Prisa loses €8.04 billion in Q1 2012

Iñaki Ferreras ©RapidTVNews | 15-05-2012


In a statement to the National Mercado de Valores (CNMV), Spanish media group Prisa has announced a loss of €8.04 billion in the first quarter of 2012, compared to an €11.47 million profit in the same period last year.
In the first quarter of 2012, the operating income of the company amounted to €651.56 million, representing a 5.7% rise from January to March 2011, while adjusted EBITDA stood at €105.14 million, up 4.7%. Meanwhile, the operating profit (EBIT) was up 3.4% to €55.20 billion. As for advertising revenue, the company recorded a fall of 9.7%, from €144.01 million in Q1 2011 to €130.07 million in Q1 2012, although in this area the company has stressed that the good performance of revenues for education and income of Canal+ subscribers partially offset the weakness in advertising revenues and circulation.
“These results continue to demonstrate the operational strength of the business even in the current economic environment,” commented the president of the Executive Committee and CEO of Prisa, Juan Luis Cebrian.

However, the company also highlighted improvements in performance of pay-TV, with audiovisual revenue standing at €294.53 million and EBITDA amounting to €30.91 million. Meanwhile, the adjusted EBITDA of Santillana increased by 11% adjusted for non-recurring effects.

“Santillana and pay-television are examples of how you can grow through the most adverse circumstances,” stated Cebrian, who stressed “the good performance of companies in Latin America, where EBITDA has grown 9.7%”. He added that the difficulties of the markets in Spain and Portugal make it necessary to continue with a severe austerity programme and spending cuts.

The digital area of the group experienced a “solid growth” in the first quarter of 2012, reaching a monthly average of €66.7 million unique browsers in March 2012, representing an increase of 7.6% over the same period last year, mainly thanks to strong growth by PRISA TV, El País and Cinco Días. Digital advertising also rose 12.7%.

By contrast, news earnings stood at €86.15 million, 21.5% less than the first quarter last year due to falling advertising (down 15%) and circulation (down 13.1%) and the positive impact they had in the first quarter of 2011 due to promotions and tax deductions.
Meanwhile, in the radio sector, income (€78.97 million) fell by 5.3% over the previous year, primarily due to lower advertising revenue in Spain (down 12.1%).