• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, May 9, 2011

Ad spending appears to be recovering in the out-of-home industry, judging by the latest results from Clear Channel Outdoor, which said total revenues jumped 7% to $650 million in the first quarter of 2011. This was partly due to the effects of foreign exchange rates -- but even when these were excluded, total revenue still increased 5% on a year-over-year basis.

The strong showing was equally the result of both domestic and overseas ad spending increases. The company's American operations saw total revenue increase 7% to $289 million. Revenue from its overseas operations also increased 7% to $361 million; factoring out foreign exchange fluctuations, total overseas revenue increased 4%.

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Tom Casey attributed the first-quarter increase partly to continuing growth in digital out-of-home revenues, which were "particularly strong as we benefited from an expanding footprint and continued demand across many of our markets."

Digital displays also brought increased operating expenses for electricity, but they are more profitable overall than static displays. Overseas revenues benefited from new street furniture contracts.

Looking to the future, Casey said: "We continue to see positive trends," echoing overall ad forecasts that have been for the most part cautiously optimistic.

The Clear Channel Outdoor results mirror the positive trend seen by other big outdoor advertisers. In the first quarter, CBS Outdoor reported that total revenues increased 5.4% to $413 million, while Lamar Advertising said total revenues increased 4.5% to $255 million.