Preliminary consolidated results at 30 June 2015

Consolidated revenue EUR 591.9 million (EUR 611.1 million in the same period in 2014).

EBITDA before non-recurring income and expenses positive at EUR 5.1 million (at EUR -4.2 million in the same period in 2014), due to an improvement in all main Business areas.

EBITDA after non-recurring income and expenses improved by more than EUR 26 million.

Net financial debt stands at EUR 526.3 million.

Improved cash flow from operations by about EUR 30 million.


2018 Business Plan unanimously approved

Focus on News Italy, News Spain and Sports segments

The Board of Directors mandates Chief Executive Officer to proceed with the negotiation in relation to the shareholding in RCS Libri S.p.A.


Preliminary sale agreement reached for the 44.5% shareholding in Gruppo Finelco

Price set at EUR 21 million, plus a further conditional EUR 1 million.

Milan, 30 July 2015 - The Board of Directors of RCS MediaGroup met today chaired by Maurizio Costa to examine the preliminary consolidated results as at 30 June 2015.

The Group's consolidated net revenue was EUR 591.9 million (EUR 611.1 million in the same period in 2014): the change was mainly due to the performance in advertising revenue, penalised by the market trend and an unfavourable comparison with 2014 which benefited from the World Cup and special editions of Corriere della Sera and La Gazzetta dello Sport; publishing revenue remained stable, thanks to the positive performance of add-on products and cover price increases, which offset market circulation trends.

EBITDA before non-recurring income and expenses is positive for EUR 5.1 million, compared to a negative result of EUR 4.2 million reported for the same period last year: the improvement of EUR 9.3 million is due to the positive performance of the main Business areas, and benefited from continued efficiency measures, and was affected by costs related to the launch of the Gazzetta TV channel and comparison with 2014, which reported higher advertising revenue from the above-mentioned World Cup and special editions of the Italian newspapers. Net of these exceptional events, EBITDA before non-recurring income and expense would have improved more than EUR 20 million year-on-year.

EBITDA after non-recurring income and expenses increased more than EUR 26 million, from EUR -29.2 million in the first half of 2014 to EUR -3 million.

Net financial debt stands at EUR 526.3 million (EUR 518.2 million at 30 June 2014) and - despite being affected by the use of cash flow due to the seasonality of the first half of the year - it reported a significant improvement in current operations of more than EUR 30 million versus the first half of 2014.

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2018 Business Plan Approved

The Board of Directors unanimously approved the Business Plan for RCS Group on the basis of the guidelines that were communicated to the market and summarized below.

In addition to a significant strengthening of its leading presence in the News sector, articulated in News Italy - thanks to the strength of Corriere della Sera and the Vertical segments - and News Spain - through El Mundo and Expansión - the Group will reinforce its presence in the Sports sector through the creation of a specific business unit that will bring together all of the activities of La Gazzetta dello Sport and Marca brands, as well as those of RCS Sport and LastLap in sports events. The plan for the new Sports business unit foresees a gradual extension of the international activities of the Sports sector. In this framework, the Group aims to achieve a profitability in line with that of the best international players in the sector and full sustainability of its financial structure.

The Business Plan will be presented in September.

The Board of Directors, in the context of the Group's broader strategies, reviewed the letter received from Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. sent as an annex to the offer letter of 29 June 2015 concerning the purchase of RCS' shareholding in RCS Libri S.p.A., andunanimously agreed - reserving its final decision regarding the disposal of the asset - to mandate the Chief Executive Officer to proceed with the negotiations and the definition of the contractual terms.

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In the context of the disposal plan of non-core assets, RCS announces that it today agreed with Blue Ocean Srl - a consortium of Italian entrepreneurs - a preliminary contract for the sale of RCS' 44.45% shareholding in Gruppo Finelco. The agreed price is EUR 21 million, payable at the closing of the operation (expected by 30 September 2015) as well as an additional EUR 1 million contingent on certain conditions to be met by 31 December 2015.

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Roberto Bonalumi, the Director responsible for drawing up the company's accounting 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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For additional information:
RCS MediaGroup - Corporate Communication
Maria Verdiana Tardi - +39 02 2584 5412 - +39 347 7017627 - verdiana.tardi@rcs.it
RCS MediaGroup - Investor Relations
Federica De Medici - +39 02 2584 5508 - +39 335 230278 - federica.demedici@rcs.it
www.rcsmediagroup.it

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