CIR Compagnie Industriali Riunite : Gruppo Espresso: Board of Directors approves consolidated results as of June 30 2015

REVENUES AT €305.7 MN (-5.3% ON LAST YEAR)

GROSS OPERATING MARGIN AT €31.0 MN, IN LINE WITH 2014

NET RESULT AT €22.1 MN (€3.8 MN IN 2014)

NET DEBT CONTINUES ITS DECLINE TO €5.0 MN (€34.2 MN At 31/12/2014)

Rome, July 22 2015 - The Board of Directors of Gruppo Editoriale l'Espresso S.p.A. met today in Rome under the chairmanship of Mr Carlo De Benedetti and approved the consolidated results as of June 30 2015 presented by Chief Executive Officer Monica Mondardini.

Performance of the market

In the first five months of 2015 overall advertising investment (Nielsen Media Research figures) declined by 1.3% compared to the same period of 2014. Although the trend was still negative, the decline was less accentuated than that reported in the previous year (-2.5%).

All of the media, with the sole exception of radio, reported declines: television (-0.7%), the printed press (-5.0%) and the internet (-2.2%, excluding the Search and Social Media areas). Radio reported a significant rise (+5.5% on the same period of last year).

As far as advertising in the printed press is concerned, the decline was less than in previous years: more specifically, the loss reported by the local press was -4.1% while that of the national press was -5.5%. As for circulation, ADS (Accertamento Diffusione Stampa) figures for the period from January to May 2015 show a decline in sales of daily newspapers of 9.9%, which is in line with the trend recorded in 2014. It should be noted that there was at the same time an increase in digital subscriptions to the dailies, but this rise does not at present compensate for the loss in copies in the traditional format and sales channel.

Performance of operations of the Espresso Group in the first half of 2015

The Group closed the first half of 2015 with a positive net result of €22.1mn. The consolidated revenues of the Group, amounting to €305.7mn, posted a decline of 5.3% compared to the first half of 2014 (€322.7mn). Circulation revenues, which came to €109.3mn, were down by 4.8% on the same period of last year (€114.8mn), in a market which, as stated above, has continued to suffer a significant decline in the circulation of daily newspapers (-9.9%). Based on the most recent ADS figures (May 2015), la Repubblica confirms its ranking as the top newspaper in terms of copies sold (newsstands, subscriptions and other) and, based on Audipress figures (Survey 2015/I), reported 2.3 million readers per day of the traditional edition. The newspaper also has an average of 73 thousand subscribers to its digital products (Repubblica+ and Repubblica Mobile). The network of local daily newspapers, which according to Audipress surveys, has an average of 2.9 million readers per day, reported a less negative performance for circulation than that reported by the sector as a whole. Overall, the Group currently has an average of 100 thousand subscribers to the digital editions of its newspaper titles. Advertising revenues posted a decline of3.7% with contrasting trends: radio and the internet showed positive dynamics while the printed press reflected the still negative trend of the market. Radio grew by 3.5%, with Radio Capital and m2o displaying very positive dynamics. The internet over-performed the market trend, posting growth of 2.8% which was partly due to the confirmed position of leadership of Repubblica.it, which has a Total Digital Audience of 1.6 million unique users per day, with a lead of 21% over the number two website. The audience figures of the local newspaper websites were also positive, reaching an average Total Digital Audience of 418 thousand unique users per day (+6% on the same period of last year). Costs went down by 6.6%, a reduction that was more or less equivalent to the fall in revenues. More specifically, industrial fixed costs decreased thanks to the continuation of the reorganization of the Group's production structure, as well as operating and administrative costs, particularly in relation to overheads. The consolidated gross operating margin came in at €31.0mn, which was in line with the figure for the first half of 2014. The consolidated operating result came to€23.6mn, which was equivalent to the figure for the same period of last year. By business area, the newspaper and magazine sector held up overall in terms of profitability, while radio recorded growth. Financial expense declined from €6.5mn in the first half of 2014 to the current €4.4mn, thanks to the reduction of the debt and to the new funding programme put in place during the year 2014. During the first half of 2015 the sale of the television channel DeejayTV to Discovery Italia was completed, giving rise to a capital gain of €9.3mn. Taking the above into account, the consolidated net result was €22.1mn, up from €3.8mn in the first half of 2014. Consolidated net debt, which stood at €5.0mn at June 30 2015, contracted further from the figure of €34.2mn at the close of 2014 and of €66.8mn at June 30 2014, thanks to the takings of the shareholder loan made to Persidera for €21.3mn and to the €11.8mn generated by the sale of All Music. The Group had 2,276 employees, including temporary contracts, at the end of June and the average number of employees in the period was 4.0% lower than in the first half of 2014.

22 July 2015 | 15:01 CEST