PubliGroupe with loss warning
Real Media is sold to competitor 24/7
Real Media to be sold off to competitor 24/7The Publi-Groupe balance sheet will show a "substantial loss" for the 2001 financial year. This was announced by the Lausanne-based advertising group PubliGroupe. It has thus corrected its forecasts from the beginning of September, when a profit of 25 million francs was still expected. By way of comparison, PubliGroupe closed last year with a consolidated profit of CHF 140 million, citing the deterioration in the advertising markets following the terrorist attacks in the USA as the main reason for the loss. This mainly affected the US activities, above all the companies operating in the online sector and the American agency group Panoramic.
PubliGroupe is selling its international online advertising service provider Real Media to its competitor 24/7 Media in order to cope better with the online slump. The two companies will merge to form the new 24/7 Real Media, in which PubliGroupe will hold a 15.6 percent stake. The financially ailing 24/7 Media is paying for the purchase exclusively with shares and will also receive a one-off cash injection of a maximum of 7.5 million dollars from PubliGroupe.
The Swiss companies Real Media AG and Publimedia Webadvertising AG will remain with PubliGroupe. The merger of Real Media and 24/7 Media will enable many savings to be made, and they will also complement each other "very well" in terms of their respective products and expertise, it was said.
Online losses rise from CHF 50 million to CHF 80 million
The amount of 7.5 million dollars represents the Group's final commitment in the online sector, the Lausanne-based company reassures its shareholders. It will be charged to the current accounts for 2001 and is in addition to the losses incurred in the first ten months of the year and the full amortization costs of Real Media. This brings the total amount charged to the annual accounts to CHF 63 million, i.e. around CHF 30 million more than expected. The loss incurred in the online business increases accordingly from the CHF 50 million forecast on September 4, 2001 to around CHF 80 million.
PubliGroupe is optimistic in its press release that these extraordinary costs will not be repeated in the 2002 financial year, so that the 2002 accounts should again show a profit thanks to the healthy state of the traditional business. Markus Knöpfli
PubliGroupe is selling its international online advertising service provider Real Media to its competitor 24/7 Media in order to cope better with the online slump. The two companies will merge to form the new 24/7 Real Media, in which PubliGroupe will hold a 15.6 percent stake. The financially ailing 24/7 Media is paying for the purchase exclusively with shares and will also receive a one-off cash injection of a maximum of 7.5 million dollars from PubliGroupe.
The Swiss companies Real Media AG and Publimedia Webadvertising AG will remain with PubliGroupe. The merger of Real Media and 24/7 Media will enable many savings to be made, and they will also complement each other "very well" in terms of their respective products and expertise, it was said.
Online losses rise from CHF 50 million to CHF 80 million
The amount of 7.5 million dollars represents the Group's final commitment in the online sector, the Lausanne-based company reassures its shareholders. It will be charged to the current accounts for 2001 and is in addition to the losses incurred in the first ten months of the year and the full amortization costs of Real Media. This brings the total amount charged to the annual accounts to CHF 63 million, i.e. around CHF 30 million more than expected. The loss incurred in the online business increases accordingly from the CHF 50 million forecast on September 4, 2001 to around CHF 80 million.
PubliGroupe is optimistic in its press release that these extraordinary costs will not be repeated in the 2002 financial year, so that the 2002 accounts should again show a profit thanks to the healthy state of the traditional business. Markus Knöpfli
