CME Posts $41 Million Loss

HAMILTON: Net revenues for Central European Media Enterprises (CME) in the second quarter were $180.2 million, compared to the $211.2 million in the same period last year.

The core earnings—operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA)—were down from $47.1 million to $7 million in the same period. A net income of $3.1 million fell to a net loss of $41.1 million.

The results were affected by the weak performance in the Czech Republic, where Q2 revenues were $45.69 million compared to $76.85 million in the same period.

Adrian Sarbu, CME president and CEO, said that “lower revenues in the Czech Republic impacted our financial results in the second quarter and first half of 2013 as certain key advertisers have only recently accepted our higher prices.”

However, he was upbeat about the group’s future: “We expect the declining trend of TV advertising spending to reverse in the fall of 2013 building on our pricing initiatives. We believe the successful execution of our strategy puts the company back on the path to growth in 2014.”