De Agostini

In 2008, the Publishing business, headed by the sub-holding company De Agostini Editore, saw a marked deterioration in results compared with the previous year, mainly due to the performance of the General Reference business in Italy and Partworks in Spain.

A net loss of EUR 26 million was attributable to the group for 2008, a decline of EUR 32 million on the previous year.

Key financial and operating performance indicators for the Publishing business are shown in the table below.

Revenues

Revenues in 2008, including from the joint ventures, totalled EUR 1,559 million, a decrease of EUR 57 million versus 2007, which affected nearly all the strategic business areas except School Texts.

The table below shows revenues for 2008, broken down by sphere of operations, compared with the previous year.

EBITDA / EBIT

In 2008, EBITDA for the Publishing business was EUR 20 million, a decline of EUR 23 million versus 2007.

This was mainly due to:

• a fall in instalment sales in Italy, which also suffered a marked deterioration in profitability (as the cost of goods sold and sales costs accounted for a higher proportion of revenues), combined with further write-downs of outstanding balances and stocks necessitated by the ongoing reorganisation of networks and forecasts of lower sales volumes for the next year
• the businesses managed by the Planeta–De Agostini Group joint venture, especially Partworks, which was hit by the significant deterioration in revenues and profitability

The negative impact on EBITDA for the year stemming from the above-mentioned businesses was partly offset by a marked improvement in Partworks (in other countries) and in Direct Marketing, thanks to carry-in from the launches of previous years and a more prudent level of investment in promotions and test marketing in countries that had shown signs of maturity and market weakness in recent years.

EBIT was EUR -2 million, a deterioration of EUR 33 million compared with 2007. This was due to the combined effect of the fall in EBITDA and the full impairment of goodwill relating to the General Reference business in Italy (EUR 13.8 million).

Net profit/loss

The net loss attributable to the group in 2008 was EUR 26 million and was calculated by deducting financial charges, tax and expenses relating to discontinued operations totalling EUR 24 million from the EBIT figure of EUR -2 million; the net loss attributable to the group in 2008 declined by EUR 32 million compared with the previous year, when a net profit of EUR 6 million was recorded.