June 2 (Bloomberg) -- WPP Plc, the world’s largest advertising company, reported lower sales for the first four months of 2009 and said it’s cutting jobs to safeguard profitability.

Sales excluding acquisitions and currency swings declined 6.7 percent from a year earlier, the company said in an e-mailed statement today. Business was worse in April compared with the first quarter, it said. WPP fell as much as 3.9 percent in London trading.

Advertising companies have suffered as the economic slowdown has prompted advertisers to cut marketing budgets.

“For the remainder of 2009 the short-term focus will continue to be on balancing staff costs and headcount, against the fall in revenues,” the company said. The number of employees dropped by 4,300, or 3.7 percent, in the first four months. Over half the people who left did so on a voluntary basis, London-based WPP said.

WPP dropped as much as 18.5 pence to 460.75 pence and traded at 463.25 pence as of 3:09 p.m.

There will be “a recovery of sorts in early 2010,” and “signs of recovery will come in Asia first,” Chief Executive Officer Martin Sorrell said following a shareholder meeting today in Dublin.

Sales declined in the U.S., the U.K. and continental Europe in the first four months of 2009, while revenue rose in eastern continental Europe, Latin America and Africa. The company said revenue was less than budgeted for the four months, while headline operating profit and headline operating margin exceeded the budget.

“Six months ago everyone expected an Armageddon and people now see some relief that the world didn’t fall apart,” Sorrell said today.

WPP will cut a total of 7,200 jobs this year, the Observer newspaper reported May 3, without saying where it got the information.

To contact the reporter on this story: Simon Thiel in London at sthiel1@bloomberg.net; Kristen Schweizer kschweizer1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 2, 2009 10:12 EDT