Domestic sales are still shrinking, but not as much as they did from 2011 to 2012. While they fell by around CHF 300 million last year for the seven media companies with publishing activities and the four marketers, sales were "only" CHF 236 million lower in 2013. This corresponds to a drop of 3.9 percent. The marketers (Publigroupe, Goldbach Group, Publisuisse and APG|SGA) lost slightly less. However, the turnover of Publigroupe and thus of press marketing fell by 7.6%, while that of the two marketers of TV and radio advertising (Publisuisse and Goldbach Group) rose by 1.6%. APG, on the other hand, had to accept a decline of 2.7% after an increase from 2011 to 2012. SRG, with its secured fee income, reported lower revenue for the second time in a row. Since 2002, however, it has grown by 7.9% or CHF 118 million to CHF 1.6 billion.

UPC distances itself from Publigroupe

This varied development is documented in the chart "Overview of revenue development". It also shows that UPC Cablecom, which has been included since 2009, has now increased its lead over Publigroupe's domestic turnover to a good CHF 400 million. In 2009, UPC was still around CHF 179 million behind. While Publigroupe's domestic turnover has shrunk by over CHF 450 million since then, UPC's has increased by around CHF 129 million. It should be noted that Publigroupe switched its accounting to Swiss GAP FER in 2012, where the significantly lower net turnover is the new unit of measurement. APG|SGA also took this step in 2013. However, the impact on revenue is only marginal here because, unlike Publigroupe, it only markets its own advertising space. As Goldbach and Publisuisse continue to report their revenues in accordance with IFRS or a comparable standard, Publigroupe's billing total was used for cross-comparisons with other companies. This amounted to around CHF 830 million in Switzerland in 2013.

As the chart "Sales development of marketers in Switzerland" shows, the difference between Publigroupe and Goldbach Group has shrunk since 2002 from over CHF 1.6 billion to around CHF 425 million. With a 2.5 percent increase in domestic sales to CHF 405 million, the Goldbach Group continues to hold a clear second place ahead of Publisuisse, which increased its sales by 0.5 percent to CHF 324 million. APG|SGA, on the other hand, suffered a 2.7 percent drop in domestic sales to CHF 289.1 million. In a long-term comparison with 2002, however, APG|SGA as well as Publisuisse and Goldbach are clearly in the black, while Publigroupe has lost no less than 947.4 million francs or 53.3 percent of its invoiced volume since then.

Ringier at all-time low

Four companies contributed a total of CHF 218.2 million to the decline in domestic sales of the big players compared to 2012. Publigroupe contributed the most with CHF 72.6 million. It was followed by Ringier with CHF 60.7 million, Basler Zeitung Medien with CHF 48.3 million and NZZ Mediengruppe with CHF 36.6 million. Overall, the media houses active in publishing in Switzerland last year generated CHF 165.6 million or 3.6 percent less turnover than in 2012. If SRG is excluded, the absolute decline in turnover is reduced to CHF 146.5 million, but the relative decline increases to 5.0 percent. As the chart "Turnover development of press houses in Switzerland" shows, only Tamedia was able to increase its turnover. This follows a significant slump last year. All the others suffered losses. Ringier has reached a new low of CHF 710.7 million and has lost around CHF 111 million or 13.5 percent in domestic sales since 2002. Of course, the sale of the Betty Bossi stake and the TV program guides to Axel Springer also contributed to this.

In contrast, the NZZ Media Group achieved practically the same turnover in 2013 as in 2002. However, LZ Medien was not yet consolidated at that time. In 2002, they achieved a turnover of 122.1 million francs. NZZ has also created a small cushion for the future with the complete takeover of Freie Presse Holding, as this means that the sales of the two regional publishers in St. Gallen and Lucerne flow almost completely into NZZ sales.

