Publigroupe: Share under pressure and job cuts
A higher than expected half-year loss has put the Publigroupe share under pressure. In addition, 245 jobs will be cut in Switzerland and abroad.
The advertising company's stock lost just under two percent to 88 francs on Monday in a held overall market. Publigroupe posted a loss of 9.5 million francs in the first half of 2013, compared with a profit of 10.8 million a year earlier. This is twice as much as analysts expected. Sales slipped 20 percent to 122.5 million francs.
The realignment of the Publicitas subsidiary will require more time and investment and a turnaround is not yet expected in 2013, the French-speaking Swiss company said. Publigroupe had warned of a loss, but it turned out to be even higher than expected, said a commentary by Bank Vontobel. The print advertising business in particular continues to suffer.
However, the share price, which has fallen by around 40 percent this year, has already anticipated a great deal, said one trader. For ZKB, the half-year results brought no more major surprises after the profit warning in mid-July, but were still somewhat weaker than feared. The group continues to struggle with a very difficult environment.
Red figures force Publigroupe to cut jobs
Due to heavy losses in the traditional advertising marketing business, Publigroupe is reducing the number of jobs at its subsidiary Publicitas by around 245 by the beginning of next year. 140 jobs are to be cut, 100 of them in Switzerland and a further 40 in
Europe. Another 125 jobs will be eliminated because Publicitas is selling its majority stake in media logistics service provider Xentive. At the same time, a number of new jobs will be created in Asia, according to a Publigroupe communiqué issued on Monday.
The reasons for the job cuts are the financial situation and the new focus of Publicitas, Publigroupe announced on Monday. In the first quarter of 2014, Publicitas will thus still have 800 full-time positions worldwide. (SDA)
