NEW YORK--Omnicom Group, which owns Fleishman-Hillard, Ketchum and Porter Novelli, has today reported PR revenue growth of 3.3 percent for 2012 after a strong fourth quarter performance.

Revenue from the holding group's public relations firms improved to $1.29bn for the 12-month period, thanks to 8.4 percent growth in the fourth quarter of the year.

Including acquisitions and without adjusting for currency changes, PR earnings were up 10.5 percent in 4Q 2012 to $347.9m.

The strong end to the year represents a boost for Omnicom's PR operations after several quarters of lacklustre growth, including a 0.3 percent decline in 3Q of 2012.

Overall, Omnicom outperformed analyst expectations by growing net income 12 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, to $299.9m. Revenue rose two percent to $3.94bn.