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D MOSPECIAL Ringier in 2012 An Eventful and Exciting Year Profi t & Loss Account Encouraging Figures Digital Media Major Investments Annual Report 2012 table of contents prolog 3 Prolog: Michael Ringier Ringier Digital, pages 18–21 4 Ringier in 2012 Marc Walder, CEO Ringier digital 6 Ringier at a Glance 8 Business Performance Annabella Bassler, CFO 11 Profi t & Loss Account 14 Ringier Publishing 18 Ringier Digital | 1919 The World in Annual Report 2012 Your Living Room 22 Ringier Entertainment Ringier now does a quarter of its business online. The computer screen is many people’s fi rst port of call for whatever takes their interest – as this advertisement by Ringier’s Autoscout 24 online marketplace jokingly illustrates. photoblog 2012 30 Ringier Eastern Europe Photoblog, pages 52–53 Mental Images What appeals to us most? The classical beauty on the pristine beach? Or the artist 36 Ringier Axel Springer Media Hans Erni, who is completely up to speed, despite living in a world without radio or TV, smartphone or internet? Is it the image depicting a space between two worlds, a mask with no mask? Or the girl with the racing bike? The best pictures are always the ones that originate in our heads, inspiring us to create images of our own. 42 Corporate Responsibility hilippe Parreno is the sixteenth artist to design the to our company over the last fi ve years than were made P Ringier Annual Report. Our earlier choices have al- during the preceding 175. When my great-great-grand- 44 Major Participations ready placed signifi cant demands on our readers’ good- father Franz Emil Ringier replaced his wooden manual will, including as they have Richard Price’s dubious jokes printing press with a Johannisberg cylinder press, or and Richard Phillips’ Nazi lettering and naked women, when my grandfather invested heavily in the new type of 54 About the Artist not to mention Maurizio Cattelan’s report printed on la- intaglio printing technology he had himself developed, vatory paper. Yet no artist, through his work, has yet got they were certainly both taking an entrepreneurial risk. as close to Ringier’s situation as a company than Philippe Nevertheless, those were investments in a familiar, and 58 Epilog: Frank A. Meyer Parreno. well-defi ned, market, whose existing technology was Parreno is renowned for the way he brings together the being developed further. Cover: Szilvia Kovacs for Ringier Hungary’s IM fashion magazine most disparate individual media – be they fi lm, sculpture, The hundreds of millions of francs that we have invested Photos: All images in this report were performance art, music or text. He has deep roots in tra- so far have been devoted to a technology which is com- 52 | Annual Report 2012 originally published by Ringier Group media ditional culture, which is why he has been able to produ- pletely new, with applications that are completely new in 2012. ce drawings of truly amazing craftsmanship. He is also and consumer habits that are completely new. No-one someone who constantly questions everything, including knows exactly how people will use this technology in the his own exhibitions, and who always tries to create long term and how quickly today’s business models will Imprint something entirely new. One of his pieces at the Beyeler be replaced by new ones. Besides, traditionalists always Foundation museum, for example, makes music visible take longer than anyone else to understand change and put Publisher: Ringier AG, Corporate to the human eye by creating sound waves in a water-lily it into eff ect for their own benefi t. Ringier Eastern Europe, pages 30–35 Communications. Project Manager: Edi Estermann, CCO, Ringier AG. Project pool. That is why classical media companies can hardly be Coordinator: Myrta Bugini, Ringier He has also had the confi dence to make a fi lm about a classifi ed as internet pioneers. When I look at how our Ringier eastern europe Corporate Publishing and Design. footballer as popular as Zinédine Zidane and to show it at industry approaches innovation, I recognize four distinct Financial Communication: Annabella the Joggeli stadium in Basel. Beyond this, he has estab- phases, stretching out over many years. 1: Ignore. 2: De- Bassler, CFO. Art: Beatrix Ruf, Curator of the Ringier Art Collection. Wrapping lished a track record of planning and executing collabo- nounce. 3: Study. 