MediaForEurope sounds upbeat note on advertising sales
Adds share performance in paragraph 4, details from analyst call in paras 8-9
By Elvira Pollina
MILAN, Sept 19 (Reuters) -MFE-MediaForEurope MFEB.MI, the commercial broadcaster controlled by Italy's Berlusconi family, said on Thursday its advertising sales are set to beat expectations in the first nine months of the year, after posting a 6.7% rise in the first half.
The company, which runs TV businesses in Italy and Spain, said its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose by 12.7% to 136 million euros ($151 million) in the first six months of 2024, above a 11% rise it had previously guided for.
Gross advertising sales rose to 1.43 billion euros from 1.34 billion euros in the same period a year earlier, the Milan-listed group said.
Milan-listed shares MFEB.MI rose as much as 5% after the results. They were up 3.4% by 0815 GMT, against a 0.8% rise in the Italian All-Share index .FTITLMS.
"The trend of advertising sales in the first nine months remains above expectations and in line with that of the first half, despite the group lacking the programming of major sporting events", the company said.
MFE did not broadcast the Euro 2024 soccer championship and the Paris Olympics this summer but it managed to compensate with a richer programming schedule over the summer.
MFE confirmed its outlook for "markedly positive" earnings and cash flow this year, adding the scope of the growth will mostly depend on the size of advertising sales in the final quarter, when broadcasters strive to capture corporate spending in the run-up to Christmas.
In a post-results analyst call, chief marketing officer Matteo Cardani said "signals from October advertising sales were quite good".
However, he cautioned performance in the final quarter may be affected by a tough comparison with last year and market visibility remained low.
($1 = 0.8985 euros)
Reporting by Elvira Pollina; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Keith Weir
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
