Media RTL wants to earn more
RTL Group wants to increase its operating profit again this year. Among other things, the streaming services should contribute to this.
20.03.2025, 10:47
SDA
Adjusted for special effects, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITA) are expected to rise to around 780 million euros, as the TV group, which is part of the German media company Bertelsmann, announced in Luxembourg. This would mean a return to the level of 2023.
Meanwhile, revenue is expected to increase slightly to around 6.45 billion euros. However, this would require TV advertising revenues to remain at least stable, it said.
Tight advertising budgets
In the past year, tight advertising budgets and a lack of revenue from content production depressed the mood, causing Group revenue to stagnate at around 6.25 billion euros.
In contrast, the operating result (Ebita) fell from 782 million euros to 721 million euros due to lower results from the French M6 Group. RTL was thus in line with its recently lowered targets for the year.
On track with streaming business
Meanwhile, Group CEO Thomas Rabe is sticking to the targets for the streaming business until 2026: "Our streaming business continues to grow dynamically, we have noticeably reduced the start-up losses in 2024 and we are on track to become profitable by 2026."
In the coming year, around nine million people are expected to pay for streaming services such as RTL+ and M6+, bringing in around 750 million euros in revenue. As of the end of 2024, the Group had almost 6.8 million paying subscribers for RTL+ and M6+.
The forecast for content production Fremantle is different: The revenue mark of three billion euros is now expected to be reached in the medium term - previously, there was talk of 2026. RTL Group intends to pay its shareholders a dividend of 2.50 euros per share for the past year - compared to 2.75 euros the year before.
