Ad Market Remains ‘Difficult’ For JCDecaux

Outdoor advertising group JCDecaux has reported a 2.8% decline in turnover for the first half of 2003 with the Sars virus and the European advertising slowdown seen as contributing factors.

Total revenue for the six months ended June 30 came to €758.2 million, compared with €779.9 million in the same period last year. In the second quarter, revenues fell 3.8% to €405.3 million reflecting difficult conditions in many European markets.

Street furniture revenues slipped by 2.2% in the first six months of 2003 with billboards, which have been the best performing sector, down 1.5%.

Sars was responsible for a drop in activity at JCDecaux’s airport and metro advertising business in Hong Kong and this has impacted on the transport division as a whole with revenues down 6.5% year on year.

Nonetheless, chairman and co-chief executive Jean-Francois Decaux remains upbeat about the company’s prospects.

“Despite the difficult economic environment, revenues for the first half of 2003 are in line with our previous expectations,” he said. “While trading conditions in Europe remain challenging, we are beginning to see some signs of a recovery in the US where we achieved solid revenue growth during the first half.”

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