Somedia now ahead of Baz

Following the total sell-off of all printing activities and the concentration on its core business, Basler Zeitung has undergone a veritable horse cure, which is reflected in an almost 28 percent lower total turnover of CHF 126.3 million. It has thus fallen behind Somedia (formerly Südostschweiz Medien), which, after a drop of 5.9 percent last year, still achieved sales of CHF 128.1 million and has thus returned to roughly the same level as in 2003. Compared to 2002, the decline amounts to 8.9 percent, while the Basler Zeitung Medien is almost 60 percent lower than then. This is the main reason why AZ Medien was able to easily maintain its position as the number four press publisher, which it gained in 2010. In contrast to 2012, when the acquired sales of electronic regional media led to a jump in turnover, they now had to accept a decline of 3.8 percent to CHF 242.2 million. Compared to 2002, however, turnover has increased by 22% or just under CHF 44 million.

Declining print shares

The significant decline in sales at the press houses is not really surprising given that the advertising volume of the press fell by CHF 168 million or 9.4 percent. As we do every year, we will therefore attempt to analyze the dependence of the two largest press houses on the print advertising market in more detail here. If the revenue shares from advertising sales and printing are taken together, both Ringier and Tamedia are clearly becoming less dependent on the print advertising market (see chart "Revenue shares from the print advertising market"). At Tamedia it is now below 50 percent for the first time and at Ringier below 40 percent for the first time. However, Tamedia is "benefiting" from a new accounting rule, because since 2013, revenues from 50 per cent shareholdings in listed companies can no longer be included on a pro rata basis. And because this affects 20 minuti Ticino, Berner Oberland Medien and Edita in Luxembourg, three investments with a high proportion of revenue from the print advertising market, print revenue has fallen more in accounting terms than in reality. However, this effect should only amount to around one to two percentage points.

Rising non-print shares

On the other hand, revenue shares from non-print have risen significantly at both publishers (see chart). They already account for more than a third at Ringier. Ringier is also benefiting from the entertainment sector and the revenues of the Energy Group. The trend here has been linear since 2009. This is in contrast to Tamedia, where a clear upward trend was only recorded last year. The various acquisitions in the online sector - including the joint venture with Ringier for the jobs platform Jobs-ch - have contributed to this. As a result, Tamedia's online media revenues increased by no less than 53 percent to CHF 204.6 million. On the other hand, Tamedia suffered a small setback in terms of revenue shares from distribution (see chart). The increase in sales prices for print media was therefore not enough to compensate for the decline in paid circulation.

In contrast, the NZZ Media Group was able to increase its income from sales (reader market) by just under CHF 1 million year-on-year to CHF 153.8 million. This growth is due exclusively to the regional media, which generated almost CHF 2 million more and thus more than compensated for the loss of CHF 1 million at NZZ Medien. In contrast, the NZZ Media Group generated CHF 198.5 million from the advertising market, 7.7 percent less than in 2012. However, this income is not broken down into print and other media. Nevertheless, the newly published segment information shows that the NZZ media lost 8.0 percent of revenue in the advertising market and the regional media 10.1 percent.

Immense differences

Unfortunately, however, companies do not live from turnover, but from what is left over at the end of the day, i.e. from profit. And there are still huge differences. While Tamedia reported a 5 percent lower net profit of CHF 118.5 million in 2013, Somedia only made CHF 1 million and AZ Medien just CHF 1.8 million. The two marketers Publigroupe and Goldbach Media reported a loss. Publigroupe's loss is attributable to the print business, which has now been sold to the German investment company Aurelius. Goldbach Media's loss is based on amortization of goodwill and other intangible assets as well as impairment losses at Wilmaa Digital TV. Excluding special effects, a profit of CHF 9.4 million is reported for 2013, which is almost a third more than in 2012.

