M&A

4 November, 2009

UPDATE 1-JCDecaux sees 12.5 pct fall in 2009 revenue

* Q3 sales 431.8 mln euros

* Q3 underlying sales down 12.1 pct

* Ad mkt bottomed in Summer, no signs of sustained recovery

* Expects 2009 operating margin slightly ahead of that of H1

(adds details from statement)

PARIS, Nov 4 (Reuters) - JCDecaux (JCDX.PA) forecast on Wednesday revenues would fall by some 12.5 percent this year as it was not yet seeing sustained signs of a recovery altough the battered advertising market bottomed out in the Summer.

The world's No. 2 outdoor advertising group behind Clear Channel Outdoor (CCU.N), made the forecast after closely-watched underlying revenues fell 12.1 percent in the third quarter to 431.8 million euros ($631.7 million).

Cost cuts and an expected improvement in the advertising market in the fourth quarter led JCDecaux to predict that its 2009 operating margin as a percentage of revenue would be slightly ahead of the 18 percent achieved in the first half.

Last week, global advertising giants France's Publicis (PUBP.PA), and Britain's WPP (WPP.L), offered some hope for the advertising sector.

Publicis said the worst of the economic downturn was over, forecasting a better fourth quarter and a return to growth in the second half of 2010. WPP, the world's largest advertising group, said a decline in ad spending was moderating and corporate confidence was picking up.

JCDecaux, whose clients include luxury giant Louis Vuitton (LVMH.PA) and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), has a market capitalisation of 3.2 billion euros.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, editing by Marcel Michelson)

Source: http://www.reuters.com