Mediahuis, owner of titles such as The standard on NRC, has firmly established itself in the club of billion-dollar companies after a turnover increase of 14 percent to 1.13 billion. The group, which now operates in five countries, doubled net profit in 2021.
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Mediahuis’ group turnover rose by 14 percent to 1.13 billion last year. Operating profit rose even more sharply: by 36 percent to 166.1 million. This resulted in an operating margin of 14.7 percent. Net profit doubled to 117.3 million.
The turnover growth is partly due to Mediahuis’ active acquisition policy. In 2020, the company acquired the Luxembourg media group Saint-Paul Luxembourg (now Mediahuis Luxembourg) and the Dutch NDC media group (now Mediahuis Noord). Since the beginning of this year, Mediahuis has also been present on the German market, after the acquisition of the regional publisher Aachener Verlagsgesellschaft† The group is now active in five countries.
New acquisitions?
With a gross operating profit of 215.8 million (plus 25.8 percent) and a debt-free balance sheet, Mediahuis has the potential to venture into further acquisitions.
‘We are open to further steps, but in no rush. We look to the long term. Moreover, the opportunity must be there’, responds CEO Gert Ysebaert. The opportunities sometimes came faster than expected, says Ysebaert. The most successful acquisition was that of the Telegraaf Media Group (now Mediahuis Nederland) in 2017.
The publishing activities were still loss-making at the time of the takeover, but the company managed to turn the tide. ‘The company had lost its focus somewhat, but we have regained it and have taken efficiency measures,’ says Ysebaert. ‘And with The Telegraph we had a strong brand, supplemented by some strong regional titles.’
Mediahuis Nederland now accounts for 46 percent of group turnover and achieves an operating margin of 20 percent. Belgium accounts for 32 percent of the turnover, Ireland for 17 percent and Luxembourg for 5 percent.
More digital subscribers
Mediahuis derives most of its turnover and profit from the newspaper market, where the number of digital subscribers is increasing rapidly. The total number of subscriptions in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Ireland increased by 3 percent. The number of digital subscribers grew by 20 percent. One in four subscribers only reads digitally. If the combination of print and digital is also included, this is four out of ten subscribers (38 percent).
In Belgium, the decline in the number of print subscribers was fully offset by the increase in the number of digital subscribers (14 percent). Bee The standard more than half of the subscribers already opt for a fully or partially digital subscription. In the Netherlands that is at NRC slightly higher (six out of ten). In the Netherlands, the number of digital subscriber relationships increased by 18 percent. With a popular title like The Telegraph that’s four out of ten.
There are specific challenges in Ireland and Luxembourg. Ireland is mainly a loose sales market, which has suffered from the Covid restrictions. The independent.ie started selling digital subscriptions in 2020 and now has 43,000. Luxembourg is also ready for a digital catch-up. The growth of digital subscriptions is insufficient to absorb the decline in the number of print subscribers.
Podcasts
Podcasts are becoming increasingly important in news consumption. Mediahuis reached the milestone of 50 million listens last year. NRC Today is the most listened to podcast in the Netherlands. The Netherlands accounts for 31 million listens, Mediahuis Belgium for 10 million. It is unclear whether that is also a source of profit.
Mediahuis is also looking for new income through the expansion of Mediahuis Ventures. In a year and a half, it has already invested in four start-ups and scale-ups.
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