Press Release RCS – BoD: Results at 31 March 2021 approved

Press Release: Meeting of the Board of Directors of RCS MediaGroup

Results at 31 March 2021 approved1

Thanks to the actions taken to support and develop revenue, as well as to contain costs, RCS EBITDA, EBIT and net profit in the quarter were on the rise versus those achieved in the same period of 2020

Consolidated revenue in the quarter of € 174.4 million, with digital revenue accounting for

approximately 24% of total (20% in 1° quarter 2020)

Online advertising on RCS media grew by 18% in Italy and by 19.3% in Spain in the

quarter versus 1° quarter 2020

Positive EBITDA of € 9.5 million (€ 0.3 million in first quarter 2020)

Corriere della Sera leading Italian daily newspaper on newsstands with a total active digital

customer base at end March 2021 of 328 thousand subscriptions

Net Financial Debt of € 48.9 million, down by a further € 10.7 million versus 31 December

2020

Since April, advertising has started to grow strongly versus 2020, a period badly affected by

the health emergency, + € 5 million (approximately +45%) in Italy and + € 4 million

(approximately + 80%) in Spain versus April 2020.

Milan, 11 May 2021 - The Board of Directors of RCS MediaGroup S.p.A. met today and reviewed and approved the Interim Management Statement at 31 March 2021.

Income statement (€ millions)	31/03/2021	31/03/2020
Consolidated revenue	174.4	171.3
EBITDA	9.5	0.3
EBIT	-2.6	-11.8
Net result	-3.2	-6.1

Statement of financial position (€ millions)	31/03/2021	31/12/2020
Net financial debt1	48.9	59.6

1 For the definitions of EBITDA, EBIT, net financial debt and total net financial debt, reference should be made to the section "Alternative performance measures" in this Press Release.

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Group performance

The start of 2021 was still marked by the restrictive measures enforced by the authorities, both in Italy and Spain, to contain the health emergency which, in addition to the severe social impact, has had and is having repercussions on the organization and timing of work, on the Group's activities and on economic performance, resulting in a general context of great uncertainty.

After the Christmas season, Spain saw a spike in the number of cases that triggered the so-called "third wave". Containment measures were therefore adopted mainly at a regional level and "in patches", generally less stringent (regarding for example schools, which were always open, restaurants and bars and retail activities) than in Italy. From the second half of February, the situation has started to improve.

In Italy, the number of cases has risen since February, reaching a peak in the third decade of March, leading to the adoption of additional containment measures, including the suspension of school activities in red zones and further restrictions during the Easter holidays and the extension of those in place. The situation has started to improve since mid-April, and the containment measures are being gradually relaxed, with the reopening of restaurants, bars and other retail activities, albeit with well-defined opening time and service rules.

Against this backdrop, in the first three months of 2021, the Group continued to generate positive cash flows, reducing its net financial debt by € 10.7 million and achieved a positive EBITDA of € 9.5 million.

Group consolidated net revenue at 31 March 2021 amounted to € 174.4 million, up by € 3.1 million versus 31 March 2020. Revenue in the quarter still felt the brunt of the health emergency, due in particular to the decline in the circulation of sports newspapers, impacted by the closure of bars and the restrictions on the reading of newspapers there, and the performance of the advertising market in both Italy and Spain. As a result of the changed scope of consolidation, revenue in the quarter includes € 12.5 million from the full consolidation of the amounts of m-dis.

Digital revenue, which totaled approximately € 41 million, accounted for 23.5% of total revenue (19.9% at 31 March 2020).

Advertising revenue amounted to € 57.5 million (€ 62.9 million in first quarter 2020), a performance that remained largely affected by the abovementioned impact on the advertising market of the health emergency.

As from 1 January 2021, the transaction whereby RCS and Cairo Pubblicità contributed their respective advertising sales businesses to the equally-owned CAIRORCS Media, came into effect. Given its role as principal (pursuant to IFRS 15) in advertising sales contracts, the Group continues to recognize revenue earned from advertisers in the income statement. The deconsolidation of this business unit has therefore led to a reduction only in revenue from the sale of advertising space of third-party publishers (€ 2.5 million).

