RTL sinks in Q1
May 9, 2011
RTL says that compared to an exceptional first quarter in 2010, when Western European TV advertising markets were thriving, the picture in the first three months of 2011 was mixed. While advertising revenue in the Netherlands (TV) and France (TV and radio) grew significantly year-on-year, the German TV advertising market was down in the first quarter of 2011. This mixed picture is also due to the Easter effect compared to 2010. Consolidated revenue increased slightly by 0.8 per cent to €1.255 billion.
Group EBITA was €181 million, down from €205 million in 2010. The net cash position of RTL Group as of 31 March 2011 was €1,647 million (31 March 2010: €1.29 billion).
The company says that given the mixed picture on the European TV advertising markets, it is still not possible to give reliable full-year guidance for 2011 at this point in time, but RTL Group confidently expects to outperform the market in all major countries thanks to the strong audience performance of its TV channels.