WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell said growth for the company in March was slow, but a surprise was the strength of the US advertising market during that time.
"North America, despite the talk of recession and the continuing credit crisis affecting the major financial institutions in the United States, remains strong," WPP said in a morning trading update.
For the quarter, WPP grew by 14.1 percent in revenue to £1.56 billion.
What held WPP back was the extremely slow British advertising climate in March, as well as many other Western European countries; especially France, Germany and Spain. January and February had performed very well.
Among the fastest growing regions for WPP were Eastern Europe, which led the way, and close behind was the Middle East. Eastern Europe grew at a hefty 21 percent rate.
China continued to grow solidly, as growth came in at 19 percent, while India accounted for the same percentage. Sorrell said he expects the China market to cool off some in 2009.
Also performing strong for them was Latin America, which grew by 15 percent.
The Asia Pacific market increased by 6 percent.
New net billings for the company in the first quarter came in at £564 million.
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