Total advertising sales from online media amounted to € 28.2 million in first quarter 2021, accounting for close to half of total advertising revenue (49% versus 39.3% in the same period of 2020). Online advertising on RCS media in the quarter grew by 18% in Italy and by 19.3% in Spain versus 1° quarter 2020. Starting from April, advertising sales began to show significant growth versus 2020, a period badly affected by the health emergency. Specifically, in April advertising on RCS media grew in Italy by approximately € 5 million (approximately +45%) and in Spain by

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approximately € 4 million (approximately + 80%) versus revenue in the same month of 2020.

Publishing revenue and circulation revenue amounted to € 88.9 million (€ 88.4 million in the first three months of 2020) and includes, from 2021, circulation revenue from the distribution of products of third-party publishers, following the full consolidation of m-dis Distribuzione Media (€ 7.8 million).

In first quarter 2021, both Italian newspapers retained their circulation leadership in their respective market segments. At end March, the total active customer base for Corriere della Sera (digital edition, membership and m-site) was 328 thousand subscriptions. As a result of the ongoing process of reviewing digital audience data collection for measuring the total audience of the publishing brands (print and digital), Audiweb to date has yet to publish the 2021 surveys, which is why the digital performance of the Corriere della Sera and La Gazzetta dello Sport brands is not shown.

In Spain, Marca and Expansion retained in first quarter 2021 their print circulation leadership in their respective market segments (OJD). elmundo.es was once again the leader in online information in March, with 24 million average monthly unique users (Comscore) and 64 thousand digital subscriptions, up by more than 20% versus the figure at end 2020. marca.com and expansión.com stood at 20 million and 7 million average monthly unique users respectively in March 2021 (Comscore). The Marca Claro portal, active in Latin America, recorded a strong growth in average monthly unique users (+25% versus the same period of 2020).

Sundry revenue amounted to € 28 million (€ 20 million in the first three months of 2020). The upward change is explained by the consolidation of the revenue (€ 4.7 million) of m-dis Distribuzione Media which, from 2021, is fully consolidated, and the revenue from certain sporting events that were postponed in 2020 due to the health emergency.

EBITDA in the first three months of 2021 amounted to a positive € 9.5 million (€ 0.3 million in first quarter 2020). Mention should be made that the Group's seasonality factors generally impact on the results of the first and third quarters of the year. Net non-recurring expense and income came to € -0.3 million (€ -4.7 million in first quarter 2020).

The RCS Group continued its efforts in 2021 to build up its publishing products on both digital and traditional channels.

In Italy, regarding the main initiatives only, La Gazzetta dello Sport offered its readers two issues of G Magazine, one dedicated to Luna Rossa's adventure at the America's Cup at end January, and the other to the new cycling season opened by the Milano Sanremo. Corriere della Sera introduced new podcasts: Incontri, L'Ammazzacaffè and "Radio Italians". New newsletters were presented during the quarter: for the titles "Cook", "Buone Notizie", "La 27esima ora" and "Corriere Torino". Numerous events were organized and held on the Digilive platform, including Yoga Academy and the Pianeta 2021 meetings on sustainability.

In Spain, regarding the main initiatives only, since January 2021 the English-language site "Marca Inglés" has expanded its range of information, extending it to include European competitions in sports other than football and providing also non-sport content. February saw the launch of a new section of elmundo.es: "Sostenibles" focused on green transition, reaching 500 thousand unique users and 600 thousand page views. A new section of Expansión was also launched in March 2021: Economía Sostenible, in the newspaper and on the website, on issues of corporate sustainability. In first quarter 2021, thanks to an increased presence of Radio Marca's audio content on marca.com and other digital platforms, Radio Marca increased its digital audience.

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The table below shows the trend of revenue and EBITDA in each business area.

(€ millions)		31/03/2021				31/03/2020
			Revenue	EBITDA	% of		Revenue	EBITDA	% of
			revenue		revenue
Newspapers Italy		85.5	5.8	6.8%		86.7	(1.5)	(1.7)%
M agazines Italy		13.8	(1.2)	(8.7)%		16.5	(0.8)	(4.8)%
Advertising and Sport		42.5	2.6	6.1%		41.9	(0.5)	(1.2)%
Unidad Editorial		46.4	0.5	1.1%		56.2	3.5	6.2%
Corporate and Other Activities	24.2	1.8	7.4%		8.9	(0.4)	(4.5)%
Other and eliminations		(38.0)	-	n.s.		(38.9)	-	n.s.
Consolidated		174.4	9.5	5.4%		171.3	0.3	0.2%

1. As from 2021, m-dis Distribuzione Media, previously consolidated at equity in the Newspapers Italy and Magazines Italy areas, following the purchase of a further 45% stake by RCS MediaGroup S.p.A., is fully consolidated in the Corporate and Other Activities area; as a result, the EBITDA figures at 31 March 2020 have also been restated and made consistent.