The "Profits and losses" chart shows a real three-tier society. Tamedia lives in a world of its own, regularly posting triple-digit profits since 2010. However, since the peak value of CHF 177 million in 2010, it has shrunk by almost a third. Four companies with double-digit profits of less than CHF 50 million (SRG, NZZ Media Group, Ringier and APG|SGA) sit in second class, so to speak. The poster site rental company is the only company apart from Tamedia to be above the average. The CHF 47.7 million also represents its second-best result since 2002. Only 2007 was even better with CHF 65.4 million. By contrast, Ringier's net profit of CHF 26.5 million was only lower in 2011 (CHF 22.8 million) and 2009 (CHF 17.8 million). The NZZ Media Group posted a result of CHF 24.9 million, which is only just below the ten-year average of CHF 25.9 million. SRG returned to profit after the high loss in the previous year - due to a one-off provision for the pension fund.

Baz back in profit

Companies with single-digit profits or losses are in third place. The Basler Zeitung Medien stands out positively, having made a profit of CHF 8.1 million in the previous year. This is eight times as much as Somedia, which has roughly the same turnover. As an SRG subsidiary, Publisuisse is not geared towards high company profits, as the purchase of advertising time and sponsorship from its parent company is clearly the more important aspect for SRG. A good CHF 281 million flowed into SRG's coffers in 2013. Last year's profit of CHF 2 million is only CHF 0.6 million lower than the ten-year average.

In contrast, AZ Medien's profit of CHF 1.8 million is well below the ten-year average of CHF 6.5 million. According to the 2013 annual report, this is partly due to the costs of around CHF 3 million for the development of the news portal Watson. This portal will continue to consume more money than it generates in the current and coming years.

Together with investments in the new national television channel TV24 and a new printing press, AZ Medien plans to invest 45 million Swiss francs in the current year. This was announced by CEO Axel Wüstmann in an interview with the in-house newspaper Nordwestschweiz. The interview was entitled "Aren't you overdoing it with your investments?". In view of declining revenues in the print business, this is a perfectly legitimate question, which at least underlines the editorial independence of Nordwestschweiz.

Will the P become a racehorse?

In terms of profit and loss margins (as a percentage of total turnover), there is more of a two-tier society. As the chart shows, four companies were above the average of 3.6% in 2013. In this analysis, Basler Zeitung Medien outperformed the NZZ Media Group. And APG|SGA is still clearly ahead of Tamedia. However, both companies are the only ones to achieve a double-digit margin. At 2.6 percent, Ringier is just behind the average of 3.6 percent. The sixth-placed SRG at least still achieves a margin with a one before the decimal point. All others are below this or - as in the case of the two marketers with a loss - are even negative. Publigroupe achieved the highest profit margin of 17.6 percent a year ago, ahead of Tamedia, AZ Medien, APG|SGA and NZZ Mediengruppe. The sale of the loss-maker Publicitas therefore also makes sense from this point of view. However, it remains to be seen whether the new owner will be able to turn the tide so radically and turn the lame horse back into a racehorse. Doubts are justified.

Declining number of employees

Behind all these figures, of course, there are also people. The MTJ has therefore also been recording the number of employees at the end of each financial year since 2002. However, these cannot simply be compared on a 1:1 basis, as Ringier and Somedia report the headcount, while all others add up the number of full-time equivalents (FTE). Nevertheless, in order to track the development, the MTJ has calculated an employee index that begins with the value 100 for all companies in 2002. The corresponding graph shows the very different development, which is strongly influenced by the press houses, where more than half of the people still work. The overall index therefore runs largely parallel to that of the press houses and is not included in the graph for reasons of clarity. The press houses reached their peak with an index of 110 in 2007 and have since fallen 12 points below their initial value. APG|SGA reached its peak value of 124 one year later. The current value of 90 is of course strongly linked to the exit in Southern and Eastern Europe. This is in contrast to Publigroupe, whose fall by almost half since 2008 is likely to be primarily due to developments in Switzerland. By contrast, the index for TV and radio marketers has gone through the roof. However, the Goldbach Group, which has expanded both in Switzerland and abroad, has contributed to this to a large extent.

