highlight-communications.ch [email protected] · [email protected] PRATTELN/SWITZERLAND 23BNETZIBODENSTR. ·4133 AG HIGHLIGHT COMMUNICATIONS k +41 (0)61–816 96 96 96 96 (0)61–816 +41 HIGHLIGHT COMMUNICATIONS AG ANNUAL REPORT 2018 2018 ANNUAL REPORT ANNUAL KEY FIGURES in TCHF 2 018 2017 Consolidated balance sheet Balance sheet total 638,646 512,792 EVENTS Film assets 185,451 161,814 Cash and cash equivalents 52,530 186,553 Financial liabilities 149,004 77,172 2019 Equity 225,582 236,414 Equity ratio 35.3 % 46.1 % Consolidated income Sales 531,610 374,313 Cinema Cannes Film Festival May 14 – 25 statement W Film 364,362 315,625 Locarno Film Festival August 7 – 17 W Sports- and Event-Marketing 63,728 58,688 Venice Film Festival August 28 – September 7 W Sports – 104,242 Toronto Film Festival September 5 – 15 Profi t from operations (EBIT) 31,954 25,384 W Film 12,137 9,678 Football UEFA Europa League fi nal May 29 W Sports- and Event-Marketing 31,549 27,262 UEFA Champions League fi nal June 1 W Sports –4,421 – UEFA Super Cup August 14 Net profi t (Highlight shareholders) 18,391 22,731 Earnings per share (CHF) 0.32 0.41 Earnings per share (EUR) 0.28 0.37 Investor Interim reports May/August/November Relations Annual General Meeting June 20 Consolidated Cash fl ow from operating activities 173,477 139,503 German Equity Forum November 25 – 27 statement of cash fl ows Cash fl ow for investing activities –300,074 –140,130 thereof payments for fi lm assets –177,184 –134,765 Cash fl ow for/from fi nancing activities –4,236 90,569 thereof dividend payments –12,447 –19,951 Cash fl ow for/from the reporting period –130,833 89,942 Personnel Average number of employees 1,550 977 CONTENTS EVENTS IN 2018 02 – CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 80 FOREWORD BY THE CHAIRMAN 04 – Consolidated balance sheet 82 – Consolidated income statement 84 MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 06 – Consolidated statement of comprehensive income/loss 85 – Consolidated statement of changes in equity 86 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 07 – Consolidated statement of cash flows 88 – Notes to the consolidated financial statements 90 REMUNERATION REPORT 15 REPORT OF THE STATUTORY AUDITOR 159 REPORT OF THE STATUTORY AUDITOR 23 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 167 HIGHLIGHT STOCK 24 – Balance sheet 168 REPORT ON THE HIGHLIGHT GROUP’S SITUATION 30 – Income statement 170 – Notes to the financial statements 171 – Basic information on the Group 32 – Proposal for the appropriation of retained earnings – Economic report 36 and the legal reserves from capital contribution 174 – Report on business performance and REPORT OF THE STATUTORY AUDITOR 175 the situation in the segments: W FILM 38 EVENTS 2019 back inside cover W SPORTS- AND EVENT-MARKETING 44 W SPORTS 48 – Results of operations, net assets and financial situation of the Highlight Group 53 – Personnel report 58 – Report on risks and opportunities 58 – Forecast 74 1 Contents EVENTS IN 2018 Q1 Q2 JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY Two Constantin Film In mid-February, the The early evening series At the allocation of refer- At the Annual General Group productions at Constantin Film Group “Dahoam is Dahoam” ence funding for 2017 by Meeting for fiscal year once receive the Bavarian announces that it is achieves a consistently the German Federal Film 2017 in the middle of May, Film Award on January 19: further expanding its high double-digit market Board at the start of April, Highlight’s shareholders The audience award goes cooperation with the share in Bavaria. As a the Constantin Film Group approve all motions put to the team behind “Fack streaming service Netflix. result of this success, is named the most suc- forward by the Board of Ju Göhte 3” and the The high-end crime series Bayerischer Rundfunk cessful German producer Directors by a large majori- producer’s award to “Parfum” – a joint orders 555 new episodes for the eleventh time and ty. These include the distri- Kerstin Schmidbauer for production of Moovie from Constantin Televi- the best national distribu- bution of a dividend of CHF her adaptation of Rita GmbH, ZDF, and ZDFneo sion GmbH in the middle tor for the twelfth time. 0.20 per entitled share and Falk’s bestselling crime – was available worldwide of March. This daily This comes with reference the re-election of Bernhard novel “Grießnockerlaffäre”. on Netflix at the same format that was first suc- funding of around EUR 3.0 Burgener as President and time as its launch on cessfully broadcast in million for production and René Camenzind, Martin ZDFneo. Netflix also 2007 is therefore guaran- around EUR 0.69 million Hellstern, and Peter von secured the second teed to stay on screens for distribution. Büren as members of the window rights for until early 2021. Board of Directors. German-speaking