After a positive start to the quarter, first significant
impact of Covid-19 in March
Regulatory News:
M6 METROPOLE TELEVISION (Paris:MMT):
1st Quarter (€ millions)
2020
2019
change Group advertising revenue
235.6
259.4
-9.2%
- of which TV advertising revenue
202.9
221.8
-8.5%
- of which other advertising revenue
32.7
37.6
-13.0%
Non-advertising revenue
85.7
86.3
-0.7%
Consolidated revenue1
321.3
345.7
-7.1%
For the first quarter of the 2020 financial year, M6 Group
posted consolidated revenue of €321.3 million, down 7.1%.
Multimedia advertising revenue, which includes revenue from the
Youth division integrated since September 2019, fell 9.2% as a
result of the sudden halt to consumer spending since the start of
the lockdown.
Despite the negative base effect (€4.7 million) related to the
termination of the M6 mobile by Orange contract at the end of June
2019, non-advertising revenue was stable due in particular to the
integration of the Youth division and the resilience of other
activities.
Consolidated profit from recurring operations (EBITA)2 stood
at €45.6 million, compared with €64.2 million in the 1st
quarter of 2019. This decline was due to the fall in advertising
activity and the absence of contribution by the M6 by mobile by
Orange contract (€4.7 million in Q1 2019), which were partially
offset by the implementation of a cost cutting plan effective
immediately. The agility displayed by the Group within this
deteriorated economic environment has enabled it to maintain a high
operating margin (14.2%).
(€ millions)
1st Quarter
2020
2019
change Consolidated revenue
228.9
238.6
-4.1%
o.w. advertising revenue
202.9
221.8
-8.5%
The TV advertising market, which began 2020 on a relatively
stable note, plummeted in March. The worsening of the Covid-19
epidemic and the introduction of lockdown measures led advertisers
to cancel numerous campaigns. As such, the second half of March was
marked by a fall of more than 30% in advertising time.
Within this unprecedented environment, TV advertising revenue
fell 8.5% over the quarter (down 11.8% on a like-for-like
basis).
However, French people have been spending more time watching
television since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Average
Individual Viewing Time rose more than 20% year-on-year in March
2020, standing at 4 hours 19 minutes, and even reaching 4 hours 38
minutes over the first five weeks of the lockdown, representing its
highest ever level3. As the ultimate shared viewing medium,
Television has the ability to bring people together, which is even
more in demand during difficult times.
Against this backdrop, the range of event-driven and family
friendly programming broadcast by M6 Group’s channels has proved
popular since the start of the lockdown. On M6 in
particular, Top Chef (with 3.6 million viewers) and Pékin Express
(3.2 million) for example both saw their audiences grow by 40%4.
The 12’45 (2.2 million) and 19’45 (3.9 million) news bulletins
recorded respective increases of 66% and 38% in their audience
figures compared with the start of 20205. During access primetime,
Tous en cuisine, launched on 24 March and presented live by Cyril
Lignac, recorded sharp growth in the timeslot, now achieving an
audience of almost 2.4 million viewers each evening6.
On 6play, the trend has been similar since the start of
the lockdown, with a year-on-year increase of 45% in the number of
videos viewed7.
(€ millions)
1st Quarter
2020
2019
% Consolidated revenue
31.5
35.5
-11.2%
After experiencing slight growth at the start of the year, the
radio advertising market fell sharply in March due to the sudden
decline in consumer spending following the introduction of the
lockdown measures. Against this backdrop, Radio revenue stood at
€31.5 million, a decline of 11.2% in relation to the first
quarter of 2019.
However, the Radio medium proved resilient. Over the January –
March 2020 wave, Listening Time per Listener remained high, even
increasing by one minute year-on-year and reaching 2 hours 47
minutes8.
Over this wave, the RTL Radio division strengthened its position
as the leading private radio group in France, marking the highest
growth amongst the leading industry players. In this way, its
audience share amongst listeners aged 13 and above recorded
year-on-year growth of 0.7 percentage points to 18.9%8:
- RTL, France’s leading radio station (equal with France
Inter), saw its audience share increase by 1.6 points to 13.4%. The
station achieved its highest ever level across all waves
combined.
- RTL2, whose breakfast show Le Double Expresso posted
record audience figures, maintained its audience share at 2.9% for
the entire day.
- Fun Radio achieved an audience share of 2.6%, a
year-on-year decline of 1 percentage point.
- PRODUCTION & AUDIOVISUAL RIGHTS
(€ millions)
1st Quarter
2020
2019
change Consolidated revenue
15.9
19.7
-19.5%
Revenue from the Production & Audiovisual Rights activity
stood at €15.9 million, down 19.5% year-on-year, due firstly to
the fall in international sales, which in 2019 had been boosted by
the sale of the rights for Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion,
and secondly to the decline in the film activity.
