Press Release: RCS MediaGroup Board of Directors – Results at 30 september 2017 approved

EBITDA, EBIT AND NET PROFIT SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED COMPARED TO 2016

SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION OF FINANCIAL INDEBTEDNESS

EBITDA at 84.4 million euros, more than double compared to 30 September 2016

Savings of 47.8 million Euros

Positive net result at 19.8 million Euros

Net financial debt at 335.1 million Euros

Milan, 10 November 2017 - The Board of Directors of RCS MediaGroup met today under the chairmanship of Urbano Cairo and approved the consolidated results at 30 September 2017.

Group consolidated net revenues at 30 September 2017 amounted to 657.7 million Euros, down 51.7 million compared to the same period of 2016. The decline would amount to 13.8 million excluding from the comparison any non-homogeneous events, among which the cessation of some advertising contracts on behalf of third-party publishers (revenues of 1.2 million in the first nine months of 2017 compared to 22.8 million in the first nine months of 2016), the different editorial plan for add-ons (-13.5 million) and the revision of the promotional policy in Spain (-2.5 million).

The advertising revenueamounted to 284.4 million Euros compared to the 318 million in the same period of 2016. The decrease would amount to 7 million net of the effects due to non-homogeneity between the two periods being compared, in particular the above-mentioned cessation of certain contracts with third-party publishers and the presence of significant sport events in 2016, offset by bringing forward the Abu Dhabi Tour to the first semester.

The publishing revenuesamounted to 263.2 million Euros, down 27.6 million compared to the same period of 2016. On a homogeneous basis, as a result of the trend of the reference markets, the decline would amount to 13.4 million. In terms of circulation, the leaders in their respective daily news segments remain Corriere della Sera, La Gazzetta dello Sport, Marca and Expansión, while El Mundo confirms its second position among the Spanish general interest papers. We note the excellent trend highlighted by the increase in circulation on the newsstand channel of the magazineOggi sold both individually and in combination with other publications of the Family Area (+14% in newsstands compared to the first nine months of 2016).

The digital performance indicators for the sites of all the Group's daily newspapers show significant growth. We note in particular an increase in the monthly average unique browsers of thecorriere.it site of 13.8% compared with the same period in 2016. The number of subscribers to the Corriere della Sera's Membership offer reached about 38 thousand, growing 12% compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.

Other revenues amounted to 110.1 million Euros, showing on a homogeneous basis an increase of 6.6 million Euros mainly due to the significant results of the Sports Area (+7.8 million Euros), in particular for the greater exploitation of the Giro d'Italia's television rights and for the contribution of the television and gaming activities of Unidad Editorial.

The Group's activities focus on exploiting editorial content, developing existing brands, and launching new projects.

In particular, in the third quarter of 2017, the Corriere della Sera offerings were further enriched and enhanced, with the aim of giving readers supplements of the highest quality several times a week. In particular, September 19 saw the launch of the new weekly free supplementBuone Notizie - L'impresa del bene - a publication that features important ethical and informational content, dedicated to the non-profit world. Every week Buone Notizie covers associations, foundations, cooperatives, schools, research centres, sports clubs, and also deals with the many companies that are increasingly seeking to do business within social responsibility principles, directly or by promoting the activities of their employees.

It is also worth mentioning the success of the fourth edition of Il Tempo delle Donne, an event held at the Triennale of Milan under the auspices of the Corriere della Sera.

La Gazzetta dello Sport celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the sitegazzetta.it, reevoking during twenty days the best Sporting moments of the last twenty years and editing on September 15 the supplement of Lo Sport del Futuro devoted to the future of sport in the next 20 years. On October 28, La Gazzetta dello Sport launched thenewSportWeek, deeply renewed in graphics and content and with a larger format. The relaunch includes a closer relationship between paper and digital, with a stronger presence on gazzetta.it for the new SportWeek, and greater use of social media to increase readers' interaction.

Furthermore, October 19 saw the publication of a special edition of Marca, which for the second consecutive year was printed on pink paper, as a way to support breast cancer research, by allocating 10% of each single sold copy of that edition to the Spanish Association against Cancer.

