Innovation boost at Ringier
The 2005 second-half results will go down in Ringier's history as its «best year.».
A 12.8 percent increase in revenue to 1,256
Billions of francs and a 20.7 percent increase in net income from
67.1 million Swiss francs, the consolidation in the printing sector with the
Establishment of the Swiss Printers Association (Ringier together with NZZ) as well as
The entry into the free newspaper market in Hungary with *24 hodin*—the
According to CEO Martin Werfeli, these are the most important events for the
Ringier's 2005 fiscal year, the largest Swiss
Media group. «We want to pursue an aggressive strategy in Asia and
»We will continue this in Eastern Europe, but also in Switzerland," Werfeli explained
on the occasion of the financial results press conference on March 31 at Ringier
Press building on Dufourstrasse in Zurich.
Most of the innovation has taken place abroad.
Last year, the publisher released a total of 19 titles in eight countries
launched. These include, for example, the TV guide TV2 in the
Switzerland, Hungary, and Romania—each with its own version of the tabloids
Blikk and Libertatea for women, or the cooking show «Betty’s”
»Kitchen" in China. Today, Ringier is also able to, in the TV sector,
Adapting television formats for various international markets and
adapt to regional conditions. For example, the program «Joya”
»Runs" has already attracted 500,000 viewers in China. This startup fever is
According to Werfeli, this is above the industry average.
Optimism for New Projects
«With some regret,» said publisher and Chairman of the Board Michael
Ringier stated that, unfortunately, the innovations would not have been possible in Switzerland
took place. That makes it all the more likely that things will move forward this year. The publishing house
follows the announcement of Cash Daily as a multimedia extension of the
the business newspaper *Cash*, as well as the launch of
Today, the evening newspaper for commuters, is already making a bold move in the new
A year on the road. Publisher Ringier expects positive results
Today, despite widespread skepticism within the industry regarding the
Opportunities for evening newspapers. Ringier expressed confidence that the
the Abendblatt will find its readership. «Because, unlike in the past,
»There are commuter flows today."
The publisher also hopes to benefit from attractive ad combinations
"Heute" and "Blick" report on the revenue losses suffered by the company, which has been struggling for some time
to make up for the tabloid's losses. At Cash Daily, the
Those in charge assume that the newspaper publishes the business magazine *Cash*
will not compete with it. Because, according to
Publisher Ringier is offering a transitional product until e-paper becomes available
has reached maturity and is ready for practical application.
The strong growth of the
The publisher's share of the Eastern and Central European market rose by 16.8 percent to 373.9
Millions of francs. In the Swiss print and publishing sector, the value of
Werfeli described the sales figures as satisfactory. They remained at 66 percent of the
Total revenue is clearly the highest. However, advertising spending in the
Print media fell short of the previous year's figure. Thanks to a
favorable market conditions in the electronic media sector (+1.8
percent), but revenue in the newspaper business rose slightly
and were thus able to offset the declining revenue in traditional channels
Sales and advertising offset each other. Nevertheless, the
Circulation trends for *Blick* and *SonntagsBlick* according to Werfeli
unsatisfactory, even though both titles are holding their own in the advertising market
were able to.
The printing division, on the other hand, faced significant price pressure. Nevertheless, it increased
It increased by 25.3 percent, due to the integration of Zollikofer AG
and NZZ Fretz AG into the Swiss Printers network. Ringier expanded
in addition, with a 16.8 percent increase in revenue to 46.5 million Swiss francs
further expanded its position in the TV sector. In fiscal year 2005, the media group posted a significant figure of 86 million
more than in 2004, when the figure was 60.3 million Swiss francs. Largest
One such investment was the expansion of the company's own printing facility in
Budapest.
This year, the publishing house intends to persistently pursue its growth strategy
"Continue," was the repeated message. This included new product launches and product lines
Expansions in all markets with the goal of using «innovative
Media platforms, supplemented by mobile apps, TV formats, and
to play a leading role in other digital formats in this field
»play.".
René Worni