Tamedia 2013 as in 2002

The per capita performance of individual companies, on the other hand, is only comparable if they report the number of employees on the same basis. This is why the intrinsically attractive comparison between Ringier and Tamedia makes no sense. However, a comparison between Tamedia, the NZZ Media Group and AZ Medien for the period since 2002 is certainly possible and attractive. The chart "Turnover per full-time position" shows some remarkable facts. For example, Tamedia achieved by far the highest value per FTE in 2006 at around CHF 427,000. After the integration of Espace Media in 2007, however, the figure fell by almost a quarter to CHF 320,000 by 2009. The integration of Edipresse then brought a slight increase again, and in 2013 profitability per FTE was back at the 2002 level. This naturally raises the question of where the much-vaunted synergy effects have gone. Christoph Zimmer, Head of Corporate Communications at Tamedia, poses the counter-question of where the value would be without the mergers. On the other hand, he rightly points out that turnover per FTE should always be interpreted with caution. Investments in new projects initially only lead to an increase in the number of employees, but only after a delay to a corresponding growth in turnover.

Equalized profitability

However, this argument applies less to the rather erratic development at AZ Medien, as the growth in turnover was achieved almost exclusively through the acquisition of already established media. However, it is also a fact that one full-time employee generated more revenue in 2002 than in 2013. In contrast, the NZZ Media Group has continuously increased its revenue per FTE since 2002 to CHF 318,000. A particularly strong increase can be observed following the full consolidation of the turnover of LZ Medien from 2004. Interestingly, the figures for all three media companies have been converging strongly since 2009, the first year after the major slump in sales. While the value was practically the same for all three in 2012, in 2013 the NZZ Media Group was only CHF 22,000 ahead of AZ Medien, which was still CHF 83,000 ahead of the NZZ Media Group in 2002.

However, Basler Zeitung Medien clearly took the cake last year. It tripled its turnover per FTE to just under 800,000 francs. This followed a radical reduction in staff from 630 to 158 full-time positions through the sale of all activities that were not part of the daily newspaper's core business - in particular the entire printing division.

Ueli Custer

Domestic sales are still shrinking, but not as much as they did from 2011 to 2012. While they fell by around CHF 300 million last year for the seven media companies with publishing activities and the four marketers, sales were "only" CHF 236 million lower in 2013. This corresponds to a drop of 3.9 percent. The marketers (Publigroupe, Goldbach Group, Publisuisse and APG|SGA) lost slightly less. However, the turnover of Publigroupe and thus of press marketing fell by 7.6%, while that of the two marketers of TV and radio advertising (Publisuisse and Goldbach Group) rose by 1.6%. APG, on the other hand, had to accept a decline of 2.7% after an increase from 2011 to 2012. SRG, with its secured fee income, reported lower revenue for the second time in a row. Since 2002, however, it has grown by 7.9% or CHF 118 million to CHF 1.6 billion.

UPC distances itself from Publigroupe

This varied development is documented in the chart "Overview of revenue development". It also shows that UPC Cablecom, which has been included since 2009, has now increased its lead over Publigroupe's domestic turnover to a good CHF 400 million. In 2009, UPC was still around CHF 179 million behind. While Publigroupe's domestic turnover has shrunk by over CHF 450 million since then, UPC's has increased by around CHF 129 million. It should be noted that Publigroupe switched its accounting to Swiss GAP FER in 2012, where the significantly lower net turnover is the new unit of measurement. APG|SGA also took this step in 2013. However, the impact on revenue is only marginal here because, unlike Publigroupe, it only markets its own advertising space. As Goldbach and Publisuisse continue to report their revenues in accordance with IFRS or a comparable standard, Publigroupe's billing total was used for cross-comparisons with other companies. This amounted to around CHF 830 million in Switzerland in 2013.

