Omnicom's beats third-quarter results as U.S. ad share rises

(Reuters) - U.S. advertising company Omnicom Group Inc beat analysts' estimates for third-quarter revenue and profit on Tuesday, helped by an almost 7-percent rise in revenue from euro zone markets and a steadying of ad spending in the United States.

Overall Omnicom reported a 2.9 percent rise in organic revenue - a closely-watched measure in the ad industry that excludes foreign exchange rate changes and income from acquisitions.

Analysts on average had expected growth of 2.5 percent, according to research firm FactSet.

That included a 6.9 percent expansion in euro zone markets, 0.6 percent growth in the United States and almost 14 percent in Asia/Pacific.

The world's "Big Four" traditional advertising agencies have struggled over the past five years, as the direct targeting models of internet giants Google and Facebook swallow more advertising spend.

Consulting firms like Accenture and IBM have also effectively shrunk business for the ad companies by using data more effectively to target customers who bring business to clients.

However, Omnicom has offset some of its large customer losses in North America with gains in Europe.

Omnicom said net income available for common shares rose to $298.9 million, or $1.32 per share in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from $263.3 million, or $1.13 per share.

Excluding one-time items, Omnicom earned $1.24 cents per share, edging past analysts' expectations of $1.21, according to I/B/E/S data from Refinitiv.

Revenue fell marginally to $3.71 billion from a year earlier, weighed by a strong dollar, still beating analysts' estimates of $3.70 billion.

(Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)