ProSiebenSat.1 Media‘s second quarter revenues fell by 7% to €840M and earning were down 40%amid a challenged TV advertising market and sluggish economy.
A year ago, ProSieben delivered €907M in revenues for the second quarter, but though today’s figures were expected. Group earnings were €55M, down from €91M for the same period a year ago.
ProSieben noted that the sale of comparison site Verivox for around €17M in March meant the Q2 figures were further impacted.
“Especially in times of economic uncertainty, it is essential that we consistently drive forward our transformation,” said Martin Mildner, CFP of ProSieben. “We are pursuing effective cost management, expanding our reach across platforms and thus aiming to further consolidate our position in the market.”
Revenues at ProSieben’s Entertainment segment were also down 7%, to €570M, with ProSieben noting that “a reluctance to invest in advertising” was characterizing the market. However, streamer Joyn once again showed growth, with its AVOD sales up 62% year-on-year and SVOD revenues up 28%. Not only that, but distribution revenues were up as well.
ProSieben noted its Q2 channel market share among 20-59s was up from 19.4% a year ago to 21.3%, while Joyn was reaching 9.2 million monthly video views, up 31%. Viewing time also increased 29% to 12.6 billion minutes.
As ProSieben seeks to take a tighter grip on its financial management, a majority of its term loan tranches totalling €810M have been extended, along with its revolving credit facility until 2029. At the same time, the group will repay loan liabilities to the tune of €250M ahead of schedules.
ProSieben, which is currently the subject of a bidding war between its lead shareholders, expects a challenging second half to the year, but is predicting Entertainment advertising revenues in German-speaking territories will recover, along with the wider German economy.