SND recorded just 1.5 million cinema admissions compared
with 2.2 million during the first quarter of 2019, suffering from
the significant impact of the closure of cinemas on 15 March. By
way of illustration, the film De Gaulle, released on 4 March,
achieved 0.6 million admissions in just 11 days.
(€ millions)
1st Quarter
2020
2019
change Consolidated revenue
44.9
51.9
-13.5%
Diversifications revenue totalled €44.9 million, a fall
of €7.0 million (13.5%), €4.7 million of which was related to the
end of the M6 mobile by Orange contract on 30 June 2019.
Furthermore,
- Since the worsening of the Covid-19 pandemic and the
implementation of the lockdown, M6 Digital Services saw the
audiences for its sites increase by 15%9, as did PasseportSanté.net
and CuisineAZ.com. Nevertheless, as with Television and Radio,
digital advertising revenue also suffered from the worsening
economic situation;
- Ventadis sales fell slightly. After a difficult start to
the year, home shopping (Home Shopping Service) held up well
in March, its wide range of household products proving popular
during the lockdown period. Best of TV maintained its
revenue levels despite the shutdown of its activities during the
last two weeks of the quarter, following the closure of numerous
points of sale.
- FINANCIAL POSITION & OUTLOOK
At 31 March 2020, Group equity totalled €901.3 million, compared
with €772.9 million at 31 December 2019, a significant increase due
in particular to the profit generated in March following the
combination of iGraal and Global Savings Group.
The Group had net debt of €5.1 million10, which led it to draw
down its authorised credit facilities at the start of the lockdown
in order to guarantee sufficient liquidity.
To consolidate this liquidity, the Executive Board has moreover
decided to suspend the payment of the dividend for the 2019
financial year, reserving the right to distribute it at a later
date if the economic recovery allows better visibility of the
advertising market outlook.
In line with the second half of March, activity on the French
advertising market remained at a standstill in April due to the
lockdown measures and their significant impact on consumer
spending. With the extension of the lockdown until 11 May,
advertising trends should continue to be greatly disrupted in May.
Although visibility beyond this horizon is very limited, the Group
expects a significant reduction in its advertising revenue over the
second quarter of 2020, the extent of which will depend on the
economic recovery that follows the lifting of the lockdown.
In order to deal with this unprecedented situation and to ensure
the best possible conditions for business recovery, the Group has
taken the necessary cost-cutting measures, in addition to UEFA’s
decision to postpone the Euro 2020 football championships.
For the second quarter, the Group has set itself the objective
of absorbing in the region of 50% of its fall in revenue with this
plan to reduce operational costs, which covers all its activities
and divisions.
Next release: Half-year financial information
on 28 July 2020 after close of trading M6 Métropole Télévision is
listed on Euronext Paris, Compartment A Ticker: MMT, ISIN Code:
FR0000053225
1 The information provided is intended to highlight the
breakdown of consolidated revenue between advertising and
non-advertising revenue. Group advertising revenue includes TV
advertising revenue (advertising revenue of free-to-air channels
M6, W9, 6ter and Gulli, and the 6play and Gulli Replay platforms,
as well as the share of advertising revenue from pay channels) and
the advertising revenue of radio stations RTL, RTL2 and Fun, and
the share of advertising revenue generated by diversification
activities (mainly Internet). 2 Profit from recurring operations
(EBITA) is defined as operating profit (EBIT) before amortisation
and impairment of intangible assets (excluding audiovisual rights)
related to acquisitions and capital gains and losses on the
disposal of financial assets and subsidiaries. 3 Source:
Médiamétrie Médiamat 4 Source: Médiamétrie Médiamat / Weeks 12, 13,
14, 15 and 16 vs. early March 2020 5 Source: Médiamétrie Médiamat /
Weeks 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 vs. early 2020 6 Source: Médiamétrie
Médiamat / Week 16 7 Source: Heartbeat / 16 March - 16 April 2020
data vs. 16 March - 16 April 2019 data 8 Source: Médiamétrie
126,000, January 1 to March 15, Monday-Friday, 5am-12am 9 March
2020 vs. March 2019 – Change in user numbers 10 The net cash
position does not take into account rental liabilities resulting
from the application of IFRS 16 – Leases.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200428005655/en/
INVESTOR RELATIONS Eric Ghestemme +33 (0)1 41 92 59 53
/ eric.ghestemme@m6.fr
PRESS Paul Mennesson +33 (0)1 41 92 61 36
/ paul.mennesson@m6.fr
M6 Metropole Television (EU:MMT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
M6 Metropole Television (EU:MMT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024