RTL Group reported a strong recovery in revenues in the second quarter as the TV advertising market recovered from the slump brought on a year ago by the coronavirus outbreak. Group revenue rose 35.8 percent to EUR 1.61 billion, after a drop of 4.2 percent still in Q1.
With growth of 13.7 percent over the first half to EUR 3.0 billion, RTL raised its full-year revenue forecast to EUR 6.5 billion from a previous estimate of EUR 6.2 billion. This includes the full consolidation of Super RTL from July and Eureka from May as well as the sale of SpotX and BroadbandTV.
Adjusted EBITA rose 87 percent year-on-year in the first half to EUR 483 million, and the margin was up 6.3 percentage points to 16.0 percent. Excluding losses from the streaming business, adjusted EBITA is back at the 2019 level, RTL said. The annual forecast for adjusted EBITA was raised to EUR 1.05 billion from EUR 975 million, and excluding streaming losses, should reach EUR 1.20 billion.
The net profit reached a record EUR 929 million in H1, up from EUR 156 million a year earlier thanks to one-time gains on divestments.
RTL said it also passed the milestone of 3 million customers for its streaming services, with subscriber numbers up 72 percent year-on-year. Paying subscribers for TV Now in Germany, which will be rebranded RTL+ this autumn and roll out internationally next year, increased 118.9 percent year-on-year to 2.029 million at the end of June, helped by the distribution partnership with Deutsche Telekom. Videoland in the Netherlands had 1.016 million paid subscribers at end-June, up 20.7 percent from a year earlier.
Streaming revenue increased 34 percent to EUR 107 million.
