European Media Giant Bertelsmann’s Revenues Soar to $21 Billion, But Profits Halve
Naman Ramachandran Revenues at European media giant Bertelsmann, the parent company of Fremantle, RTL Group, BMG and Penguin Random House, leapt 8.3% from €18.7 billion ($20.2 billion) in 2021 to €20.2 billion ($21.8 billion) in 2022. These are the highest revenues in the company’s history. While the company’s operating EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) was maintained at €3.2 billion, the same as the previous year, despite higher start-up losses from streaming, profits halved from €2.3 billion to €1.1 billion. In the previous year, revaluations at Bertelsmann Investments (€423 million after taxes), as well as gains on the disposal of video advertising platform SpotX and the revaluation of the Magnite [the advertising company that bought SpotX] shares (totalling €355 million after taxes), had led to the highest figure since 2006.