Rizzoli Corriere della Sera Mediagrp : Interim Management Statement at March 31, 2016

Microsoft Word - Interim Managemment Statement at September 30 2015.docx Interim Management Statement at March 31, 2016

This is English translation of the Italian Interim Management Statement, which is the sole authoritative version

RCS MediaGroup S.p.A. Via A. Rizzoli, 8 - 20132 Milan

Share Capital €475,134,602.10 - Company Register and Tax Code/VAT No. 12086540155, REA No. 1524326

Contents

Consolidated financial highlights of RCS MediaGroup 3

Segment profiles 4

Group performance in the first quarter of the year 7

Significant events during the first quarter of the year 16

Events after the reporting period 17

Outlook for the current year 19

Additional information required by CONSOB pursuant to Art. 114, paragraph 5 of Italian Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 of May 27, 2013 20

Statement pursuant to Article 154 bis, paragraph 2 of the Consolidated Finance Act 30

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS OF RCS MEDIAGROUP

1st quarter

Year

2016 2015 2015

(€/millions) (2)

INCOME STATEMENT Revenue	219.8	229.4	1,032.2
EBITDA (1) (4)	( 3.7)	( 16.2)	16.4
OPERATING LOSS	( 17.5)	( 30.9)	( 107.0)
Loss before tax and non-controlling interests	( 25.4)	( 39.9)	( 143.3)
Income taxes	3.2	9.2	7.9
Loss from continuing operations	( 22.2)	( 30.7)	( 135.4)
Profit (loss) from assets held for sale and discontinued operations (2)	-	( 4.9)	( 38.8)
Loss for the period	( 22.0)	( 35.2)	( 175.7)
Basic earnings per share: continuing operations	( 0.04)	( 0.06)	( 0.26)
Diluted earnings per share: continuing operations	( 0.04)	( 0.06)	( 0.26)
Basic earnings per share: assets held for sale and discontinued operations	-	( 0.01)	( 0.08)
Diluted earnings per share: assets held for sale and discontinued operations	-	( 0.01)	( 0.08)
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION	Mar/31/2016	Mar/31/2015	Dec/31/2015
Net capital employed	588.9	750.0	591.9
Net financial debt (3)	509.1	507.5	486.7
Net financial debt - continuing operations	538.2	507.5	530.9
Equity	79.8	242.5	105.2
Average number of employees excluding those involved with assets held for sale and discontinued operations	3,656	3,684	3,704
Average number of employees	3,987	3,995	4,031

1. Earnings before interest, tax, amortisation/depreciation and impairment losses. Includes the share of profit and loss of equity-accounted investees.

2. At March 31, 2015, the costs and revenue relating to the activities in the Books segment were reclassified to Profit (loss) from assets held for sale and discontinued operations, for which a sale agreement was signed on October 4, 2015; the sale was completed on April 14, 2016.

3. Indicator of financial structure, calculated as current and non-current financial liabilities less cash and cash equivalents, current financial assets and non-current financial assets recognised for derivatives. Net financial debt as defined by CONSOB in its Communication DEM/6064293 dated July 28, 2006 excludes non-current financial assets. Non-current financial assets relating to derivatives at March 31, 2016, March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2015 amounted to zero and, therefore, RCS's financial ratio at March 31, 2016, March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2015 matches the net financial debt as defined by the above-mentioned CONSOB Communication.

4. As of December 31, 2015, the share of profits of equity-accounted investees is classified on a pre-EBITDA line of the financial statements, and the first quarter of 2015 has been reclassified accordingly. This classification has been deemed more consistent with the substance of the facts, as following the disposal, liquidation or full impairment of non-core equity-accounted investees, this item now includes profit and loss from equity investments the activities of which are strictly functional to Group operations.

