RTL cuts guidance a second time as ad sales remain weak

Bertelsmann SE & Co KGaA

08/11/2023 07:00

Nov 8 (Reuters) - Europe-wide broadcaster RTL  RRTL.DE 
has cut its annual revenue guidance for the second time this
year as the weak advertisement market keeps hampering the
company.   
    The commercial broadcaster that gets close to half of its
income from ad sales now expects revenue of around 6.9 billion
euros ($7.37 billion) in 2023, down from the 7 billion euros it
forecast in August. 
    It now guides for full-year adjusted earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of
around 900 million euros, down from the 950 million euros it
expected in August.    
    "European advertising markets are turning out to be softer
than we expected," said Thomas Rabe, RTL's chief executive, who
also heads its parent Bertelsmann  BTGGg.F . 
    The media firm now sees TV advertising revenue declining by
a mid-single-digit percentage in the second half of 2023, after
previously guiding for slight-to-stable growth.  
    The uncertainty of the European, and especially German, ad
market recovery in the current economic conditions is hounding
large media firms. 
    RTL's revenue dropped 6.9% year-on-year in the nine months
from January to September and stood at 4.66 billion euros.  
 
($1 = 0.9359 euros)
    

 (Reporting by Andrey Sychev and Louis van Boxel-Woolf; Editing
by Maria Sheahan)
 ((andrey.sychev@thomsonreuters.com;
louis.vanboxel-woolf@thomsonreuters.com))