RTL Group Delivers Higher Profit

March 6, 2012 World Screen Top Stories
ADVERTISEMENT

LUXEMBOURG: Net profit at RTL Group was up 8.9 percent last year, while revenue grew 4.2 percent to 5.765 billion euros ($7.6 billion).

Full-year profit reached 795 million euros ($1 billion). EBITDA was relatively flat at 1.134 billion euros ($1.46 billion). Much of the growth is attributed to strengths at FremantleMedia and RTL Nederland.

FremantleMedia posted revenue growth of 12.3 percent, led by higher revenue in North America, where it last year launched The X Factor, and the first-time full consolidation of the acquisitions of Radical Media and Ludia. RTL Nederland reported its best ratings since 1997 last year, which meant double-digit growth for TV ad revenue.

Gerhard Zeiler, the outgoing CEO of RTL Group, said: “2011 was marked by three main developments. First, all of our families of channels maintained or increased their strong audience shares. This was the foundation to outperform the increasingly challenging TV advertising markets in almost every country we operate in.

Secondly, RTL Group succeeded in maintaining its profitability at the very high level achieved in 2010: EBITA of over 1.1 billion euros, EBITA margin of almost 20 percent, and net profit of 696 million euros—all these key indicators were either stable or even up year-on-year. Based on these results and a net cash position of 1.2 billion euros, the Board of Directors has decided to recommend a gross dividend payout of 5.10 euros per share.

Thirdly, RTL Group developed its international portfolio during 2011, to safeguard our leading market positions and to develop new businesses. We regained full control of our highly profitable Dutch TV operations, and bought out minority shareholders in Hungary and Croatia to build strong families of channels. Targeted online acquisitions in Germany and the Netherlands significantly strengthened our new media activities in these countries. Finally, we signed an agreement to exit the declining Greek broadcasting market.

We see different developments in the various countries we operate in. Looking at January and February 2012 we can say that the negative development many had feared did not happen. Given the high volatility of the various TV advertising markets throughout Europe, and the very short-term bookings cycle, it is not possible to give full-year guidance at the moment. However, RTL Group has repeatedly demonstrated that it can operate successfully in very difficult economic environments.”