JCDecaux said though the UK business was affected by a "very difficult macro environment" during 2008, it still "outperformed" its domestic advertising market.
Excluding acquisitions and the impact of foreign exchange rates, the UK street furniture business experienced a "high single-digit" decrease in organic revenue in Q4.
The UK billboard business revenues were flat in the last quarter of 2008. A spokesman for JCDecaux confirmed UK transport revenues were also flat for the second quarter in a row.
JCDecaux as a whole generated €2.17bn in revenue during 2008, an increase of 2.9% compared with 2007. Excluding acquisitions and the impact of foreign exchange, organic revenue expansion was 6.3%.
JCDecaux said worldwide organic revenues rose faster than reported revenues during the fourth quarter, due to negative foreign exchange variations, mainly the continued weakening of the British pound against the euro, which was not totally offset by the recovery of other currencies.
Jean-Charles Decaux, chairman of the executive board and joint chief executive said JCDecaux delivered a "stronger than anticipated performance" in the fourth quarter, despite an "increasingly difficult economic environment".
Decaux said that the company outperformed both the global and outdoor advertising markets demonstrating the "strength of outdoor advertising" which, with the fragmentation of traditional media, remains the only "true mass media" delivering increased audiences at attractive prices.
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