As the chart "Sales development of marketers in Switzerland" shows, the difference between Publigroupe and Goldbach Group has shrunk since 2002 from over CHF 1.6 billion to around CHF 425 million. With a 2.5 percent increase in domestic sales to CHF 405 million, the Goldbach Group continues to hold a clear second place ahead of Publisuisse, which increased its sales by 0.5 percent to CHF 324 million. APG|SGA, on the other hand, suffered a 2.7 percent drop in domestic sales to CHF 289.1 million. In a long-term comparison with 2002, however, APG|SGA as well as Publisuisse and Goldbach are clearly in the black, while Publigroupe has lost no less than 947.4 million francs or 53.3 percent of its invoiced volume since then.

Ringier at all-time low

Four companies contributed a total of CHF 218.2 million to the decline in domestic sales of the big players compared to 2012. Publigroupe contributed the most with CHF 72.6 million. It was followed by Ringier with CHF 60.7 million, Basler Zeitung Medien with CHF 48.3 million and NZZ Mediengruppe with CHF 36.6 million. Overall, the media houses active in publishing in Switzerland last year generated CHF 165.6 million or 3.6 percent less turnover than in 2012. If SRG is excluded, the absolute decline in turnover is reduced to CHF 146.5 million, but the relative decline increases to 5.0 percent. As the chart "Turnover development of press houses in Switzerland" shows, only Tamedia was able to increase its turnover. This follows a significant slump last year. All the others suffered losses. Ringier has reached a new low of CHF 710.7 million and has lost around CHF 111 million or 13.5 percent in domestic sales since 2002. Of course, the sale of the Betty Bossi stake and the TV program guides to Axel Springer also contributed to this.

In contrast, the NZZ Media Group achieved practically the same turnover in 2013 as in 2002. However, LZ Medien was not yet consolidated at that time. In 2002, they achieved a turnover of 122.1 million francs. NZZ has also created a small cushion for the future with the complete takeover of Freie Presse Holding, as this means that the sales of the two regional publishers in St. Gallen and Lucerne flow almost completely into NZZ sales.

Somedia now ahead of Baz

Following the total sell-off of all printing activities and the concentration on its core business, Basler Zeitung has undergone a veritable horse cure, which is reflected in an almost 28 percent lower total turnover of CHF 126.3 million. It has thus fallen behind Somedia (formerly Südostschweiz Medien), which, after a drop of 5.9 percent last year, still achieved sales of CHF 128.1 million and has thus returned to roughly the same level as in 2003. Compared to 2002, the decline amounts to 8.9 percent, while the Basler Zeitung Medien is almost 60 percent lower than then. This is the main reason why AZ Medien was able to easily maintain its position as the number four press publisher, which it gained in 2010. In contrast to 2012, when the acquired sales of electronic regional media led to a jump in turnover, they now had to accept a decline of 3.8 percent to CHF 242.2 million. Compared to 2002, however, turnover has increased by 22% or just under CHF 44 million.

Declining print shares

The significant decline in sales at the press houses is not really surprising given that the advertising volume of the press fell by CHF 168 million or 9.4 percent. As we do every year, we will therefore attempt to analyze the dependence of the two largest press houses on the print advertising market in more detail here. If the revenue shares from advertising sales and printing are taken together, both Ringier and Tamedia are clearly becoming less dependent on the print advertising market (see chart "Revenue shares from the print advertising market"). At Tamedia it is now below 50 percent for the first time and at Ringier below 40 percent for the first time. However, Tamedia is "benefiting" from a new accounting rule, because since 2013, revenues from 50 per cent shareholdings in listed companies can no longer be included on a pro rata basis. And because this affects 20 minuti Ticino, Berner Oberland Medien and Edita in Luxembourg, three investments with a high proportion of revenue from the print advertising market, print revenue has fallen more in accounting terms than in reality. However, this effect should only amount to around one to two percentage points.

