Annual Report 04 2004 Key Figures Group Key Figures Group 2003 2004 Change in € millions IFRS IFRS year-on-year Revenues 2,321 2,402 3.5 % Net income 112 148 32.1 % EBITA1) 215 336 56.3 % EBITA margin 9.3 % 14.0 % EBITDA1) 290 433 49.3 % EBIT1) 194 316 62.9 % Total assets 2,115 2,392 13.1 % Equity 678 873 28.8 % Equity ratio 32.1 % 36.5 % Capital expenditures 159 131 - 17.6 % Cash flow from operating activities 317 305 - 3.8 % Earnings per share (in €) 3.26 4.66 42.9 % Dividend (in €) 1.20 1.20 Special dividend (in €) 0.25 Year-end share price (in €) 70.00 86.00 22.9 % Number of employees (average) 10,949 10,700 - 2.3 % 1) Adjusted for non-recurring items Revenues EBITA Net Income Revenues increased further in difficult market EBITA on historic record high Net income increased significantly in € millions in € millions in € millions 2004 2,402 2004 336 2004 148 2003 2,321 2003 215 2003 112 0 800 1,600 2,400 0 100 200 300 0 50 100 150 Cover photo: see page 8 Foreword / Management Board / Report of the Supervisory Board / Supervisory Board / Strategy / Highlights / Management Report / Divisions / Further Information / Financial Statements 1 Contents Foreword 2 Management Board 4 Report of the Supervisory Board 5 Supervisory Board 7 Photography Classics “ullstein bild” 8 Strategy and Principles 24 Highlights 26 Management Report Group and Axel Springer AG 28 Economic Environment 28 Business Development 29 Operating Results 30 Liquidity and Cash Flows 33 Balance Sheet 34 Proposed Appropriation of Profits 34 Employees 35 Sustainability Report 35 Risk Management 36 Subsequent Events 37 Outlook 37 Divisions 38 Newspapers 38 Magazines 40 International 42 Electronic Media 45 Printing and Logistics 46 Finance and Services 47 Further Information 48 The Share 48 Employees 50 Sustainability 51 Corporate Governance 52 Consolidated Financial Statements Group 56 Independent Auditor’s Report 57 Consolidated Balance Sheet 58 Consolidated Income Statement 60 Consolidated Cash Flow Statement 61 Statement of Changes in Equity 62 Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements 63 Glossary 86 List of Equity Holdings 88 2 2004 / Annual Report // Axel Springer AG Foreword At the beginning of 2004 I personally witnessed the catastrophe of Sharm First of all, much of the credit for our success goes to our highly motivated el Sheik from my hotel room while vacationing in Egypt. A passenger plane employees, who possess a high degree of expertise and are willing to make crashed directly onto the Egyptian coastline killing 150 people. At the end courageous decisions in the face of the crisis. Our success is also due to the of last year I witnessed the catastrophic floods in Asia, which claimed the far-reaching restructuring program carried out quickly and thoroughly dur- lives of more than 200,000 people, from a safe distance in central Europe as ing 2002 and 2003. It was also because were able to go against the grain of a newspaper reader and TV viewer. In both cases I was helpless and power- the economy as a whole and make investments in the future while many of less, in both cases I had to depend on information and explanations provided our competitors were struggling to overcome their own internal problems. by the media. Fortunately, Axel Springer AG was able to raise over € 40 mil- And it was because we saved money like misers. And because we launched lion for the survivors of the floods through the BILD relief organization “Ein the right concepts in the right market gaps at the right time. Herz für Kinder” at a gala event in cooperation with ZDF. The year 2004 however, which was clouded by many tragic events, was an extraordinarily The basis for all of this is the success of our core business, the success successful one for the company Axel Springer. of our editorial staffs, the advertising revenues generated by BILD and BILD am SONNTAG, the modernization of the content and design of DIE WELT and WELT am SONNTAG, the stabilization of our regional Group Headquarters Moves to Berlin newspapers, and the anticyclical performance of some of our newspapers. We were successful – at least in some segments – in overcoming the three What stands out among our activities over the last twelve months? The move biggest challenges facing our industry: declining circulation, the aging of of our headquarters from Hamburg to Berlin to be sure. The decision to trans- society and the increasing availability of free publications. These major chal- fer our headquarters and all administrative operations to Berlin was not sim- lenges will continue to confront us in the years to come. And I am convinced ply based on Axel Springer’s vision of the city as an intellectual center with that we will be more than ready to meet them. tremendous future significance. We are also convinced that by