Unidad Editorial extends capital by €500 million

Iñaki Ferreras ©RapidTVNews | 18-04-2012


Spain’s media group Unidad Editorial, owned by the Italian media company RCS, has approved a capital increase worth €500 million through issuing new shares.

RCS is the publisher of the newspapers El Mundo and Marca among other publications, and owns several frequencies on the national DTT, now leased to Discovery Networks and Sony TV.
The group noted that with this operation, the financial position of the company "is strengthened substantially and will better face future plans, while allowing a significant reduction of its indebtedness."

The recapitalization agreement, according to managers of the company, is "very positive because it means that shareholders are betting strongly for the development of Unidad Editorial and efficient management of its cost structure in an environment of acute economic crisis and challenges for the media industry".

The general meeting of shareholders, which unanimously approved all agreements, reported that the company ended the 2011 financial year with consolidated revenues of €495.6 million and EBITDA of €27.1 million, compared with a result of same period in 2010 equal to €41 million.

Earnings before non-recurring income and expenses were €36 million compared to €44.5 million the previous year. The sharp contraction of the advertising market has meant that the Unidad Editorial’s revenue fell by 4.6% in this area (below the industry average, which according to several sources has fallen 8.2%), reaching €214.4 million in advertising turnover, the company reported.