Shares in WPP PLC (LSE:WPP) were whipped 4% higher to 1,055p after the advertising giant reported 22% profit growth for last year and "good momentum" into 2023 from new business wins.
Like-for-like revenue, excluding pass-through costs, is expected to grow 3-5% this year, down from 6.7% in 2022 but not by as much as analysts had feared.
The FTSE 100-listed group said it also expects profit margins to improve to around 15%, excluding the impact of currency swings.
Analysts at AJ Bell said: "The company is proving successful at reducing costs and any concern about the size of its debt pile is assuaged by an eye-catching increase in the dividend."
They said boss Mark Read is "unlikely to receive too many garlands for his performance, given the shares are lower than when he started as CEO in 2018, he does deserve credit for stabilising the business in the wake of founder Martin Sorrell’s acrimonious departure and seeing it through the pandemic and a continuing structural shift in the advertising market".
The shares are at a six-month high, up almost 40% from autumn lows but around 45% below Sorrell-era highs in 2017.