4: Engage. Over the last few years, Rin- On Their Mettle paper concept and design: Philippe rative projects with other artists. Thus, while his work gier has probably been one of most aggressive media These are not easy times in Hungary and Romania. Yet it is precisely at times like this that companies really show their mettle. Ringier Eastern Europe has Parreno. Layout, Lithography: Michael has deep-rooted traditional attributes, Philippe Parreno enterprises in its approach to phase four. That is also done just that. Zwyssig, Premedia Swissprinters AG. is constantly engaged in imagining and developing new borne out in a recent Harvard paper about us. Proof-reading: Ringier AG, Editorial forms of expression. Our most important task now is that which Philippe Par- Services, Zurich. Translations: Nicholas Our situation at Ringier is very similar. We have both feet reno has successfully been accomplishing for many years: MacCabe, Zurich (English); Jean-Luc Ingold, Geneva (French). Paper: Annual fi rmly planted in our traditional print business and yet, to bring the most disparate media together. Of course, we Report: G-Print 115g/m2, Wrapping: Mango every day, we are constantly trying to imagine what the new will certainly never claim that there is anything remote- Satin 90g/m2. Printing: Ringier Print digital world might look like and how it will change traditi- ly artistic about our endeavors. However, the dimension Ostrava, Czech Republic. Wrapping, onal media. in which I think we may, and should, try to emulate Par- Mailing: Drahtzug Social Works, Zurich. That is why we regard it as quite natural to cooperate with reno is the human one. Our eff orts to analyze and to put Contact: Ringier AG, Corporate other companies, so that knowledge and risk can be into eff ect things which are diffi cult, which have never Communications, Dufourstrasse 23, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland, Phone +41 44 259 68 shared – even if we are competing with them in other been thought about before or which may even appear 39, Fax +41 44 259 86 35, [email protected], fi elds. When a family fi rm invests more than a billion impossible will be an important element of our day-to-day www.ringier.com. francs in the space of fi ve years, that is tangible proof that work in the years ahead. Those who are able to deal with Zurich, April 2013 it believes in its own future. Indeed, I would make so bold doubt, uncertainty and lack of clarity will be living in Annual Report 2012 30 | as to claim that we have probably made more changes extraordinary times. Marc Walder, CEO 2012 - An Eventful and Exciting Year For Ringier, 2012 was a year of major acquisitions and of decisions which will be signifi cant in shaping the Group’s future. Ringier’s transformation continued apace, its organizational structure was redesigned and a number of effi ciency-boosting measures were successfully put into eff ect. 2012 was certainly an eventful and exciting year. Our employees have achieved an enormous amount over the last twelve months, and we are proud of their work. tructural changes in the media Ringier’s stakes in Onet.pl and Jobs.ch strategic importance of its entertain- industry continue to have a are important milestones in Ringier’s ment businesses. That is why the S Marc Walder, 47, marked eff ect on Ringier’s busines- digital development. In 2013, they will Ringier AG’s CEO, Group also made major investments ses. Moreover, the high level of uncer- enable the Group to expand its digital chairs the Group here during 2012. With the new tainty in world markets and the revenues signifi cantly, growing them Executive Board. broadcaster Energy Basel taking to challenging trading conditions this to more than 25 percent of total sales. the airwaves, the Energy network has brought in its wake continued to Ringier completed a year of major was able to expand its coverage exert pressure on the Group’s core acquisitions by purchasing the online further. In German-speaking Swit- publishing activities. employment portal eJobs.ro. Inclu- zerland, its three stations – Energy However, by making substantial in- ding these three transactions, the Basel, Energy Bern and Energy Zurich vestments in its digital businesses, the amount the Group has invested in – now reach more than half a million Group was able to tap into new and transforming itself over the last fi ve listeners each day. Energy is now sustainable sources of revenue. years – by diversifying Switzerland’s most successful priva- Structural changes in the media in- into digital and other tely owned radio network. Despite dustry had a marked eff ect on new businesses – now the rapid pace at which Ringier is Ringier’s businesses during 2012, exceeds CHF 1.1 implementing its diversifi cation stra- continuing the trend witnessed in billion. tegy, the Group has no intention recent years. Moreover, the high level Ringier’s greater whatsoever of neglecting its extreme- of uncertainty in world markets and exposure to the ly valuable core business. The imple- the challenging trading conditions economic cycle has mentation of new business models this has brought with it continued to also signifi cantly and the rapid pace at which digitali- exert pressure on Ringier’s core pub- increased the zation is progressing are not in any a payment concept for the digital initiatives, which have contributed lishing businesses.