Mediaset Group
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MEDIASET GROUP Interim Report 2000 Report on operating performance for the First half of 2000 MEDIASET S.p.A. - via Paleocapa, 3 - 20121 Milano Share Capital Itl. 1,181,227,564,000 entirely paid in Registered with the Commercial Register of Milan with n. 276785 (Trib. of Milan) Fiscal Code and VAT Number: 09032310154 Interim Report 2000 Report on operating performance for the First half of 2000 THE COMPANY’S STRUCTURE Board of Directors Chairman (*) Fedele Confalonieri Deputy-Chairman (*) Pier Silvio Berlusconi Managing Director (*) Giuliano Adreani Directors Franco Amigoni Tarak Ben Ammar Marina Berlusconi Pasquale Cannatelli Enzo Concina Maurizio Costa Mauro Crippa Gilberto Doni Adriano Galliani Alfredo Messina Jan Mojto (*) Gina Nieri Roberto Ruozi (*) Claudio Sposito Michel Thoulouze Board of Auditors Chairman Achille Frattini Statutory Auditors Francesco Antonio Giampaolo Riccardo Perotta Alternate Auditors Gianfranco Polerani Francesco Vittadini Independent Auditing Firm Deloitte & Touche S.p.A. (*) Members of the Executive Committee CONTENTS Board of Directors’ Report on the First half of 2000.................................................. 1 General economic trends and outlook..................................................................................... 5 The Mediaset Group’s financial results.................................................................................... 7 Drawing up criteria....................................................................................................... 7 Financial results.............................................................................................................. 7 Capital structure and balance sheet............................................................................ 14 Results of the Holding Mediaset S.p.A..................................................................................... 17 Investment ................................................................................................................................... 18 Other operations........................................................................................................................ 19 Mediaset Group structure and activities ................................................................................. 20 Commercial TV – Italy: advertising area .................................................................... 20 Commercial TV - Italy: broadcasting and content area ............................................ 22 Commercial TV – Abroad............................................................................................ 33 New media and telecommunications .......................................................................... 36 The personnel ............................................................................................................................. 40 New legislation with regard to television............................................................................... 41 Relations with the companies of the Fininvest Group and the Mediolanum Group .......... 42 Events occurred after June 30th, 2000.................................................................................... 42 Expected evolution of the activities ......................................................................................... 46 Independent Auditors’ Report............................................................................................ 47 Consolidated Balance Sheet and Income Statement as of June 30th, 2000 ............................................................................................................. 51 Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.......................................................... 59 Structure and contents............................................................................................................... 61 Main variations of the consolidation area and investments made during the first half of 2000....................................................................................................... 61 Group’s activities and legislation.............................................................................................. 62 Consolidation methods ............................................................................................................. 63 Evaluation criteria and accounting principles ......................................................................... 63 Conversion of financial statements denominated in a non-EU currency.............................. 66 Other information...................................................................................................................... 67 Comments to the main items Assets .............................................................................................................................. 68 Liabilities......................................................................................................................... 78 Memorandum accounts ................................................................................................ 85 Income Statement .......................................................................................................... 88 Attachments................................................................................................................................ 98 Interim Report 2000 Board of Directors’ Report on the First half of 2000 MEDIASET GROUP MEDIASET GROUP Board of Directors’ Report on of the First half of 2000 Dear Shareholders, in the first six months of 2000, the Group belonging to Your Company has shown strong growth, thus validating the positive trends which had already emerged in the first three months of the year. The sustained positive trend registered in the first half of 2000 is reflected in the following results achieved: consolidated net revenues amounted to Itl. 2,489.1 billion, a 15.0% increase against the first half of 1999 and the operating result reached Itl. 913.7 billion (against Itl. 723.8 billion in the same period of 1999), a 26.2% increase net of amortization and depreciation equal to Itl. 620.3 billion. The operating profitability therefore increased from 33.4% to 36.7%. Income before taxes and third Shareholders’ in- come equalled Itl. 901.5 billion against Itl. 752.8 of the first six months of 1999. The results in the first six months of 2000 included the effect of the proportional consolidation of the Epsilon Group, the Joint Ven- ture established by Mediaset and Kirch Media at the end of 1999. The effects on Mediaset Group’s mar- gins in the period of reference were negligeable and mainly due to depreciation of the goodwill acknowl- edged on some activities transferred into the newly established Group. The Holding Mediaset S.p.A. has closed the period of reference with an income before taxes of Itl. 551.4 billion, after amortization and depreciation totalling Itl. 317.4 billion. These results, which ideally extend the positive trend shown in 1999, reflect the strong decision of the Group to achieve the primary objective of profitability of its core business, an unavoidable condition to compete as leader in the three fundamental development drives which shall commit the Group in the up- coming years: contents, technology and international expansion. The main reasons which supported the excellent performance of the first half of 2000 are the strong growth achieved in TV advertising collection as well as the continuous focus on operating cost monitoring and reduction. These two elements can be ensured through an improved co-ordination of advertising and broadcasting activities, consistently with the new Group’s organization. The Italian national TV advertising market continues to show an extraordinary growth, thus benefiting, more than all the other traditional media (all also showing growth), from the huge investments planned for the TV sector by telephone operators and by the operators offering access and services linked with the Internet. With respect to this overall growth, which also involved other sectors such as the finan- cial/insurance sectors and the manufacturers of consumer goods, the strong demand of TV spaces fos- tered by both the new investors and the traditional users, who offer on-line services, provides the con- firmation that television is the privileged media to offer new brands and services for its coverage and efficacy. In addition to this, Mediaset also relies on an acknowledged ability in targetting the TV audience: in the first six months of 2000, Publitalia’80 achieved a significant increase (14.5%) in TV advertising collection towards third party customers, an excellent result which was also accompanied by the steady share rating growth. As matter of fact, the average share rating of the Mediaset channels during the day reached 43.2%, a 1.1% increase against the same period of the preceding year and despite the exclusive rights of live broadcasts of the European football Championship granted to the two main Italian competitors dur- ing the month of June. 3 In the first months of 2000, the Mediaset channels have been able to offer an extremely rich and balanced selection of programs, in which the presence of the Italian national fiction is consolidated (both in the se- rial version of Vivere and in the most traditional episodes reserved for the Prime Time) as well as the strong appeal of the majority of the entertainment shows. Moreover, quality formats, such as Verissimo