Shares fall to lowest in eight years Investors did not like the underlying picture, sending shares down more than 16% in early trading to around 770p – the lowest level since 2012. Dentsu and Publicis are currently also trading around 7-year lows. Chief executive Mark Read, who launched a three-year turnaround plan in December 2018, had previously warned recovery would take time. "2019 was the foundational year for the new WPP strategy," he said, unveiling the annual results. Overall, net sales fell 1.6% to £13.2bn in 2019, making it one of the poorer performers among the big six groups. Annual pre-tax profits from continuing operations, following the sale of a majority stake in Kantar, fell 30% to £707m. Four of the big six groups – WPP, Publicis Groupe, Dentsu Aegis Network and Havas – reported declines in organic revenue last year. Only Interpublic and Omnicom increased revenue in 2019.