62 percent of profit digital: Ringier continues to grow in the digital sector

"The digital transformation processes are also paying off in the Publishing Switzerland division," according to a Ringier press release on Wednesday. For the first time in the history of the Blick newspaper group, more readers read the digital channels than the printed edition of the Blick daily newspaper in 2016. Blick.ch's advertising revenue also exceeded that of the printed paper for the first time. The company also invested in "transformation and digitalization" in other areas in 2016: the Ringier Group now has around 200 digital platforms and more than 90 mobile applications.

A year earlier, Ringier had reported a portfolio of 160 platforms and 70 apps. According to Ringier CEO Marc Walder, this consistent strategy is having an impact: "We already generate 62 percent of our operating profit with digital business models," Walder is quoted as saying in the press release. Dependence on the core business - i.e. newspapers, magazines and print shops - has been massively reduced. In the previous year, the digital business had already accounted for around 61 percent of operating profit (EBITDA). In 2012, this share was still less than one percent.

Profit doubled

Ringier reported revenue of over CHF 1 billion for the 2016 financial year: Compared to the previous year, it increased by 11 percent from CHF 946 million to CHF 1049 million. At CHF 108.3 million, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were 13 percent higher than in the previous year. Profit after tax doubled from CHF 11.3 million to CHF 22.8 million. This was back at the level of 2014 (21.4 million) and 2013 (26.5 million). This positive development is "primarily due to the continued growth of the digital marketplaces and the full consolidation of the Swiss magazine portfolio of Ringier Axel Springer Switzerland", writes Ringier. The Zurich-based company is currently active in 19 countries. The newest market is Myanmar, where Ringier launched a news portal in December 2015. Over the past year, this has become the market leader in its segment, reaching 20 percent of the population. (SDA)