Mediaset forecasts 2020 profit despite pandemic
November 11, 2020
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Mediaset has reported a net profit of €29.4 million for the third quarter of 2020 and of €10.5 million for the first nine months.
According to the broadcaster, the positive performance was due to prompt action on costs, growth in TV ratings and strong revenues generated by the advertising companies.
For the 9 month period, net revenues reached €1.72 billion (€2.03 billion in 9 months 2019), of which €1.17 billion in Italy and €546.6 million in Spain.
Gross advertising revenues were €1.10 billion for Italy and €488.3 million for Spain. Total costs amounted to €1.63 billion, EBIT was €87.6 million while free cash flow totaled €236 million.
In Italy, Mediaset reached a 34.2 per cent share over 24 hours and 36.1 per cent in prime time (+1.5 per cent) in its commercial target, with an audience increase greater than that of all other competitors.
In Spain, the broadcaster’s TV channels are leaders with a 29.6 per cent share in the 24 hours in the commercial target, while Telecinco is the most watched channel, with a 14.5 per cent share in the 24 hours across the whole audience.
Despite new restriction measures in Italy due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Mediaset estimates that the operating performance in Q4 will contribute to a positive net consolidated result for the full year.