JCDecaux wins 10-year exclusive advertising contract for all 26 airports in Saudi Arabia

Paris, October 18, 2010: JCDecauxSA (Euronext Paris: DEC), the No.1 outdoor advertising company in Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region, and No.2 worldwide, announced that its subsidiary JCDecaux ATA has entered into a 10-year contract for the exclusive advertising concession covering all 26airports in Saudi Arabia. JCDecaux ATA is a 60/40 joint venture between JCDecaux and its Saudi Arabian partner ATA. JCDecaux is the leading outdoor advertising player in the MENA region thanks to a unique premium outdoor advertising platform that includes prime locations targeting high-profile audiences in these fast growing markets.

The contract covers 4 international airports in Saudi Arabia; King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, King Fahd Airport in Dammam and Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport in Madinah, and 22 domestic airports across the country.

With an estimated quarter of the world's total petroleum reserves fueling its hundred-billion-dollar infrastructure and investment projects, Saudi Arabia is the most thriving economy in the region.

General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has been implementing aggressive expansion plans for its international airports and also upgrading its domestic airports. The two main airlines in the country - Saudi Arabian Airlines and Nas Air– are also increasing their number of international and domestic routes and expanding their fleets to support the new airport infrastructure.

The 26 airports have shown continuous and robust growth, jointly handling45.3 million passengers in 2009, with39.4 million travelling through the 4 international airports. At the same time passenger traffic in the Middle East achieved the highest growth in the global market and a 7.1% increase in 2009.

In 2009, JCDecaux the world’sN°1 in airport advertising, reached 33% of air travellers around the world through its airports platforms. This represents a total of 1,430 million passengers out of the 4,378 million people who travel by air worldwide.

His Excellency Abdullah Rehaimi, President of General Authority of Civil Aviation in Saudi Arabia, said: “Managing the aviation network in the region’s centre of growth and development, GACA is dedicated to raising our facilities and services to international standards to meet rapidly growing demand. This partnership with JCDecaux ATA will help us achieve this goal, providing a one-stop shop across the Kingdom, handled by the world’s leading outdoor advertising company. We believe this will be a long-term and mutually beneficial association with JCDecaux ATA.”

Jean-Charles Decaux, Chairman of the Executive Board and Co-CEO of JCDecaux, said: “We are delighted to be awarded this contract by GACA and to become the N°1 in airport advertising in Saudi Arabia, the 56th country where the Group is present. This is a strategic move that will strengthen JCDecaux’s position as the leading player in the MENA1 region, introducing a unique premium outdoor advertising platform. Our prime location networks will target high-profile audiences in the fast growing markets of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Algeria. Through our airport advertising concessions in these regions, we will reach 100 million passengers a year. This contract underlines the professionalism, expertise and continuous innovation shown by JCDecaux’s regional teams and the success of the wider Group at managing large international airport platforms. It reinforces JCDecaux as the N°1 worldwide in airport advertising.”

Middle East North Africa

Source: GACA

Source: Airports Council International

Sources: JCDecaux, Airports Councils International