Rising non-print shares

On the other hand, revenue shares from non-print have risen significantly at both publishers (see chart). They already account for more than a third at Ringier. Ringier is also benefiting from the entertainment sector and the revenues of the Energy Group. The trend here has been linear since 2009. This is in contrast to Tamedia, where a clear upward trend was only recorded last year. The various acquisitions in the online sector - including the joint venture with Ringier for the jobs platform Jobs-ch - have contributed to this. As a result, Tamedia's online media revenues increased by no less than 53 percent to CHF 204.6 million. On the other hand, Tamedia suffered a small setback in terms of revenue shares from distribution (see chart). The increase in sales prices for print media was therefore not enough to compensate for the decline in paid circulation.

In contrast, the NZZ Media Group was able to increase its income from sales (reader market) by just under CHF 1 million year-on-year to CHF 153.8 million. This growth is due exclusively to the regional media, which generated almost CHF 2 million more and thus more than compensated for the loss of CHF 1 million at NZZ Medien. In contrast, the NZZ Media Group generated CHF 198.5 million from the advertising market, 7.7 percent less than in 2012. However, this income is not broken down into print and other media. Nevertheless, the newly published segment information shows that the NZZ media lost 8.0 percent of revenue in the advertising market and the regional media 10.1 percent.

Immense differences

Unfortunately, however, companies do not live from turnover, but from what is left over at the end of the day, i.e. from profit. And there are still huge differences. While Tamedia reported a 5 percent lower net profit of CHF 118.5 million in 2013, Somedia only made CHF 1 million and AZ Medien just CHF 1.8 million. The two marketers Publigroupe and Goldbach Media reported a loss. Publigroupe's loss is attributable to the print business, which has now been sold to the German investment company Aurelius. Goldbach Media's loss is based on amortization of goodwill and other intangible assets as well as impairment losses at Wilmaa Digital TV. Excluding special effects, a profit of CHF 9.4 million is reported for 2013, which is almost a third more than in 2012.

The "Profits and losses" chart shows a real three-tier society. Tamedia lives in a world of its own, regularly posting triple-digit profits since 2010. However, since the peak value of CHF 177 million in 2010, it has shrunk by almost a third. Four companies with double-digit profits of less than CHF 50 million (SRG, NZZ Media Group, Ringier and APG|SGA) sit in second class, so to speak. The poster site rental company is the only company apart from Tamedia to be above the average. The CHF 47.7 million also represents its second-best result since 2002. Only 2007 was even better with CHF 65.4 million. By contrast, Ringier's net profit of CHF 26.5 million was only lower in 2011 (CHF 22.8 million) and 2009 (CHF 17.8 million). The NZZ Media Group posted a result of CHF 24.9 million, which is only just below the ten-year average of CHF 25.9 million. SRG returned to profit after the high loss in the previous year - due to a one-off provision for the pension fund.

Baz back in profit

Companies with single-digit profits or losses are in third place. The Basler Zeitung Medien stands out positively, having made a profit of CHF 8.1 million in the previous year. This is eight times as much as Somedia, which has roughly the same turnover. As an SRG subsidiary, Publisuisse is not geared towards high company profits, as the purchase of advertising time and sponsorship from its parent company is clearly the more important aspect for SRG. A good CHF 281 million flowed into SRG's coffers in 2013. Last year's profit of CHF 2 million is only CHF 0.6 million lower than the ten-year average.

In contrast, AZ Medien's profit of CHF 1.8 million is well below the ten-year average of CHF 6.5 million. According to the 2013 annual report, this is partly due to the costs of around CHF 3 million for the development of the news portal Watson. This portal will continue to consume more money than it generates in the current and coming years.

Together with investments in the new national television channel TV24 and a new printing press, AZ Medien plans to invest 45 million Swiss francs in the current year. This was announced by CEO Axel Wüstmann in an interview with the in-house newspaper Nordwestschweiz. The interview was entitled "Aren't you overdoing it with your investments?". In view of declining revenues in the print business, this is a perfectly legitimate question, which at least underlines the editorial independence of Nordwestschweiz.

Will the P become a racehorse?

