By Jonathan Easton
ProSiebenSat.1 Group has withstood the economic pressures of the war in Ukraine to meet its targets for Q1 2022.
The group said that it had increased its revenues by 2 per cent to €954 million(US$991.5million), driven by growth in its ad revenues.
Its entertainment segment saw revenues grow by €53 million to €610 million, with advertising revenues growing €43 million. Revenues in the content business also posted a double-digit growth of EUR 13 million or 13 per cent.
The group‘s adjusted EBITDA declined in the first quarter of 2022 and was €19 million below the previous year at €123 million, reflecting the planned bringing-forward of programming costs of the FIFA World Cup. Entertainment programming costs are expected to be at the level of the previous year at just over €1 billion.
ProSieben’s net financial debt amounted to EUR €1.74 billion as of March 31.
Looking ahead, ProSieben’s full-year outlook remains unchanged despite the Russia-Ukraine war, ongoing pandemic, and burdens on the consumer climate. It noted that “as far as can be foreseen at present” these factors will have no impact on the group’s business development.
Group CEO of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, Rainer Beaujean: “Our good start to the year once again proves that we are on the right track with our strategy. With our clear positioning and focus on reach, monetisation, and value creation, we were able to continue our growth in the first quarter despite the overall economic uncertainties. On this basis, and based on the current war and sanctions situation as well as its current economic impact, we remain confident to achieve our full-year targets – and confirm our outlook for 2022.
“In April, our Entertainment advertising revenues in the German-speaking region were slightly above the previous year’s level, or by around 7 per cent in the first four months of the year. At the same time, current developments show how important it is to use reach responsibly. We do this with our programming, not only by entertaining, but also by informing – both always with a clear attitude.“
