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IPG, one of the world’s five largest marketing consultancies, ended its fiscal second quarter with $2.33 billion in revenue.

The firm’s top line was dragged down by a negative 0.6% impact from currency fluctuations. But it nevertheless delivered 1.7% organic revenue growth, a metric for quantifying sales gains that excludes certain financial factors with limited significance for investors. 

IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky shared a breakdown of the firm’s sales momentum in its earnings report. He revealed that one of the drivers behind IPG’s growth in the second quarter was its Mediabrands business unit, which employs about 13,000 of the marketing giant’s 50,000-plus employees. The unit manages more than $48 billion worth of annual marketing budgets for many of the world’s largest consumer brands.

IPG Health, which provides marketing services to healthcare organizations, was also highlighted as a stronger performer by Krakowsky. The executive added that the firm’s Golin and Acxiom units, which provide PR services and customer datasets, respectively, made “notable contributions to growth” as well.

“The most successful businesses in our portfolio continue to demonstrate specialized, high-value services that identify and reach audiences with greater precision and accountability,” Krakowsky explained in a prepared statement. “Much of this work is powered by our industry-leading audience data and a technology stack that unifies the marketing funnel.”

IPG’s “office and other direct expenses” line item, which includes real-estate costs, climbed more than 5% in the second quarter to $358.4 million. But the company’s payroll spending, a much bigger expense, dropped 2.6% in the same period. That decline handily offset IPG’s increased real-estate spending, helping the firm boost its adjusted EBITA margin to 14.6% of revenue. This percentage excludes billable expenses and certain costs associated with a recently announced restructuring initiative.

IPG closed the second quarter with adjusted EBITA before restructuring charges of $338.9 million. That works out to adjusted EPS of $0.61.

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