Tamedia: Strong growth thanks to Espace Media Groupe and job advertisements
The top managers at Tamedia presented the business figures for the past year on Wednesday with great self-confidence. And rightly so: in 2007, the media group increased its profit by 45 percent to 143 million Swiss francs, thus achieving the best result in its history. Turnover rose by 17 percent to CHF 772 million.
The top managers at Tamedia presented the business figures for the past year on Wednesday with great self-confidence. And rightly so: in 2007, the media group increased its profit by 45 percent to 143 million Swiss francs, thus achieving the best result in its history. Turnover rose by 17 percent to CHF 772 million. A very good result was achieved in a super environment, said a delighted Martin Kall, Chairman of the Executive Board. The release of tax provisions, the utilization of losses carried forward and the sale of Radio Basilisk contributed significantly to the increase in net profit.
The most important topics last year were the takeover of the Bern-based Espace Media Groupe and the launch of the commuter newspaper L'Essentiel in Luxembourg, according to Chairman of the Board of Directors Pietro Supino. Espace Media Groupe, which has been fully on Tamedia's books since October 1, 2007, contributed CHF 69 million to sales and CHF 4.5 million to operating profit (EBIT).
Group-wide operating profit rose by 19 percent to 141.1 million Swiss francs. This is the highest level since 2000, as Kall explained. All business areas were in the black at EBIT level. An increase in the dividend by one to four francs will be proposed to the Annual General Meeting.
One downer in view of the excellent result, however, is the development of the share price for CFO Christoph Tonini: it was below the SPI value and also below that of SPI Medien, which in addition to Tamedia includes Publigroupe, Affichage, Edipresse, Orell Füssli, Agen and Goldbach Media. Tonini expressed confidence that the market will be more friendly towards Tamedia in the future.
Newspapers account for the lion's share The most important sales driver for Tamedia was once again the Newspapers division. It increased sales by 16 percent to CHF 547.7 million. In addition to the integration of Espace Media Groupe, an increase in job advertisements at Tages-Anzeiger and 20 Minuten contributed to this growth. Kall pointed out that the EBIT margin would have grown by 9 percent since 1990 even if all job advertisements had been excluded.
Kall was also very pleased with the development of the French-speaking Swiss commuter newspaper 20 minutes. 18 months after its launch, it had already achieved a reach of 390,000 readers, putting it ahead of all the paid-for newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland. However, it is still in second place behind the free newspaper Le Matin Bleu.
Magazine sales increased by 12 percent to CHF 92.9 million. Schweizer Familie, Das Magazin and Annabelle were the main contributors to this growth. Following the discontinuation of the news magazine Facts, profitability was almost on a par with the newspapers.
Decline in sales in radio and TV Tamedia was able to increase sales in electronic media by 14 percent to CHF 58.6 million. The online sector grew particularly strongly, said Kall. The additional investments in 20minuten.ch and 20minutes.ch and in other online services had paid off. The company is apparently less satisfied with the development of radio and television: Capital FM, Radio 24, Tele Bärn and Tele Züri all recorded a decline in sales.
The Services business division increased its sales by 45 percent to CHF 72.7 million. The newly integrated Espace Media Groupe printing center, Production Services, the Zuvo delivery organization and the Bubenberg printing center in Zurich contributed in particular to this growth.
Investments are being made onlineSupino is cautiously optimistic about the current year. A stable volume of job advertisements is expected, but not a boom. The first weeks of 2008 did not show a slump in advertising revenues, it was said. For Tamedia, the focus is on investment in online offerings.
According to Supino, the consolidation in the Swiss newspaper market is not yet complete. Tamedia wants to continue to play a leading role in this process. The focus is not on takeovers, but on cooperation between independent publishers. With this in mind, Kall also answered the question of whether the publishing house was considering a purchase of Basler Zeitung Medien: Firstly, he does not believe that there is a need for a buyer from the Basler's point of view. Secondly, Tamedia is currently focusing on cooperating with reliable partners. But, Kall continued, opportunities are always examined when something is up for sale.