In terms of profit and loss margins (as a percentage of total turnover), there is more of a two-tier society. As the chart shows, four companies were above the average of 3.6% in 2013. In this analysis, Basler Zeitung Medien outperformed the NZZ Media Group. And APG|SGA is still clearly ahead of Tamedia. However, both companies are the only ones to achieve a double-digit margin. At 2.6 percent, Ringier is just behind the average of 3.6 percent. The sixth-placed SRG at least still achieves a margin with a one before the decimal point. All others are below this or - as in the case of the two marketers with a loss - are even negative. Publigroupe achieved the highest profit margin of 17.6 percent a year ago, ahead of Tamedia, AZ Medien, APG|SGA and NZZ Mediengruppe. The sale of the loss-maker Publicitas therefore also makes sense from this point of view. However, it remains to be seen whether the new owner will be able to turn the tide so radically and turn the lame horse back into a racehorse. Doubts are justified.

Declining number of employees

Behind all these figures, of course, there are also people. The MTJ has therefore also been recording the number of employees at the end of each financial year since 2002. However, these cannot simply be compared on a 1:1 basis, as Ringier and Somedia report the headcount, while all others add up the number of full-time equivalents (FTE). Nevertheless, in order to track the development, the MTJ has calculated an employee index that begins with the value 100 for all companies in 2002. The corresponding graph shows the very different development, which is strongly influenced by the press houses, where more than half of the people still work. The overall index therefore runs largely parallel to that of the press houses and is not included in the graph for reasons of clarity. The press houses reached their peak with an index of 110 in 2007 and have since fallen 12 points below their initial value. APG|SGA reached its peak value of 124 one year later. The current value of 90 is of course strongly linked to the exit in Southern and Eastern Europe. This is in contrast to Publigroupe, whose fall by almost half since 2008 is likely to be primarily due to developments in Switzerland. By contrast, the index for TV and radio marketers has gone through the roof. However, the Goldbach Group, which has expanded both in Switzerland and abroad, has contributed to this to a large extent.

Tamedia 2013 as in 2002

The per capita performance of individual companies, on the other hand, is only comparable if they report the number of employees on the same basis. This is why the intrinsically attractive comparison between Ringier and Tamedia makes no sense. However, a comparison between Tamedia, the NZZ Media Group and AZ Medien for the period since 2002 is certainly possible and attractive. The chart "Turnover per full-time position" shows some remarkable facts. For example, Tamedia achieved by far the highest value per FTE in 2006 at around CHF 427,000. After the integration of Espace Media in 2007, however, the figure fell by almost a quarter to CHF 320,000 by 2009. The integration of Edipresse then brought a slight increase again, and in 2013 profitability per FTE was back at the 2002 level. This naturally raises the question of where the much-vaunted synergy effects have gone. Christoph Zimmer, Head of Corporate Communications at Tamedia, poses the counter-question of where the value would be without the mergers. On the other hand, he rightly points out that turnover per FTE should always be interpreted with caution. Investments in new projects initially only lead to an increase in the number of employees, but only after a delay to a corresponding growth in turnover.

Equalized profitability

However, this argument applies less to the rather erratic development at AZ Medien, as the growth in turnover was achieved almost exclusively through the acquisition of already established media. However, it is also a fact that one full-time employee generated more revenue in 2002 than in 2013. In contrast, the NZZ Media Group has continuously increased its revenue per FTE since 2002 to CHF 318,000. A particularly strong increase can be observed following the full consolidation of the turnover of LZ Medien from 2004. Interestingly, the figures for all three media companies have been converging strongly since 2009, the first year after the major slump in sales. While the value was practically the same for all three in 2012, in 2013 the NZZ Media Group was only CHF 22,000 ahead of AZ Medien, which was still CHF 83,000 ahead of the NZZ Media Group in 2002.

However, Basler Zeitung Medien clearly took the cake last year. It tripled its turnover per FTE to just under 800,000 francs. This followed a radical reduction in staff from 630 to 158 full-time positions through the sale of all activities that were not part of the daily newspaper's core business - in particular the entire printing division.

Ueli Custer