The activities on developing and enhancing the editorial offering were complemented by extraordinary actions taken on costs also to promptly adjust the company organization to the changed environment. The benefits of these cost containment actions in the first three months of 2021 amounted to approximately € 4.3 million, of which € 2 million in Italy and € 2.3 million in Spain.

EBIT for the three months came to € -2.6 million (€ -11.8 million at 31 March 2020). The performance largely reflects the above events commenting on EBITDA.

The Group net result in the first three months of 2021 came to € -3.2 million (€ -6.1 million at 31 March 2020, when it benefited from the capital gain of approximately € 5.8 million from the sale of investments; net of this benefit, the improvement is approximately € 8.7 million) and reflects, overall, the abovementioned performance.

Net financial debt stood at € 48.9 million (€ 59.6 million at 31 December 2020), improving by €

10.7 million versus 31 December 2020, driven in particular by operations. Net financial debt was negatively impacted by (i) the consolidation of m-dis (which carries a debt of € 4.3 million at 31 December 2020 and of € 13.6 million at 31 March 2021, due to the seasonal trend in working capital) and by (ii) the financial effects of the contribution to CAIRORCS Media of € 3.9 million.

Total net financial debt, which also includes financial payables from leases pursuant to IFRS 16 (mainly property leases), amounted to € 198.9 million (€ 214.5 million at 31 December 2020). Financial liabilities from leases amounted to € 150 million at 31 March 2021, down by € 4.9 million versus the same figure at 31 December 2020.

Mention should be made that, at their Meeting on 29 April 2021, the RCS shareholders approved the distribution of a dividend of € 0.03 per share, gross of tax, with coupon detachment date on 17 May 2021, for a total of approximately € 15.5 million.

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Business outlook

The start of 2021 was still marked by the restrictive measures enforced by the authorities, both in Italy and Spain, to contain the health emergency which, in addition to the severe social impact, has had and is having repercussions on the organization and timing of work, on the Group's activities and on economic performance, resulting in a general context of great uncertainty.

In Spain, starting from the second half of February and in Italy from mid-April, the situation has begun to improve and the containment measures are being gradually relaxed.

Both countries have launched and have now accelerated their vaccination campaign, which may lead to an improvement in the situation, as was and is the case in other countries that have been faster to implement this campaign to date.

During the course of 2021, the Group is meeting the public's strong need to stay informed through its information offering, ensuring a timely service to its readers and to all newsstands. The daily editions of Corriere della Sera and La Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy, and of El Mundo, Marca and Expansión in Spain, the Group's magazines and web and social platforms are playing a pivotal role in informing and reporting on this difficult phase, focusing on their mission as a non-partisan, trustworthy public service, and establishing themselves as authoritative players in daily paper and online information, with strong digital traffic figures. The total active digital customer base for Corriere della Sera, which reached at end March approximately 328 thousand subscriptions. In Spain, elmundo.es was once again the leader in online information in March, with 24 million average monthly unique users (Comscore) and 64 thousand digital subscriptions, up by more than 20% versus the figure at end 2020.

The developing situation and the potential effects on the business outlook, which will be constantly monitored also in the further course of the year, are unforeseeable at this time as they depend, inter alia, on how the health emergency plays out in the coming months, as well as on the effectiveness of the vaccination campaign and of the public measures, including the economic ones, implemented in the meantime and those to be implemented.

In any event, the Group believes it has adequate management levers to counter the impacts of the health emergency also in 2021 and thus confirm its medium-long term prospects.

In consideration of the actions already implemented and those planned, in the absence of tighter measures to contain the pandemic, an extension of their duration, or a significant expansion of the regions classified in the highest risk bands, the Group believes it can confirm the goal of achieving margins (EBITDA) in 2021 that are higher than those achieved in 2020 and a consequent further significant reduction in financial debt.

Developments in the health emergency, the overall economic climate and the core segments could, however, affect the full achievement of these targets.

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Under paragraph 2, Article 154-bis of the Consolidated Finance Law (TUF), Roberto Bonalumi, in his capacity as Financial Reporting Manager, attests that the financial information contained herein is consistent with the Company's document results, books

and accounting records.

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