Profit Up at RTL Group

LUXEMBOURG: RTL Group posted a net profit of 324 million euros for the first half of the year, up 26.1 percent from half-year 2010, with revenue up 3.4 percent to 2.75 billion euros, reflecting higher TV ad revenues in Germany, France and the Netherlands.

EBITDA increased 3.7 percent for a total of 557 million euros in the same period. Along with higher ad revenues from TV in France, Germany and the Netherlands, RTL Group’s financials were boosted by increased revenue contribution from FremantleMedia. FremantleMedia reported revenue growth of 4.2 percent, led by higher revenue in North America and the first-time full consolidation of recent acquisitions Radical Media and Ludia. Profit was down 20 percent to 72 million euros, due to pressure on margins and a reduced volume of orders from broadcasters.

"After the strong growth seen in the Western European TV advertising markets in 2010, the first six months of this year show a mixed picture. Nevertheless, RTL Group has again managed to improve all key indicators—revenue, EBITA and net profit," said Gerhard Zeiler, the CEO of RTL Group. "These strong half-year results confirm our strategy of continuous development of our core business. Maintaining the strong audience popularity of our channels and programs is essential to outperforming the competition in the advertising markets long-term.

"At the same time we’ve taken important steps in recent months to further strengthen our international portfolio. The new joint venture in India is RTL Group’s first broadcasting venture into Asia. We have acquired full control in both Hungary and Croatia, and will now proceed to build strong families of channels in these countries, too."

He continued, "Despite the current insecurities of the global economy and the strong comparatives of the fourth quarter 2010, we remain cautiously optimistic for the full year.”