Just a short time later, countries and will stream At the end of March, movie star Elyas M’Barek JUNE the series there approxi- Highlight Communications wins the “Romy” – the After several weeks of Bavarian Film Award for mately one year after its AG acquires a further Austrian film and TV shooting, the last scenes “Fack Ju Göhte 3” debut on German TV. 29.99 % stake in Constan- award – for “Best-Loved are taken for the comedy tin Medien AG, thus in- Actor”. This award honors “Eine ganz heiße Nummer The Constantin Film creasing its shareholding his performance in the 2.0” with Gisela Schnee- production “Dieses to 78.38 %. Since March Constantin Film block- berger, Rosalie Thomass, bescheuerte Herz” 31, 2018, the company buster “Fack Ju Göhte 3”. and Bettina Mittendorfer. starring Elyas M’Barek in has been fully consolidat- The sequel to the cult the leading role reaches ed and allocated to the At the end of April, the movie “Eine ganz heiße Producer’s award of the another milestone at the new Sports segment. entire “Fack Ju Göhte 3” Nummer”, which was seen Bavarian Film Award for end of February: It is seen team wins the German by around 1.3 million “Grießnockerlaffäre” by more than two million Film Prize in the category moviegoers in 2011, will people and therefore “Highest Attendance Film be released in German ranks among the three of the Year 2017”. movie theaters in 2019. most successful German theatrical movies of the At the end of June, past 16 months. Constantin Film AG an- nounces that the production firm Hager Moss Film GmbH will be acting as an indepen- dent unit under the banner of the Constantin Film Group moving ahead. The company produces theatri- “Dieses bescheuerte Herz” The successful series German Film Prize for “Fack cal and TV movies as well as was seen by more than two “Dahoam is Dahoam” will Ju Göhte 3” series, such as the Franco- million moviegoers continue to run until 2021 nia editions of “Tatort”. 2 Q3 Q4 JULY SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER The Constantin Film TV The new TV series “Die The ZDF crime series “Sauerkrautkoma” At the People’s Choice production “Bier Royal” Heiland – Wir sind An- “Die Protokollantin” continues its success and, Awards in Los Angeles, celebrates its world pre- walt”, an Olga Film GmbH – produced by Moovie in the middle of Novem- the international miere at the Munich Film service production for GmbH – garners a strong ber, becomes the first Constantin Film TV Festival at the start of Rundfunk Berlin-Branden- response on international movie in the Rita Falk production “Shadowhunt- July. The two-part event burg (rbb), debuts on TV markets: It is sold to series to hit the magic ers” is named the best TV miniseries was produced September 4 to excellent Australia, France, and the target of a million viewers. show of 2018 on by Moovie GmbH for ZDF prime time ratings on Netherlands even before The total number of November 11. It also wins and stars Gisela Schnee- ARD. The first four its first broadcast in tickets sold for all five three other prizes, berger, Lisa Maria Pott- episodes are seen by an Germany (October 20). installments therefore including “Best Actress” hoff, Ulrike Kriener, and average of between 4.05 A remake for the US increases to more than and “Best Actor”. The Marianne Sägebrecht. and 4.72 million viewers, market is also already in 3.4 million. People’s Choice Awards giving it total audience development. are voted for by the At the same time, filming shares of between 13.7 % audience and presented begins on “Ostwind – Aris and 16.7 %. To mark the 30th to the best in movies, TV, Ankunft”. The fourth anniversary since the fall music, and pop culture. installment of the popular At the end of September, of the Berlin Wall in 2019, “Ostwind” series was Constantin Film AG an- filming on the ARD spy The comedy “Der released in German movie nounces that its subsidi- thriller “Wendezeit”, also Vorname” performs very theaters at the end of ary Constantin Television produced by Moovie The new Rita Falk adaptation well in German movie February 2019. GmbH has secured the GmbH, began in Berlin in “Sauerkrautkoma” outper- theaters and is seen by forms its predecessor German remake rights to the middle of October. more than a million AUGUST the hit Israeli show “The The movie about a double people by the middle of “Sauerkrautkoma”, the Baker and the Beauty”. agent, played by Petra December. The Sönke fifth big-screen adaptation The fictional series broke Schmidt-Schaller, is Wortmann picture is taken from Rita Falk’s hit all ratings records in Israel inspired by real events. therefore the Constantin series, is seen by more and was streamed by the Film Group’s third to be than 180,000 moviegoers video-on-demand provider seen by more than a at (almost exclusively) Amazon Prime in more Winner at the People's Choice million people in 2018.