Mediaset returns to profit in Q1
May 16, 2018
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
The Board of Directors of Italian broadcaster Mediaset has approved the results for the first quarter of 2018 which confirm a return to profit.
Net revenues were €860.6 million, compared with €889.3 million a year earlier, with the Italian market accounting for €631.0 million (€649.3 million) and the Spanish market for €229.6 million (€240.4 million).
Revenues were affected by the slowdown in the advertising market. In Italy, gross TV advertising sales were €505.8 million (€512.2 million), while in Spain they reached €224.6 million (€235.4 million).
EBIT dropped from €76.2 million to €53.9 million, of which €63.6 million in Spain and a negative €9.8 million in Italy. Net profit also fell to €3.5 million from €15.8 million.
In Italy, total net revenues fell to €609.6 million (€630.1 million), with pay-TV accounting for €137.6 million (€151.4 million).
Mediaset is the audience leader in the commercial target of 15-64 year-olds with a 36 per cent share in the 24-hours. A positive audience trend is expected in the core channels segment due to a strong line up of programmes in Q2 and Q4. The thematic channel portfolio will reach 10 channels, following the launch of 2 new channels: 20 (Cinema and Series) and Focus (docu-science, launching on May 17th).
Among the key drivers for 2018/2019 are the exclusive rights to this summer’s World Cup in Russia; the first Screen Interactive Offer for connected TVs during the World Cup; and the expected increase of audience share for the Mediaset Premium Cinema and Series channels as a result of the recent distribution agreement with Sky Italia.
In Spain, the Mediaset España TV channels maintained their audience leadership with a daily average 27.9 per cent share.