M6 Q1 down 3%
April 25, 2023
For the first quarter of the 2023 financial year, French media company M6 Group posted consolidated revenue of €312.9 million, a decline of 3 per cent. Within a weakened economic environment, multimedia advertising revenues recorded a decrease of 2 per cent.
Restated for the scope effect related to the deconsolidation of Best of TV (sold in November 2022), non-advertising revenue increased by €2.5 million, capitalising on the momentum of the audiovisual rights sales activity. Consolidated profit from recurring operations (EBITA) totalled €59.5 million, equating to an operating margin of 19 per cent (down 1.8 per cent).
Television
On the commercial target of women under 50 responsible for purchasing, M6 Group achieved an average audience share of 22.6 per cent (up 0.3 er cent) on the free-to-air channels, the highest year-on-year growth out of the leading French TV groups.
The M6 channel continued to post healthy audience shares amongst WRP<50 for its longstanding brands like Top Chef (29 per cent audience share amongst WRP<50), Mariés au premier regard (27 per cent) and L’amour est dans le pré (26 per cent), as well as for the launch of new shows like Top Chef: La Brigade cachée (28 per cent).
On DTT, 6ter and Gulli each saw their audience share increase by 0.2 pp, as a result of the broadcast of iconic shows such as Kaamelott and Twilight on 6ter, and of Gulli’s positioning targeting an older audience in the strategic primetime slot.
Faced with an unfavourable base effect in 2022 marked by the post-Covid recovery in consumer spending, the popularity of M6 Group’s free-to-air channels helped to limit the decline in the M6 Group TV division’s advertising revenues to just 2.4 per cent.
Radio
The Radio Division’s revenues stood at €34.4 million, up 6.8 per cent, including 2 per cent from radio advertising revenue due in particular to the healthy performances of RTL (the leading commercial radio station in France), RTL2 and Fun Radio, as well as the growth of digital audio.
Production and Audiovisual Rights
The revenue from the Production & Audiovisual Rights activity stood at €18.7 million, an increase of 22.5 per cent, driven by the healthy momentum of the sales of audiovisual rights in France and internationally. Despite the decline in the cinema business over the quarter, the distributed films totalled 1.2 million admissions4 compared with 2.2 million in 2022.
Financial position
Consolidated profit from recurring operations (EBITA) totalled €59.5 million, compared with €67.2 million in the first quarter of 2022. The decline in EBITA primarily reflects the reduction in advertising revenue. At March 31st 2022, Group equity totalled €1,273.3 million, compared with €1,199.2 million at December 31st 2022, with a net cash position of €352.9 million5 (v €282 million at December 31st 2022).
Outlook
As regards the outlook over the next nine months, the advertising market is currently unsettled, particularly so during Q2 given the present social and economic environment.
Following Arcom’s decision on February 22nd to grant the M6 channel a new licence to broadcast on DTT, the Group is finalising discussions with the regulatory authority on the Agreement to be concluded with it regarding the licence to use the DTT frequency from 6 May 2023 for a period of 10 years