REVENUES AT €322.5MN
EBITDA AT €22.1MN (IN LINE WITH 2017)
NET INCOME AT €4.3MN
NET DEBT AT €111.4MN DOWN FROM €115.1MN AT END OF 2017
Rome, July 25 2018 – Today in Rome the Board of Directors of GEDI Gruppo Editoriale S.p.A. met under the chairmanship of Marco De Benedetti and approved the consolidated results as of June 30 2018 as presented by Chief Executive Laura Cioli.
Performance of the market
In the first five months of 2018 advertising investments showed a slight decline (-1.4%) compared to the same period of the previous year (Nielsen Media Research figures).
The media that reported the most positive dynamic were radio, with an increase of 6.8%, confirming the trend in progress since 2015, and the internet which, excluding search engines and social media, reported an increase in advertising orders of 2.1%; television orders were substantially in line with those of the previous year (-1.0%), while orders for the printed press again fell by 8.2%, with newspapers posting -7.9% (-7.4% for national advertising and -8.3% for local advertising) and magazines -8.6%.
As for newspaper circulation, according to ADS figures (Accertamento Diffusione Stampa) in the period from January to May 2018 there was a decline in sales on the newsstands and by subscription of 7.4%.
Performance of operations of the GEDI Group in the first half of 2018
It should be remembered that on June 27 2017 the merger was completed into GEDI of the ITEDI Group, publisher of the newspapers La Stampa and il Secolo XIX. As an effect of this deal, GEDI acquired control of the ITEDI Group, which entered the consolidation perimeter on June 30 2017. Thus, the income statement of the GEDI Group for the first half of 2017 did not include the ITEDI Group.
For the main economic indicators illustrated below, the change from the first six months of 2017 is therefore also shown on a like-for-like basis.
Consolidated revenues, totalling €322.5mn, rose by 20.2% compared to the first half of 2017 (-5.7% on a like-for-like basis). The revenues from all of the digital activities account for 11.3% of the Group’s revenues.
Circulation revenues came to €141.9mn and were up by 30.7% on those of the same period of last year but were down by 8.7% on a like-for-like basis in a market that, as stated above, has continued to report a significant decline in newspaper circulation.
Advertising revenues rose by 15.1% compared to the first half of 2017 but were down by 2.1% on a like-for-like basis.
As for the Group media, advertising orders for radio grew by 7.0%, confirming the positive trend already seen in the previous year.
Internet orders showed growth of 21.5% (+2.7% on a like-for-like basis, outperforming the market).
Lastly, orders for the printed press rose by 20.0% (-6.3% on a like-for-like basis, showing a performance that was better than that of the sector as a whole).
Costs were 22.6% higher than in the first half of 2017 but were 3.5% lower on a like-for-like basis. More specifically, industrial fixed costs were lower (-7.0%), thanks to the ongoing reorganization of the production structure of the Group, and operational and administrative costs were also down (-3.7%), thanks to the measures adopted to reduce labour costs and overheads.
The consolidated gross operating margin was €22.1mn in line with the €22.5mn of the first half of 2017.
The consolidated operating result came to €12.6mn, compared to €15.6mn in the first half of 2017.
The consolidated net result was €4.3mn, down from €7.4mn in the first half of 2017 (€5.6mn on a like-for-like basis).
Net debt totalled €111.4mn at June 30 2018, down slightly from €115.1mn at the end of 2017. After the close of the first half of the year, on July 2 2018, the Company made a payment of €35.1mn as the final instalment of the settlement of its tax dispute.
The Group had 2,433 employees at the end of June 2018 including temporary contracts, and the average number of employees for the period on a like-for like basis was 1.8% lower than in the first half of 2017.
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The Company’s Director of Administration and Accounts, Mr Gabriele Acquistapace, the Executive responsible for the preparation of the company’s Financial Statements, hereby attests in compliance with the terms of paragraph 2 of Art. 154-bis of the “Testo Unico delle Finanze” (Finance Consolidation Act) that the figures contained in this press release correspond to the results documented in the Company’s accounts and general ledger.
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Main events that have occurred since the close of the first half and outlook for the rest of the year
No significant events have taken place since the close of the first half of the year.
As far as the outlook for the year 2018 is concerned, based on the trends recorded in the first half, there is not likely to be any significantly different evolution from what has been affecting the sector for years. To counter these trends the Group is continuing in its commitment to reap all the benefits of the merger with ITEDI, to develop and evolve its publishing products, to develop its digital activities and to implement on a permanent basis rationalization measures to preserve profitability in a structurally difficult market. It can therefore be postulated that, in the absence of any events that are as yet unforeseeable, the Group should report a positive result at the end of the year.
