The significant operational improvement in the businesses, the continued digital momentum and the good performance of advertising continued to boost PRISA’s figures over the first part of the year, despite the uncertain environment linked to the war in Ukraine. Thus, the revenues of the company, publisher of Five daysreached between April and June 177.6 million euros, or 20.2% more, a figure that rises to 388.2 million if we take into account the whole of the first six months and which represents an increase of 26.8% with Compared to the same period of the previous year.
For the president of PRISA, Joseph Oughourlian, the second quarter of the year was a complex period which brought socio-economic uncertainties of which there is still no visibility and which invite us to consider the rest of the year with caution. “However, the group’s results show a good evolution of our activities, both in the media, where the local presence and our positioning in Latin America have been exceptional, and in education, which continues to grow. For this reason and despite the geopolitical uncertainties, we see no reason to modify the objectives set for the end of the year, which mark revenues between 770 and 800 million euros, with an adjusted Ebitda margin on a scale from 15 to 17%. “, it is said.
Commitment to digital transformation continues to drive digital revenue weight across all company accounts, increasing by 30% and accounting for 35% of the total.
EBITDA, excluding remuneration, reached 49.7 million euros between January and June, which amounts to multiplying by 2.8 the figure for a year earlier. Regarding the net result, the group recorded a negative amount of 14 million during the semester, which represents an improvement of 75.1% compared to the losses of 56.2 million in the first half of 2021.
The exchange rate had a positive effect of 13.4 million euros on the turnover of the first semester, mainly due to the revaluation of the Brazilian real and the Mexican peso.
Net bank debt amounted to 833.5 million euros at June 30 against 756.1 million at the end of the year, mainly due to the purchase of the fixed shareholding from minority radio stations.
The new financial culture implemented in the company, focused on operational improvement and the optimization of liquidity management, has enabled an improvement in cash generation, excluding exceptional items, of 19.5 million euros compared to the first half of 2021. The total cash, however, was affected, mainly, by the extraordinary payments derived from the purchase of the package of shares to the minority shareholders of the radio or the refinancing costs, leaving a negative balance of 65.1 million euros.
The company continues to work with an eye on liquidity and as of June 30, cash stood at 126 million euros, with 103 million lines of liquidity unavailable.
Company
By business segment, in the second quarter, the Education division recorded revenues of 74.1 million euros, or 49% more than between April and June 2021. The return to school normality in Latin America and the he firm commitment to the digital model of education (ED-Tech) allows Santillana to continue consolidating its growth. Over the whole half-year, Santillana’s revenues increased by 53.7% compared to the previous year, recording a total of 202.5 million euros.
Santillana’s EBITDA without remuneration was multiplied by 2.6 during the semester, to 38.6 million euros. Over the April-June period, gross operating income without remuneration was negative at 6.6 million euros. Despite this, it represents an improvement of 30.4% compared to the same period in 2021, also taking into account that it does not represent a decisive quarter due to the seasonality of the activity.
The private education division, focused in particular on digital transformation (Ed-Tech), is the engine of Santillana’s activity, representing 70% of its total turnover. At the end of June, Santillana already had 2,494,000 subscribers, which represents an increase of 33.3% compared to the first half of 2021 and 26% since December. These figures confirm Santillana’s leadership in Latin America as the only platform present in 19 countries on the continent.
The group’s media division continues to grow. Thus, revenues for the second quarter ended reached 103.7 million euros, which represents 5.6% more than in the same period of the previous year. Over the full half, revenues increased by 6.3% to €186.2 million.
Regarding EBITDA excluding remuneration, PRISA Media recorded a figure of 14.3 million euros during the half-year, which represents an increase of 69.4% compared to the same period of the previous year. If we consider the EBITDA from April to June, it was 14.4 million, or 8.7% more than in the second quarter of 2021.
Two factors explain these figures: advertising and digital engagement. Advertising contributes 76% of total revenues and over the first half of the year as a whole, it increased by 6.5%, maintaining a positive figure between April and June (+3.3%). Despite the uncertainty caused by the crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine, advertising has behaved in line with expectations in Spain and has shown an extraordinary evolution in countries such as Colombia, thanks to the continuous improvement in market share of the cluster.
Broadcasting is another of PRISA Media’s revenue streams. They reached 27 million euros over the half-year, which represents an annual growth of 3.2%, thanks in particular to the growth of digital subscriptions to EL PAÍS. The newspaper has a total of 219,832 subscribers, of which 179,626 are digital exclusives. In the first half of the year, the subscription model racked up over 43,100 net signups. So far this year, total subscribers are up 45% from the first half of 2021, while digital subscribers are up 65% year-over-year.
For its part, the AS newspaper continues to dominate the global sports press market with nearly 100 million unique browsers and a strong presence in Spain, the United States, Colombia and Mexico.
The digital bet on audio also continues to drive the numbers up. PRISA Media recorded 47.5 million downloads of podcasts during the semester (+51%) and an average of 79 million monthly hours of diffusion (+19%). Figures that consolidate PRISA as the leading Spanish-speaking audio producer in the world.
The radio continues to strengthen its leading position. With 9,294,000 daily listeners in Spain, PRISA Media is the group with the greatest reach in the national market, reaching 40% of the total radio audience, and with a wide lead over its competitors, according to the latest data released. published by the General Media Study (EGM). This leadership also extends to Colombia and Chile. In Mexico, Radiopolis is also posting excellent results.
Commitment to sustainability
The group continues to make progress in its commitment to integrating Sustainable Development into all of the company’s management. In the first quarter of the year, he announced the creation of a specific commission within the board of directors, appointed Rosa Junquera as director of sustainable development and has focused in recent months on the development of the strategy management of the organization, a path linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. .
PRISA has had a strong commitment to sustainability since its inception. It has been part of the United Nations Global Compact since 2008, became a member in 2013 and has been part of the Executive Committee of the Spanish Network since 2016. In June, PRISA received Contigo Somos+ recognition, which distinguishes the entities that are members of the Global Compact that succeeded in attracting new members to the network, while contributing to the dissemination of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In addition, the Group is present in various indices linked to ESG criteria such as the FTSE4Good or the MSCI. And recently, BME’s Technical Advisory Committee approved the incorporation of PRISA into IBEX Gender Equality Indexselection made up of 45 listed companies that have a stronger presence of women, both on their board of directors and in general management.
board decisions
Change. PRISA’s Board of Directors has agreed to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting for September 7, to approve the appointment of Andrés Varela Entrecanales as Owner Director, representing Global Alconaba, and to fill the vacant position on the of the board due to the dismissal of Roberto Alcantara.
Shares. In addition, the board agreed to the termination of the American Depositary Shares program on PRISA shares (ADS) which traded on over-the-counter (OTC) markets in the United States. In 2014, and with the board’s approval, the ADS was delisted on the NYSE and similarly its registration with the SEC was terminated. Since then, ADS have been trading on OTC markets.