RTL GROUP S.A. 
The Bertelsmann subsidiary announced on Wednesday that revenues should only reach 6.3 billion euros in 2024 and not the previously targeted 6.6 billion euros.
In addition, the adjusted operating profit (Ebita) will now be at the lower end of the planned range of 700 to 800 (previous year: 782) million euros. The development at the production subsidiary Fremantle is also slowing RTL Group down. Fremantle revenues fell by 7.1 percent to 1.4 billion euros in the first nine months of the year, while total Group revenues fell by 0.6 percent to 4.2 billion euros.
Total revenue for continuing operations fell noticeably by 5.5% in the third quarter alone - "due to lower revenue from Fremantle's content business and lower advertising revenue". In the first nine months of the year, RTL Group's TV advertising revenues amounted to EUR 1.6 billion, an increase of 2.3 percent. However, after a positive first half of the year, there was a decline of 2.3 percent in the summer quarter. The main reasons for this were the effects of the Olympic Games in August, which were broadcast by the public broadcasters, and the weakening economy in Germany and France.
RTL and Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Rabe spoke of a "challenging economic environment". Meanwhile, streaming revenues remained the growth driver, increasing by 40.6 percent to 277 million euros. "Our streaming services continue to grow dynamically in all key dimensions: paying subscribers, usage time, subscription and advertising revenue." Rabe said he was confident that the seven million paying subscribers mark would be reached by the end of 2024. At the end of September, there was a year-on-year increase of 22.8% to 6.5 million users.
(Report by Klaus Lauer, edited by Sabine Wollrab. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).
