ProSiebenSat.1 mitigates 2020 profit decline with final spurt
The ProSiebenSat.1 media group benefited from the recovery in the advertising markets and performed better last year than had been expected. Operating profit for the full year fell to around 700 (previous year: 872) million euros, and revenue declined to approximately 4.04 (previous year: 4.13) billion euros.
This was announced by the German TV group on Thursday evening on preliminary business figures for 2020. Due to the current coronavirus lockdown, it still expects a damper in the advertising business for the current first quarter of 2021. "However, we expect a significant year-on-year improvement in the entertainment segment, particularly in the second quarter," the group added.
At the beginning of November, the Bavarians had only forecast a profit of between 600 and 650 million euros and sales of 3.85 to 3.95 billion euros for 2020. During the first coronavirus lockdown due to the pandemic, advertising revenues had still slumped massively in the spring. According to the Group, things then improved noticeably from the summer onwards, as customers booked more advertising again in the wake of the economic recovery.
Meanwhile, the Italian media group Mediaset increased its direct stake in the German TV company to 12.38 percent. According to a voting rights announcement, the company controlled by the family of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi now has access to a total of 23.53 percent of ProSiebenSat.1 through shares and derivatives. A person familiar with the matter had told Reuters that Mediaset would gradually increase its shareholding in the station chain, and thus also its voting rights. (SDA)
