 View printer-friendly version |
| << Back |
| 2001 Revenues Rise 8.9% to €1.54 billion – In Line With Previous Expectations |
| 11 February 2002 – JCDecaux SA (JCDecaux, Paris: DEC), one of the world's leading
outdoor advertising groups and the largest in Europe, announced today that its revenues
for 2001 increased by 8.9%. Excluding the impact of currency, revenues rose by 9.1%. In
line with previous expectations, total revenues for the year to 31 December 2001 rose to
€1,543.2 million from €1,417.1 million in 2000. Excluding acquisitions, revenues increased
by 1.0%, comfortably outperforming both the outdoor advertising market and overall
advertising market, which according to various independent forecasters, declined by
between 3.5% to 5% worldwide in 2001.
Revenue growth in 2001 was primarily supported by the performance of the Group's street furniture business as well as the contribution from acquisitions made during the year. Importantly, in markets such as France and the United Kingdom, where overall advertising declined by an estimated 3.2% and 4.0% respectively, JCDecaux achieved sound revenue growth for the Group of 1.8 % and 3.5% on a like-for-like basis. The Group's revenue performance in 2001 was in line with the comments made at the time of the third quarter results, despite the further deterioration of the advertising market in the fourth quarter. Street Furniture revenues increased by 10.0% to €798 million during the year from €726 million in 2000. Excluding acquisitions, organic revenue growth was 6.9% in the period. While the division continued to perform well in the fourth quarter, growth over the same period in 2000 was limited to 5.4% and 1.6% on a like-for-like basis, largely as a result of a particularly strong performance in the prior year. Billboard revenues rose 7.1% to €411 million, but declined 9.0% on a like-for-like basis. Transport revenues grew by 8.6% to €334 million, but declined slightly (0.6%) on a like-for-like basis. In the fourth quarter, the underlying performance of the billboard and transport divisions was affected by the continued weakness in their markets. Commenting on the Group's performance, Jean-François Decaux, Chairman of the executive board and Co-CEO of JCDecaux, said: “The increase in revenues in 2001 was primarily supported by the performance of our street furniture business with important contributions being made by recent acquisitions. While street furniture showed good resilience to the deteriorating environment in 2001, the transport and billboard businesses were particularly impacted by difficult trading conditions in their respective markets. Building on impressive revenue growth in 2000 and 2001, we expect street furniture to show further growth in 2002. In the US, as of today our bookings in the first quarter are strongly ahead of those for the same period last year, reflecting the growing acceptance of the street furniture concept in shopping malls. In billboard, visibility remains extremely short but this area's decline appears to have now slowed. In transport, airport advertising continues to deteriorate and therefore we do not expect any improvement before the second half of the year, when passenger numbers are expected to return to similar levels of those before 11 September 2001.”
Forward Looking Statement Key Information on the Group: For further information: Investors Relations Financial Dynamics |
 |
|  |  |
