The global communications company WPP has released its preliminary results of 2010, revealing that its public relations & public affairs services now contribute to 9% of the total group’s revenue.

Those services also posted like-for-like revenue growth of 3.7%. This compares to the 7.1% like-for-like growth of the advertising and media investment management businesses operated by WPP, which provided 39.9% of total revenue.Sir Martin Sorrell, founder and chief executive of WPP, called WPP's overall numbers "gratifying".

This growing strength in public relations and public affairs comes on the back of good performances by WPP businesses Burson-Marsteller Group, Dewey Square, BWR, Robinson Lerer & Montgomery and Public Strategies in the United States and Hering Schuppener in Germany.

Branding and identity businesses also performed well, with a high fourth quarter growth in revenue of 7.3%. WPP’s branding businesses globally include Landor, The Brand Union, Fitch, Addison, The Partners, and Peclers.

Sorrell spoke of communications challenges that businesses will continue to need to address. "Developments in new technologies and media, the growth in importance of internal communications, the growth in government spending and the new focus on corporate responsibility issues such as climate change, underpin the need for our clients to continue to differentiate their products and services both tangibly and intangibly."

WPP are raising their revenue contribution objective for new media and new markets to 35-40%, given that those areas are already responsible for nearly one-third of current revenue.