Bank: “Mediaset better than expected”
November 12, 2020
Italian broadcaster Mediaset’s delivered better-than-expected Q3 results with its Italian revenue beating the market’s consensus by some 3 per cent.
No Full Year 2o20 guidance was provided, but the trend appears to be supportive.
Its core financials for Q3 saw group revenue rise by 2 per cent year on year to €556 million. Breaking down the business saw Mediaset Italy revenue increased by 4 per cent to €385 million (5 per cent – 8 per cent above consensus) and helped by higher ad-revenues and other income.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank said its net advertising revenue (NAR) grew 4.6 per cent to €312 million underpinned by a sharp recovery in the advertising performance benefitting from higher catch-up and new advertising money; this is a solid turnaround vs. the -37 per cent NAR decline seen in Q2.
“As a reminder, Nielsen monthly data indicated that the Italian TV advertising market was up 15 per cent in July and 20 per cent in August vs. the 35 per cent decline in Q2. Operationally, the live coverage of the last leg of the Champions League 2019/20 season on FTA channel drove higher TV audience share/advert impressions for Mediaset Italy,” said the bank’s note to clients.
The bank’s view is that Mediaset’s Italian net advertising revenue improved in October, though the company has not provided a Q4 outlook given the lack of visibility with the return of lockdown. “Mediaset reported a reassuring set of Q3 results with a healthy sequential recovery in its group revenues. Relatively, Mediaset has outperformed its European broadcasting peers with NAR growth of 4.6 per cent Q3/20 (vs. Pro7: -6.5 per cent, Mediaset Espania: -4.8 per cent and M6: +1 per cent) driven by strong football content during the quarter which should be taken well.”
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