WPP, the marketing group that includes advertising networks J Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather, will this week unveil forecast-beating full-year figures and pledge to grow at a similar rate in 2008.

However, chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell will once again sound a note of caution over 2009, when a new US president is expected to rein in spending in WPP’s largest market.

Analysts forecast 5% organic sales growth and expect the company to hit its 15% operating-margin target for 2007. On Friday, WPP is expected to set another 5% topline growth target and promise to increase margins by a further half-percentage point.

The company is confident about the immediate outlook. A bumper haul of business wins late last year puts it in a better position than 12 months earlier.

American telecoms group AT&T consolidated its media buying account with WPP, worth £1.7 billion in annual billings, and computer maker Dell signed up to a £2.3 billion, three-year marketing agreement.

Sorrell will play up the opportunity from the Beijing Olympics. WPP has a 15% share of the market in China. Analysts expect headline profits for 2007 of £915m on sales of £6.1 billion. Opta, the provider of statistics on football and other sports to television companies and newspapers, has attracted £1.5m of new funding from Close Ventures to help expand the business.

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