Tamedia is putting out feelers abroad The purchase of the Swiss media company on the banks of the Rhine does not appear to be an issue, but further expansion abroad certainly is. The publishing house's management was satisfied with the launch of the free newspaper L'Essentiel, which it publishes together with the Luxembourg publishing house Editpress. Further steps abroad are conceivable "in the longer term", explained Supino. There are no concrete plans yet, but the company is open to any opportunity where it sees clear competitive advantages. Would it be conceivable to launch a (free) newspaper in the northern neighboring country together with a German publisher? "That would be a bold idea," Supino replied to the question. "But we're not ruling anything out in principle." The idea doesn't seem completely far-fetched: in Germany, which has resisted the free newspaper trend up to now, Tamedia could contribute its now extensive know-how in the field of commuter newspapers. Together with a strong partner, it might also be possible to crack the difficult German market. (SDA/cs)
The most important topics last year were the takeover of the Bern-based Espace Media Groupe and the launch of the commuter newspaper L'Essentiel in Luxembourg, according to Chairman of the Board of Directors Pietro Supino. Espace Media Groupe, which has been fully on Tamedia's books since October 1, 2007, contributed CHF 69 million to sales and CHF 4.5 million to operating profit (EBIT).
Group-wide operating profit rose by 19 percent to 141.1 million Swiss francs. This is the highest level since 2000, as Kall explained. All business areas were in the black at EBIT level. An increase in the dividend by one to four francs will be proposed to the Annual General Meeting.
One downer in view of the excellent result, however, is the development of the share price for CFO Christoph Tonini: it was below the SPI value and also below that of SPI Medien, which in addition to Tamedia includes Publigroupe, Affichage, Edipresse, Orell Füssli, Agen and Goldbach Media. Tonini expressed confidence that the market will be more friendly towards Tamedia in the future.
Newspapers account for the lion's share The most important sales driver for Tamedia was once again the Newspapers division. It increased sales by 16 percent to CHF 547.7 million. In addition to the integration of Espace Media Groupe, an increase in job advertisements at Tages-Anzeiger and 20 Minuten contributed to this growth. Kall pointed out that the EBIT margin would have grown by 9 percent since 1990 even if all job advertisements had been excluded.
Kall was also very pleased with the development of the French-speaking Swiss commuter newspaper 20 minutes. 18 months after its launch, it had already achieved a reach of 390,000 readers, putting it ahead of all the paid-for newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland. However, it is still in second place behind the free newspaper Le Matin Bleu.
Magazine sales increased by 12 percent to CHF 92.9 million. Schweizer Familie, Das Magazin and Annabelle were the main contributors to this growth. Following the discontinuation of the news magazine Facts, profitability was almost on a par with the newspapers.
Decline in sales in radio and TV Tamedia was able to increase sales in electronic media by 14 percent to CHF 58.6 million. The online sector grew particularly strongly, said Kall. The additional investments in 20minuten.ch and 20minutes.ch and in other online services had paid off. The company is apparently less satisfied with the development of radio and television: Capital FM, Radio 24, Tele Bärn and Tele Züri all recorded a decline in sales.
The Services business division increased its sales by 45 percent to CHF 72.7 million. The newly integrated Espace Media Groupe printing center, Production Services, the Zuvo delivery organization and the Bubenberg printing center in Zurich contributed in particular to this growth.
Investments are being made onlineSupino is cautiously optimistic about the current year. A stable volume of job advertisements is expected, but not a boom. The first weeks of 2008 did not show a slump in advertising revenues, it was said. For Tamedia, the focus is on investment in online offerings.
According to Supino, the consolidation in the Swiss newspaper market is not yet complete. Tamedia wants to continue to play a leading role in this process. The focus is not on takeovers, but on cooperation between independent publishers. With this in mind, Kall also answered the question of whether the publishing house was considering a purchase of Basler Zeitung Medien: Firstly, he does not believe that there is a need for a buyer from the Basler's point of view. Secondly, Tamedia is currently focusing on cooperating with reliable partners. But, Kall continued, opportunities are always examined when something is up for sale.
Tamedia is putting out feelers abroad The purchase of the Swiss media company on the banks of the Rhine does not appear to be an issue, but further expansion abroad certainly is. The publishing house's management was satisfied with the launch of the free newspaper L'Essentiel, which it publishes together with the Luxembourg publishing house Editpress. Further steps abroad are conceivable "in the longer term", explained Supino. There are no concrete plans yet, but the company is open to any opportunity where it sees clear competitive advantages. Would it be conceivable to launch a (free) newspaper in the northern neighboring country together with a German publisher? "That would be a bold idea," Supino replied to the question. "But we're not ruling anything out in principle." The idea doesn't seem completely far-fetched: in Germany, which has resisted the free newspaper trend up to now, Tamedia could contribute its now extensive know-how in the field of commuter newspapers. Together with a strong partner, it might also be possible to crack the difficult German market. (SDA/cs)
