WPP : AGM presentation transcript

WPP 2021

Shareholder Presentation

Transcript

Wednesday, 9 June 2021

Disclaimer

By reading this transcript you agree to be bound by the following conditions. You may not disseminate this transcript, in whole or in part, without our prior consent.

Information in this communication relating to the price at which relevant investments have been bought or sold in the past or the yield on such investments cannot be relied upon as a guide to the future performance of such investments.

This communication does not constitute an offering of securities or otherwise constitute an invitation or inducement to any person to underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of securities in any company within the WPP Group.

Non-IFRS Measures

Certain Non-IFRS measures included in this communication have been derived from amounts calculated in accordance with IFRS but are not themselves IFRS measures. They should not be viewed in isolation as alternatives to the equivalent IFRS measure, rather they should be read in conjunction with the equivalent IFRS measure. These include constant currency, pro-forma('like-for-like'), headline PBIT (Profit Before Interest and Taxation), headline PBT (Profit Before Taxation), headline EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation and Amortisation), billings, estimated net new billings, free cash flow and net debt and average net debt, which we define, explain the use of and reconcile to the nearest IFRS measure in the WPP Annual Report & Accounts 2020 for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Management believes that these measures are both useful and necessary to present herein because they are used by management for internal performance analyses; the presentation of these measures facilitates comparability with

other companies, although management's measures may not be calculated in the same way as similarly titled

measures reported by other companies; and these measures are useful in connection with discussions with the investment community.

Forward-Looking Statements

This transcript contains statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements give the Group's current expectations or forecasts of future events. An investor can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They use words such as 'anticipate', 'estimate', 'expect', 'intend', 'will', 'project', 'plan', 'believe', 'target' and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance.

Other than in accordance with its legal or regulatory obligations (including under the Market Abuse Regulations, UK Listing Rules and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority), the Group undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Investors should, however, consult any additional disclosures that the Group may make in any documents which it publishes and/or files with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). All investors, wherever located, should take note of these disclosures. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any particular expectation will be met and investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions, inherent risks and uncertainties, many of which relate to factors that are beyond the Group's control or precise estimate. The Group cautions investors that a number of important factors, including those in this presentation, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement. Such factors include, but are not limited to, those discussed under Item 3.D 'Risk factors' in the Group's Annual Report on Form 20-F for FY 2020 and any impacts of the COVID- 19 pandemic. Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the Group speak only as of the date they are made and are based upon the knowledge and information available to the Directors on the date of this presentation.

The views expressed in this transcript contain information that has been derived from publicly available sources that have not been independently verified. No representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information. This presentation should not be relied upon as a recommendation or forecast by WPP.

Roberto Quarta

Chairman, WPP

SLIDE 2

Good afternoon to you all and welcome to WPP's 2021 Annual General Meeting.

My name is Roberto Quarta and I am Chairman of WPP.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions and as part of our commitment to make our meetings accessible to as many shareholders as possible, this meeting is being webcast live. I would like to start by saying thank you in particular to shareholders who have joined the meeting via Intrado's online meeting platform.

Present at our Sea Containers office, being the physical location of the meeting, we have our CEO Mark Read, our CFO John Rogers and Non- Executive Directors Jasmine Whitbread and Keith Weed, together with our Company Secretary Balbir Kelly-Bisla. Other members of the Board, including myself, have joined virtually.

In accordance with the Company's Articles, the AGM is deemed to take place where the chair of the meeting is physically present. The chair of the meeting does not have to be the chairman of the Company and, in accordance with Article 37 of the Company's Articles, the directors present at Sea Containers have selected Mark Read, our CEO, to preside as chair of the meeting today. I will, therefore, hand over to Mark to declare the meeting open.

I will therefore handover to Mark to declare the meeting open.

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Mark Read

Chief Executive Officer, WPP

SLIDE 4

Thank you, Roberto, and welcome everybody. It is now 12.02pm and I can confirm that the requisite quorum is present here at Sea Containers and the WPP AGM has been duly convened.

I will shortly come on to updating you on our business performance, as well as presiding over the formal part of the business of the meeting. However, before I do that, we will hear from Roberto again. Given that Roberto is joining the meeting virtually and being mindful of the issues that can sometimes occur with connectivity, we have pre-recorded his introductory remarks which we will play now.

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Roberto Quarta

Chairman, WPP

SLIDE 2

I would like to make a few comments, firstly, on recent Board changes.

To ensure the Board has the necessary skills and experience and diversity to effectively support and review the Company's strategic progress, we continued our proactive review of our Non-Executive membership during 2020, announcing the appointment of three new Board members.

SLIDE 3

Angela Ahrendts DBE joined the Company as a Non-Executive Director on 1 July 2020 and joined the Sustainability Committee on 1 January 2021.

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Angela was Senior Vice President Retail at Apple Inc from May 2014 until April 2019, where she oversaw the company's global retail operations and the integration of its physical and digital businesses. She joined Apple from Burberry where she was CEO from 2006 to 2014 and led the company through a period of global growth based on the adoption of new technologies, the launch of new product lines and the expansion of retail operations into new markets.

On 5 October 2020, Tom Ilube CBE was appointed to the Board as a Non- Executive Director and joined the Audit Committee and the Nomination & Governance Committee on 1 January 2021, and then the Compensation Committee on 5 February.

Tom is a technology entrepreneur and educational philanthropist. He is the founder and CEO of AIM-listed Crossword Cybersecurity Plc and has launched several other technology start-ups. During his 30-year career in the UK technology sector, he has held senior leadership roles in organisations including Call Credit Information Group and Egg Banking Plc.

Lastly, Dr Ya-Qin Zhang was appointed to the Board on 1 January 2021.

Dr Zhang is a world-renowned technologist, scientist and entrepreneur who served as President of Baidu Inc, the global internet services and AI company headquartered in Beijing, between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he oversaw the company's overall technologies, emerging businesses and global operations, and helped the company to push new frontiers including Cloud Computing, Autonomous Driving and Quantum Computing, together with AI machine learning systems. Prior to Baidu, Dr Zhang held various senior positions during a 16-year tenure with Microsoft both in the United States and in China.

Today, we have a strong Board and executive team with the expertise, diversity and experience required to support the transformation and success of WPP.

SLIDE 2

We were obviously pleased to be ranked 10th in the 2020 Hampton- Alexander Review of FTSE 100 women leaders, and to have exceeded the Parker Review target on ethnic diversity.

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