Following the entry into force on March 18, 2016 of Legislative Decree no. 25 dated February 15, 2016, which eliminated quarterly reporting requirements in compliance with the European Union's Transparency Directive, the Group has decided to voluntarily publish a consolidated statement of financial position and income statement and comments on the main economic performance indicators of Group operations and the most significant events during the period, as well as on the Group's financial situation and on the outlook for operations. This decision should not be considered final, as the Group reserves the right to make a different assessment in the future, also in light of any changes in the regulatory framework.

This Interim Management Statement is based on the going concern assumption (as described in more detail in the section "Additional information required by CONSOB pursuant to Art. 114, paragraph 5 of Italian Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 of May 27, 2013"), has been prepared in continuity with the International Accounting Standards applied in the Annual Report at December 31, 2015 and does not apply IAS 34.

This Interim Management Statement at March 31, 2016 was approved by the Board of Directors on May, 11 2016

SEGMENT PROFILES

In March 2016, a new organisational structure was presented, in line with the expected evolution of the business forecast in the 2016-2018 Business Plan approved by the Board of Directors on December 18, 2015.

The table below shows the new organisational structure:

FORMER OPERATING SEGMENTS	NEW OPERATING SEGMENTS
Media Italy	News Italy
Corriere della Sera System, La Gazzetta dello Sport System, Verticals, Digicast	Corriere della Sera System, Verticals, Digicast, Sfera
Media Spain	News Spain
El Mundo System, Marca System, Expansion System, Verticals, Last Lap Events, Other	El Mundo System, Expansion System, Verticals, Other
Advertising & Events	Sport
Sales on Group publications, Sales for third parties, RCS Sport sporting events	La Gazzetta dello Sport System, Marca System, International Sport Events & Formats (RCS Sport and Last Lap), International Audience
Corporate & Other	Other Activities
Corporate Functions, Sfera, New Business	Group Shared Services, Sales for third parties

Details of activities in the sectors noted above are provided below:

News Italy

The News Italy segment is primarily dedicated to the editing, production and marketing of publishing products linked to Corriere della Sera (Corriere della Sera System and Verticals publishing products (including the Childhood Verticals), as well as television activities.

In particular, Corriere della Sera System includes the national newspaper, the leading national news and general-interest information daily, in addition to a structured, integrated platform of paper and digital information media, including a network of local titles, the weekly Sette, special inserts and general interest and specialised supplements, as well as the website corriere.it.

The Verticals products include 7 Italian magazines, including weeklies and monthlies and concern the following areas: Women's (IO Donna and Amica), Home Furnishings and Interior Design and Architecture (Living and Abitare), Family (Oggi System) and Men's & Lifestyle (Style Magazine, Dove). It is also active in the multimedia domain through its websites (Living.corriere.it, Iodonna.it, Amica.it, Oggi.it, Doveviaggi.corriere.it, Style.corriere.it, Doveclub.it and Abitare.it). In the first quarter of 2015, the range was enhanced with the launch of two new monthlies under the Oggi name: Oggi Cucino FREE, a new magazine dedicated to the gluten-free world, and Oggi Enigmistica, a new monthly puzzles and games publication.

In addition to these are the Childhood Verticals (Sfera) specialised in the early childhood and new families segment, including the publications Insieme and Io e il mio Bambino, the controlled distribution of boxed sets containing assorted products for mothers, the organisation of events and fairs (Bimbinfiera), the offer of digital products (quimamme.it website and publication websites) and e-commerce and direct marketing functions. It is the market leader in Italy, Spain and Mexico (with business models similar to the Italian one) and has also had a presence in France with a digital offer for just over one year.

Television activities are carried out in Italy, through the company Digicast, which operates in the satellite television broadcasting segment, offering 5 channels on SKY: Lei (channel 127), Dove (channel 412), in addition to the optional channels Caccia (channel 235), Pesca (channel 236) and Lei+1 (channel 129).

This area also includes the activities of Hotelyo SA, a company operating under the Dove Club name in the on- line travel segment in 'flash sales', catalogue and 'tailor made' mode, in addition to high-range holiday offers, as well as classified activities, including Trovocasa and, through the company Trovolavoro S.r.l., the market segment dedicated to the search for qualified personnel.