Revenues at outdoor advertising group JCDecaux fell by 2.7% in the third quarter, as conditions in Europe remained weak. However, the company is seeing some signs of an advertising recovery in the US. This is in line with first half comments made in September (see Weak Europe Mutes JCDecaux’s First Half).
Revenues from billboard advertising declined most sharply, down by 7.0. Street furniture dropped by just 0.1% and transport advertising was down by 2.9%. Excluding acquisitions, divestments and currencies, the revenue picture was slightly better, with total group revenues up by 0.4%.
The UK markets are performing well, although much of the rest of the Europe remains weaker. The group says that airport advertising continues to recover in most markets, though passenger traffic has not yet reached pre-9/11 levels in the US.
“As expected, trading conditions remained challenging however, our third quarter revenues highlight a strengthening in our street furniture business, as certain European markets, including Germany, began to show signs of recovery. In the other divisions, weak billboard sales over the summer were partly offset by the ongoing recovery in transport advertising,” said chairman Jean-François Decaux.
Decaux is expecting that there will be an advertising recovery in 2004, which should lead to improved rates for the group.