moving our headquarters to the German capital we will also enjoy a long-term location advantage for our publishing and business activities with even better pros- Successful Launches Continue pects for future success. The move also makes good business sense, because it provided us with an opportunity to streamline operations and improve the The success rate of our 24 new publication launches during the last two years efficiency of our central departments. is unusually high. But we must not allow this series of successes to lead us down the path of unrealistic expectations in the future. The list of accomplishments during the past year is long; the successes are extraordinary; and the results speak for themselves: our share price rose from We launched newspapers. In Hungary we introduced REGGEL, a regional € 70 to € 86, earnings per share from € 3.26 to € 4.66, revenues from € 2.3 bil- newspaper for the greater Budapest area modeled after HAMBURGER lion to € 2.4 billion, net income climbed from € 112 million to € 148 million, ABENDBLATT. In Germany we created WELT KOMPAKT, a smaller, and our EBITA after adjustment for non-recurring items of € 336 million is lower- priced and more current version of DIE WELT catering to new, young- the highest in company history. er target groups. And FAKT, the Polish daily introduced only one year ago, has seen its circulation grow to some 500,000 copies, thereby making it not only Poland’s largest tabloid but also the country’s largest newspaper Highest Earnings in Company History overall. How did we succeed in achieving the highest earnings in the history of our And we launched magazines. In Germany Axel Springer AG occupies the publishing house at the height of an ongoing economic crisis, and when top four places among the ten most successful newly established magazines. our industry is struggling with a structural crisis of its own? And how did Two new innovative publications especially stand out. AUDIO VIDEO we manage to do this despite massive investments aimed at generating new FOTO BILD, devoted to the field of consumer electronics, has achieved business? success in a former niche market that has now developed into a mass seg- ment. And TV DIGITAL, with a circulation of 1.3 million copies by the end of the year, virtually invented the segment for TV guides that cater to the new EBITA and Net Income 1985-2004 television generation of digital TV. in € millions 350 Successful Acquisition Strategy 250 And we did not stop at successful launches; we also made successful purchas- es. The acquisition of a stake of 14.5 % in Westfalen-Blatt-Verlag is a move 150 that will successively strengthen our position in a segment we know quite well – the regional newspaper market. We also acquired 30 % of PIN AG, 50 Germany’s second-largest mail handler. This not only opens the door to im- portant logistical options but gives us a foothold in the lucrative market of - 50 mail distribution. And we acquired 49.9 % of StepStone, the second-largest - 150 German Internet platform for jobs classified advertising. Together with real estate and cars, we have now gained access to the three large markets for on- - 250 1985 2004 line classified advertising. This move clearly strengthens our strategic posi- tion in the world of digital classified advertising. EBITA Net Income Foreword / Management Board / Report of the Supervisory Board / Supervisory Board / Strategy / Highlights / Management Report / Divisions / Further Information / 3 The establishment of publishing operations in China and Russia opens the door to two of the world’s important growth markets. Our rotogravure joint venture with Arvato and Gruner + Jahr – if approved by the European anti- cartel authorities – will create a European market leader that can play an active role in the consolidation process. As a result of a settlement reached during the insolvency proceedings of the Kirch Group, we saw our stake in ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG grow by 1.7 % without further financial invest- ment, we received a cash payment of € 60.3 million, and a receivable of € 325 million was acknowledged. The latter will be partially reimbursed in the coming years from the insolvency volume. Capital Market Communication Improved Dr Mathias Döpfner Whereas shorter reporting periods were put into effect in 2003, we intro- Chief Executive Officer duced quarterly reports at the beginning of 2004. The preparation of this an- nual report in accordance with IFRS one year earlier than is legally required is a step toward improving communication with the capital market. Stringent Cost Management After having presented examples of our launches and purchases in 2004, in closing I would like to offer you an example of what we have not done – and what we have learned from it.