Sir Martin Sorrell’s WPP has started the year strongly, beating its target of 3% net sales growth across its global marketing operations in the first quarter.

WPP, the world’s largest marketing services group, said like-for-like net sales increased by 3.2% in the first three months of the year.

Total revenues rose by 5.1% to £3.07bn in the first quarter, fuelled by a strong performance in the US, which saw revenues grow 6.9% to £1.2bn.

The UK also performed well with revenue growth of 4.7% to £451m.

WPP said that first quarter revenue, net sales and profit were “well above budget” for 2016 and ahead of last year.

“For the first three months actual performance was ahead of budget,” the company said. “We are in the process of reviewing our quarter one preliminary revised forecasts, but early indications are that full year like-for-like revenue will be up well over 3% and net sales growth will be up over 3%, with a stronger second half.”

Typically, WPP’s advertising and media investment management operation, the engine of the group accounting for 44% of revenue and net sales, was the strongest-performing business sector with revenues up 7.9% to £1.4bn.

WPP, which again raised concerns about the business impact of the UK’s EU referendum in June, nevertheless said that it expected a stronger second half performance this year.

“In the immediate future, we face the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom in June, where it is generally agreed by both sides that an ‘out’ vote will result, at least in the short term or mid term, in GDP weakness in the UK, the EU and possibly globally, let alone further political and economic uncertainty in the UK around Scottish independence and further disintegration of the EU,” said Sorrell.

Sorrell added that the business outlook for this year looked very similar to that of 2015, although he was cheered by the “bonus” his advertising business will get from events including Euro 2016.

“The pattern for 2016 looks very similar to 2015, but with the bonus of the maxi-quadrennial events of the visually stunning Rio Olympics, the Uefa Euro football championships and, of course, the US presidential election to boost marketing investments, as usual by up to 1% or so,” he said.