Profit Up 80 Percent at MTG

STOCKHOLM, July 26: Net income at the Modern Times Group
rose 80 percent in the second quarter to SEK 348 million, on revenues of SEK
2,577 million, a 30-percent gain on the prior year quarter.

For the first half of the year, meanwhile, revenues were up
33 percent to SEK 4,939 million, delivering a net income of SEK 653 million,
down from SEK 695 million last year.

Hans-Holger Albrecht, the president and CEO of MTG, commented,
“Record second quarter and first half year results again reflect continued
growth and increasing profitability in each of our three key broadcasting
businesses, with a particularly strong performance by the Central and East
European operations and assets. The IPO of CTC Media has highlighted the value
creation that is possible in these high growth markets, with the US$83 million
that we have invested to date for our 39.6 percent current shareholding valued
at US$ 1.1 billion by the public equity markets at the end of the quarter. The
addition of the Czech and Slovenian assets, as well as the investments in DTV
in Russia and Viasat3 in Hungary, underline the strategic emphasis on
increasing our exposure to these markets, in order to generate attractive returns
for shareholders. The distribution of the Metro shares further focuses the
Group on our core broadcasting operations, as well as unlocking the significant
return on investment that has been generated by our involvement in the
development of the Metro business.”