The quarterly season continues in Piazza Affari. Today is the turn of publishing with Mondadori, Cairo Communication and Poligrafici Editoriali, whose boards of directors have approved the accounts as at 31 March.
Stocks suffer on the stock market after the ok to the results for the first quarter of 2018: the worst is Poligrafici Editoriale, which loses 5,78%. Mondadori (-4,67%) and Cairo Communication (-3,25%) are also bad.
THE QUARTERLY OF MONDADORI
The company led by Marina Berlusconi closed the accounts for the first quarter with consolidated revenues down by 6,7% to 253,4 million euros. As explained by the group in a note, the contraction in turnover is primarily due to the performance of magazines "determined by an acceleration of the negative trends of the reference markets both in terms of circulation and advertising".
In detail, in Italy the segment reported -13,6% in revenues to 70,2 million with -11,6% in advertising and -8,4% in circulation, while in France there was a drop in 6,3% in with 75,6 million revenues due to -6,6% of circulation and -9,2% of advertising. This performance translated into a negative adjusted EBITDA of €2,1 million in Italy in the quarter and an adjusted EBITDA of +3,3 million in France (+3,6 million a year ago).
Adjusted EBITDA fell to 0,5 million from 4 last year, while the net result worsened from -9,2 million to -13,6 million. The net financial position was negative by 221,9 million (from 286,2 in the first quarter of 2017).
The targets for 2018 were also announced: consolidated revenues down slightly, adjusted EBITDA stable and a net profit down due to lower non-recurring positive components. Ordinary cash flow is estimated at 55-60 million, up from the previous forecast of 50 million.
THE CAIRO COMMUNICATION QUARTERLY
In the first quarter of 2018, Cairo Communication returns to profit. The company recorded a profit of 3,4 million euros against a loss of 2,2 million in the same period of 2017. Gross consolidated revenues settled at 301,4 million (against 289,8 million), while the 'Ebitda grew to 25,1 million (against 18,3 million).
RCS, continues the note from the group, "recorded margins in line with the 2018 result targets and growing strongly". In the quarter, the television publishing sector recorded "a strong increase in audiences of the La7 channel: +21% of the total daytime and +40% in prime time". A “confirmed” trend also in April and in the first days of May. Conversely, the Ebitda of Cairo Editore magazines dropped to 1,7 million (against 2,5 million).
THE QUARTERLY OF POLIGRAFICI EDITORIAL
Poligrafici Editoriale closed the first quarter with revenues down to 38,46 million euros (against 39,14 million in the same period of 2017). The net result records a loss of 649 thousand euros, an improvement compared to the "red" of 1,11 million in the first quarter of 2017. The gross operating margin is instead positive for 1,3 million (+32,4%), while advertising revenues 12 million increased (+2,1%), with an increase in national collection of 9,7% and online advertising of 11,7%.
Publishing revenues fell, from 25,6 to 24,3 million, while net financial debt settled at 30,2 million (30,9 million at the end of 2017). In today's meeting, the board of directors also approved the project for the merger by incorporation of the publishing company Il Giorno into Poligrafici Editoriale.
