rate is conservatively calculated on a proforma basis, which the Company
continues to believe is the most appropriate methodology.



This compares to calendar year 2001, when like-for-like revenues were down by 3%
and reflects the continuing impact of the world economic recession, which
accelerated during the latter part of 2001 as a result of 11 September and
continued into 2002. It has primarily affected our public relations and public
affairs communications business and, to a lesser extent branding and identity,
healthcare and specialist communications, although healthcare and direct have
been more resilient.  Advertising and media investment management has been less
affected and information and consultancy has been relatively untouched.
Geographically, the US market remains primarily affected, with the UK,
Continental Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East less
so.



The Group's operating companies significantly reduced their operating costs
during 2001, but the weakness in revenue experienced in the first five months of
2002, and the possible continuation of this trend for the latter part of the
year, will make it difficult for the Group to reach its 2002 margin target of
15%. However, our longer term margin objectives remain the same.



The Company continues to make significant progress in winning new business from
existing and new clients, with major assignments, amongst others, from Bayer,
Domino's Pizza, Hutchinson 3G, IBM, Lloyds TSB, Masterfoods, Novartis, Payless,
Reckitt Benckiser, Telefonica, Unilever and  Vodafone.



The Group's financial strategy continues to be focused on three objectives:
increasing operating profit by 10 - 15% per annum; increasing operating margins
by 0.5 margin points or more per annum, depending on the level of revenue
growth; and reducing staff cost to revenue ratios by 0.3 margin points per annum
or more, again depending on the level of revenue growth.



Currently surplus cash flow amounts to over £500 million per annum. Alternatives
for the use of this cash flow are capital expenditure, acquisitions, dividends
and share buy-backs.



Capital expenditure, mainly on information technology and property, is broadly
in line with depreciation. The Company continues to make small- to medium-sized
acquisitions or investments in high growth geographical or functional areas.



In the first five months of this year, these have been concentrated
geographically in advertising and media investment management in the UK, Sweden,
Finland, China and India; in information and consultancy in the USA, Ireland and
Thailand; in public relations and public affairs in Australia and Japan; and in
branding and identity, healthcare and specialist communications in Norway.



An analysis of future earnout payments is shown each year in a footnote to the
Company's balance sheet.  As previously, these contingent payments are also
included in creditors on the basis of profit growth in the acquired companies of
10 - 15% per annum. The Company's investments in new media and technology have
been written down through the profit and loss account to a prudent valuation.



Your Board also continues to focus on the options of increasing the dividend
pay-out ratio and share buy-backs, and has continued a rolling share repurchase
programme aimed at buying in £150 - £200 million, or approximately 11/2 - 2%, of
the outstanding share capital each year. So far this year, this has resulted in
the purchase of approximately 6.0 million shares at a total cost of £39.1
million and an average cost of £6.53 per share.



Professionally, the parent company's objectives continue to be to encourage
greater co-ordination and co-operation between Group companies, where this will
benefit our clients and our people, and to improve our creative product.   As
both multi-national and national clients seek to expand geographically while at
the same time seeking greater efficiencies, the Group is uniquely placed to
deliver added value to clients with its coherent spread of functional and
geographic activities.



To these ends we continue to develop our parent company talents in five areas:
in human resources, with innovative recruitment programmes, training and career
development, and incentive planning; in property, which includes radical
re-design of the space we use to improve communication as well as the
utilisation of surplus property; in procurement, to ensure we are using the
Group's considerable buying power to the benefit of our clients; in information
technology, to ensure that the rapid improvements in technology and capacity are
deployed as quickly and effectively as possible;  and finally in practice
development where cross-brand or cross-tribe approaches are being developed in a
number of product or service areas:  media investment management, healthcare,
new technologies, new markets, privatisation, internal communications,
retailing, financial services, entertainment and media, and hi-tech.



In addition, we seek to improve our creative product, in as broadly a defined
sense as possible, by recruiting excellent outside talent, acquiring outstanding
creative businesses, recognising and celebrating creative success and pursuing
creative awards.



We live in testing times. Over the last 12 months or more, every one of the
65,000 people who work for WPP companies and associates has been tested as never
before; and in every respect, the figures we report today reflect proudly on
their achievements. To make such numbers under such conditions is evidence of
talent and dedication of the highest order.



So on behalf of you, our share owners, and of your Board, may I finish by
recording our gratitude to, and admiration for, every single one of those
65,000. May their commitment be well rewarded in future years."



For further information, please contact:




Sir Martin Sorrell
Feona McEwan                                           Tel:  [phone]



www.wpp.com



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