The EBITDA for the first nine months of 2017, equal to 84.4 million, was up 44 million, more than doubling from the 40.4 million at 30 September 2016. The improvement is due to the positive results stemming from the investments on editorial content, the continued enrichment of the offerings and the enhancement of the sport events portfolio, as well as the strong commitment to cost reduction, which brought benefits of 47.8 million, of which 30.8 million in Italy and 17 million in Spain. It should be noted that in the first nine months of 2017, non-recurring expenses amounted to 0.9 million (10.6 million at 30 September 2016).

The table below shows the trend in revenue, EBITDA and EBIT for each business area[1].

(tables not subject to audit)

The EBIT, amounting to 47.1 million Euros, has improved by 47.9 million, thanks to the aforementioned trends and for the depreciation that was lower by 3.9 million.

The net Group resultis positive at 19.8 million at 30 September 2017 compared to the same period of 2016, improving by 37.2 million (negative at 17.4 million at 30 September 2016).

In particular, in the third quarter of 2017, the EBITDA, amounting to 15.4 million, the EBIT, amounting to 3.1 million and the net profit, negative by 4.1 million, were up by 8.9 million, 10.2 million and 11.2 million respectively, compared to the third quarter of 2016, which also benefited from the positive effect of the European Football Championships and Olympic Games for the sport newspapers. Please note that RCS has a seasonal activity performance that usually penalizes the results of the first and third quarters of the year. Below are the main economic figures for the third quarter:

(tables not subject to audit)

The net financial debt at 30 September 2017 amounted to EUR 335.1 million, with a significant improvement compared to 31 December 2016 (366.1 million) and to 30 June 2017 (363.2 million). The positive cash flows from operations (58.4 million) contributed, only partially offset by the disbursements incurred during the period, totalling approximately 27 million, mainly associated to technical investments and non-recurring expenses accrued in previous years (Source Management Reporting).

Significant events of the third quarter

On 7 August 2017, RCS MediaGroup SpA announced that, in execution of the agreement with Intesa Sanpaolo SpA announced on 5 July 2017, on August 4 the financing agreement has been signed with a pool of banks, with Banca IMI SpA as Mandated Lead Arranger, Agent and Coordinator, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA as Bookrunner, and Banca Popolare di Milano SpA, Mediobanca - Banca Credito Finanziario SpA, UBI Banca SpA and UniCredit SpA as Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners.

For the details of the financing agreement, please refer to the following paragraph d) of the Additions upon request by Consob pursuant to Article 114, paragraph 5 of Italian Legislative Decree 58/1998 of 27 May 2013.

Outlook

In a context still characterised by uncertainty, with reference markets falling (circulation and advertising in Italy and Spain), the Group's performance in the first half of 2017 showed a strong improvement in results compared to the same period of the previous year.

The EBITDA of 84.4 million, up 44 million, the EBIT of 47.1 million, up 47.9 million, and the net result of 19.8 million, up 37.2 million from the first nine months of 2016, are basically in line with expectations for achieving the Group's 2017 targets.

In light of the foregoing and in the absence of currently unpredictable events, the result targets for 2017 are essentially confirmed.

The trend of the general situation of the economy and of the reference sectors, including the possible effects on the Spanish advertising market linked to the situation in Catalonia, may still have an impact on fully meeting these targets.

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Riccardo Taranto, the Director in charge of preparing the company's statements, hereby declares, pursuant to article 154-bis, paragraph 2 of the Consolidated Law on Finance (Testo Unico della Finanza, TUF), that the information contained in this press release accurately represents the figures contained in the Group's accounting records.

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[1] The operating sectors are identified is based on the current operating structure of the Group. Below:

Italian Newspapers includes the Daily and Digital activities of RCS MediaGroup SpA, the local editions (Editoriale del Mezzogiorno Srl, Editoriale Fiorentina Srl, Editoriale Veneto Srl, RCS Edizioni Locali Srl), the television activities of Digicast SpA, printing businesses, and the classifieds activities of Trovolavoro Srl.

Italian Periodicals includes the Periodici e Sfera activities of RCS MediaGroup SpA, mostly foreign-owned subsidiaries under the Sfera activities of RCS MediaGroup SpA, and Hotelyo SA, a company operating in the online travel industry.

Advertising and Sport includes the Group's concession holder and event organizing activities.

Unidad Editorial includes the activities of the entire Spanish publishing group Unidad Editorial SA.

Other Corporate Activities includes the centralized services to Group companies predominantly attributable to the Corporate activities of RCS MediaGroup SpA.