 NRJ GROUP - 2007 sales
2007 sales of 359.7 million euros:
- A fall in radio turnover in a difficult market context
- Strong growth in television audience share and turnover
- Strong growth in like-for-like mobile telephony turnover
- Strong growth in broadcasting turnover
The NRJ Group's sales (excluding exchange operations) for 2007 reached 359.7 million euros compared to 398.3 million euros in 2006. i.e. a 9.7% fall (-7.9% on a like-for-like basis and at a constant exchange rate). In the fourth quarter, the Group's sales were 99.8 million euros compared to 119.0 million euros in Q4 2006. i.e. a 16.1% fall (-14.3% on a like-for-like basis and at a constant exchange rate).
In the fourth quarter, in a market that was still proving difficult for the sector overall, revenue from radio in France shows a slight improvement compared to the trend for the first 9 months. It came to 72.6 million euros compared to 78.8 million euros in Q4 2006. i.e. a 7.9% fall. In total, revenue from radio in France came to 239.6 million euros in 2007. i.e. a fall of 8.5% on 2006.
Revenue from international radio business, at 32.1 million euros, is up slightly (by 0.3%) on 2006 (+2.4% in Q4). It incorporates a positive consolidation scope effect of 2.7 million euros following the 50% consolidation of the sub-group, Nostalgie in Belgium, in 2007.
Revenue from television business continues to rise strongly. It amounted to 8.7 million euros in 2007 compared to 3.7 million euros in 2006 (+135.1%). In the fourth quarter, turnover reached 3 million euros, up 130.7% on Q4 2006. The move up-market of NRJ 12's new generalist programme schedule enabled the channel to cross the 2% audience share threshold in November (2.1%) and December (2.3%) (source Médiamétrie - Target 4 year-olds and over, equipped with DTT). The channel is thus now in fourth place among the new DTT generalist channels and represented a national audience share of 0.7% in December.
Revenue from telephony business amounted to 18.3 million euros in 2007 compared to 13.8 million euros in 2006 on a like-for-like basis, i.e. a 33.2% rise. In Q4 2007, turnover amounted to 5 million euros, up 43% on a like-for-like basis. Following the launch in mid-2007 of the NRJ Mobile PAYG offering aimed at young people, the mobile telephony division successfully launched its new "C le Mobile" offering in mid-November aimed at an adult public and marketed exclusively via CM-CIC's powerful network. Thus, at the end of December, NRJ Mobile had acquired nearly 600,000 clients since its launch, including nearly 35,000 subscribers (15,000 subscribers acquired in December alone).
Revenue from Non-Media business amounted to 41.5 million euros in 2007 compared to 62.6 million euros in 2006. Le Roi Soleil ['The Sun King'], one of the greatest musical success stories in France, played its final shows in early July at Paris Bercy. In 2008. the Group will pursue the development of artistic productions, with musicals and plays, and is also preparing a new musical, the first performances of which are due to commence in 2009.
Finally, the Group's broadcasting business continues to develop strongly, notably in the DTT broadcasting market. Its contribution to the Group's sales reached 18.2 million euros in 2007 compared to 12.8 million euros in 2006. i.e. a rise of 42.2%. In December, towerCast, the Group's broadcasting subsidiary, reached the threshold of the 1000th frequency broadcast on, and its total turnover came to 30.2 million euros (including turnover realised within the Group).
Recent developments and prospects
Over the last audience wave, the Radio medium reached its highest historical listenership levels (Source Médiamétrie, November-December audience, population aged 13 and over, during the week). In this context, the NRJ radio won a further 109,000 listeners compared to September-October 2007 with a listening period that 3 was minutes longer.
In television, DTT is pursuing its rapid deployment in France, both in terms of territorial coverage and household equipment levels. In 2009, DTT is expected to cover more than 90% of French population and virtually 100% by 2012. In this favourable context, the Group is pursuing the development of a fully-fledged television division with the national channel NRJ 12, which is applying for a Personal Mobile Television licence, the music channel NRJ Hits and a number of local channels, including the new DTT Ile-de-France (Paris region) channel, which will be launched early in 2008.
In telephony, NRJ Mobile is pursuing the acquisition of clients, notably with its post-paid offering. This will be boosted in the spring with the addition of innovative products aimed at the youthful target.
The Group will publish its 2007 annual results on 27 March 2008
(press release distributed in the evening after the Paris Bourse has closed)
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