RTL Revenues, EBITA Down in Q1

LUXEMBOURG: A tough ad market took its toll on the RTL Group in the first quarter, with revenues falling 11.1 percent to 1.2 billion euros and EBITA down by 53.7 percent to 87 million euros.

Lower revenues across the board, 9 million euros in restructuring costs and 18 million euros in start-up costs following the consolidation of Alpha Media Group in Greece were all cited as the reasons for the drop in reported EBITA.

Given the ad downturn, the company is maintaining its cost-savings efforts. It said in a statement today: "Given the current state of the advertising markets and the very short-term bookings cycle, it is impossible to give reliable full-year guidance. But it has to be expected that the profitability level will be considerably down compared to 2008."