ProSiebenSat.1 Posts Profitable Third Quarter

MUNICH: ProSiebenSat.1 reported an increase in third-quarter revenues of 8.9 percent to 594.4 million euros, while net profit grew to 340.3 million euros.

Recurring EBITDA was up 19.5 percent year-on-year to reach 163.6 million euros. Consolidated net profit after taxes and non-controlling interests increased by 307.8 million euros to 340.3 million euros, including a gain on the disposal of the group’s activities in the Netherlands (SBS Broadcasting).

The group saw revenue growth of 6.6 percent to 413.9 million euros in its German-speaking segment. This was due to higher revenues from classical TV advertising as well as the international expansion of Red Arrow.

In the international segment, revenues were up 14.9 percent to 102.3 million euros, driven by the contribution of higher TV ad revenues in Norway and Denmark. However, revenues in the Eastern European TV markets were down compared to the previous year.

Thomas Ebeling, the CEO of ProSiebenSat.1 Media, commented: "We are on the home stretch for another record year. In the third quarter, we again made significant progress towards our aim of becoming a powerhouse for TV and digital entertainment, generating revenues growth across all segments. Our positive business development can be attributed to our strong positioning in our core television business. In future, our growth initiatives will focus to an even greater extent on the attractive opportunities offered by the digital world and activities outside Germany. I am confident that this will allow us to continue our profitable growth."

Separately, the ProSiebenSat.1 Group announced that it has expanded its digital portfolio with the investment in a German dating site. Through its subsidiary SevenVentures, the group acquired a 29-percent stake in the meetOne social discovery network. The site already has more than 200,000 registered users.

Dr. Christian Wegner, the chief of new media and diversification officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media, said: “meetOne is the logical next step beyond social networks and successful online dating models. Its target group is substantially larger than for online dating. The network impressed us with two aspects especially: its highly successful, international team, and a product that combines entertainment with an innovative business model. We also foresee many opportunities for links with TV shows. So meetOne enriches our equity investment portfolio with another fast-growing startup company that has very good prospects for success.”

Mila Sukhareva, the co-founder and managing director at meetOne, added: “We’re very happy to have ProSiebenSat.1 as an investor. Its involvement, together with our fast-growing list of new registrations, shows us that our innovative product and our business model are attracting high levels of interest. We’re sure that cooperating with the ProSiebenSat.1 Group will carry us a giant step forward.”