JCDecaux UK revenues rise 0.1% in 2011

Global organic revenues, excluding the effect of foreign exchange variations and change in perimeter effects, increased by 3.3% in the fourth quarter.

Over 2011 as a whole, JCDecaux reported revenues of €2.46bn, up 4.8% on 2010, while organic revenues rose 5.7%. The company said on an organic basis, "core ad revenues" increased by 5.2%.

JCDecaux said its organic revenue growth was driven by the transport segment in Asia-Pacific and in the Rest of the World (territories excluding Europe, France, Asia-Pacific, United Kingdom and North America) and street furniture in markets such as France and Germany.

Street furniture revenues were €1.18bn in 2011, up 2.8% and an increase of 2.3% on an organic basis but the media owner said that in the fourth quarter, the street furniture business only generated a "slightly positive organic growth".

JCDecaux said street furniture revenues in the UK recovered "after two difficult quarters", while France and North America maintained a good pace on a like-for-like basis and Germany showed some softening. Southern Europe "remained challenging".

Transport revenues across 2011 as a whole were €874.8m, up 12.5% year on year and up 15.8% on an organic basis.

Across the year, the transport division in the UK delivered double-digit performances (along with Asia-Pacific and the Rest of the World and the UK), while North America posted a mid-single-digit growth.

During the fourth quarter, Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world continued to deliver double-digit performances, while North America, France and the UK were "less strong than in the previous nine months".

The billboard division reported revenues of €409.2m in 2011, down 3.8% year on year and down 2.7% on an organic basis. JCDecaux said billboard revenues "remained difficult throughout the year".

Jean-François Decaux, chairman and co-chief executive, said: "Our record 2011 revenues confirm our ability to deliver sound organic revenue growth following the strong rebound in 2010.

"The quality of our street furniture business in key markets such as France, Germany and some emerging markets, coupled with the strength of our transport business with a unique exposure to Asia-Pacific, made a strong contribution to this performance."

JCDecaux will provide guidance for quarter one 2012 when it releases results for its full 2011 financial year in March.

Decaux said: "Early bookings are encouraging for the first quarter of the year, despite significant uncertainty in the global macro-economic environment.

"Going forward, we believe we are well positioned to continue to outperform the advertising market and increase our leadership position in the outdoor advertising industry.

"The high quality and commitment of our teams across the world, the strength of our product portfolio, digital transformation and geographic spread, will continue to drive our organic growth."

There has been much speculation that JCDecaux could buy one of the other outdoor media owners and Decaux said: "The strength of [JCDecaux’s] balance sheet will allow [it] to pursue further external growth opportunities as they arise."

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This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk