RTL Group unveils new structure as it reports highest-ever H1 revenue
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Joseph O'Halloran
| 28 August 2019

European media giant RTL Group has ended a strong first half of its financial year by announcing a series of major corporate shake-ups including a new board and the formation of a new ad-tech division.

For the six months ended 30 June 2019, group revenue rose 4.2% an annual basis to a record high of €3.173. On a like-for-like basis, revenue rose 4.6% to €3.124 billion, the highest growth rate since 2010. The jump in revenues was driven mainly by the company’s Fremantle division and digital businesses. RTL Group’s digital revenue grew 21.0% to €513 million (H1/2018: €424 million), with the driving engine of Fremantle, BroadbandTV, SpotX and the Group’s streaming services TV Now and Videoland.

Yet despite the record revenues, group EBITA dipped by €10 million compared with the same time in 2018 to €538 million. The company revealed that higher investments in programming and VOD services were largely compensated for by significantly higher profit contributions from Fremantle and Groupe M6. Reported EBITA margin came in at 17.0%. At the end of the half-year period, RTL Group had registered 1.2 million paying subscribers for its VOD platforms in Germany and the Netherlands, up 46.2% year on year.

Profit for the period soared by 21% on an annual basis to €443 million benefitting from gains from the disposal of assets. At 30 June 2019, RTL Group had a net debt position of €739 million, €269 higher than at 31 December 2018.

“We are actively shaping the future of the European total video industry,” said RTL Group chief executive officer Thomas Rabe commenting on the first-half results. “RTL Group had a successful first half of the year 2019 as the content and digital businesses further accelerated our growth. We will further increase our investments in content and technology. RTL Group is well positioned for the current investment cycle in the European TV industry: we have leading market positions, our streaming services are growing fast and our financial position is strong. With new alliances and partnerships, we are actively shaping the future of the European Total Video industry – from content creation to ad sales and technology.”

Going forward, the group announced that it was forming a new group management committee (GMC) — comprising members of the executive committee and the CEOs of the Group’s three largest business units — which said Rabe would shape the future of the company. One of the first actions of the group’s executive committee and board of directors was a strategic review of its ad-tech businesses.

With immediate effect, Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, as RTL Group’s largest business unit, takes over the responsibility for the Group’s ad-tech businesses in all European markets except the UK, bundled under the brand Smartclip. The UK will continue to be the hub that centralises the operations for SpotX Global in Europe. SpotX and Smartclip will continue to work closely together to deliver leading technology and monetisation solutions to existing and new European clients. For Smartclip, the objective is to create an open ad-tech development unit, based on the technology developed by Smartclip and custom-tailored for the needs of European broadcasters and streaming services.