The world's leading advertising agency, WPP, has announced a headline annual profit of more than £1.5bn for the first time but warned of uncertainties ahead.
The company - led by its founder Sir Martin Sorrell - credited growth in Britain and North America particularly for its performance and said it had enjoyed a strong start to 2015.
Its headline profit before tax for 2014 came in at £1.51bn - a rise of 3.7%.
Statutory pre-tax profits of £1.452bn were hit by the strength of sterling to the tune of £121m.
Reported revenue rose 4.6% to £11.53bn.
The British group, owner of the JWT and Ogilvy & Mather agencies, said that while it had seen growth in every major world region with income from the travel and airline and entertainment sectors particularly high, the outlook for clients remained uncertain.
Its results statement warned of five 'grey swans' including a "litany of woes" in the Middle East and slowdowns for the economies of China and Russia.
One of its concerns was the UK's looming General Election.
It said: "The increasingly uncertain result of the United Kingdom's General Election may crimp the strong United Kingdom economic recovery, which equals or even exceeds the United States strength, albeit relatively.
"If the Conservatives win outright (unlikely?) or lead a coalition or even form a minority government, there will be a Referendum on the EU in 2016 or 2017, which will cause significant uncertainty.
"If Labour wins outright (also unlikely?), or leads a coalition (more likely with the SNP?) or forms a minority government, it will win partly on a "bashing business" manifesto, which may resonate at the ballot box.
"All seems a case of "Morton's Fork". Either way, the United Kingdom economy may slip into the political cycle again, with austerity in the early part of the five year cycle to deal with the continuing Budget deficit and better times around the next election in five years' time (or earlier?) - just like the current Chancellor has done so brilliantly for the Coalition, in their first term."
In an interview with Sky News, Sir Martin also expressed support for HSBC - a group client - as the bank continues to handle historic allegations of tax avoidance and evasion at its Swiss private banking arm.
He said: "You do have a chief executive and indeed a chairman who have been inthose positions in the recent past and of course they have changed the nature of the bank.
"There has been change and there will obviously, as a result of this, be further change and I think they have to weather the storm and implement the strategy they have outlined in recent years .. and I think they will win through in the end."
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