Outdoor advertising group, JCDecaux, unveiled record results for the first six months of this year, as operating income pushed up by nearly 14% to â‚Ź125.3 million, reflecting the recovery in the European advertising market.
Revenues for the Paris based group grew by 4.5% to â‚Ź792.3 million from January to June, driven by a good performance in the street furniture division and a strong recovery in transport.
Operating income increased by 13.6% to â‚Ź125.3 million during the six month period, pushing net income to a record â‚Ź27.9 million – a 48.4% year on year increase.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in street furniture grew by 10.8% to â‚Ź186.1 million, producing a record EBITDA margin of 43.2% during the first half of 2004. In total, street furniture earnings accounted for 85% of the group’s total during the six month period.
Transport saw an exceptional turnaround in fortunes during the period, with EBITDA growing by 60.5% to â‚Ź6.9 million, spurred primarily by the economic recovery in Hong Kong, combined with solid organic revenue growth across several European markets.
A strong performance in the UK also helped push on earnings in the billboard division, which were up 12.9% to â‚Ź27.1 million.
Chairman and chief executive, Jean-Charles Decaux said: “Our first half 2004 results demonstrate the strength of JCDecaux’s global operations, the increasing revenues from new contracts and our ability to benefit from the recovery in the European advertising market.
He added: “Looking ahead, management believes that based on current trading conditions, the group’s organic revenue growth should now reach the upper range of its earlier 35 to 5% guidance for 2004. Given the group’s strong operating leverage, this should enable JCDecaux to further improve its profitability as the recovery in the European advertising market gains momentum.”
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