1st Half 2023 at closing 30 June 2023 – Consolidated revenue amounting to €266.4m, up by +10.3%
In the 1st half of 2023, Reworld Media (ALREW) posted revenue of €266.4m, up by 10.3% (+€24.9m) compared to H1 2022. This increase is the result of a strong surge in the BtoB division, up by 22.5% (+€26.4m), which offsets a slight decline in the BtoC division of 1.2% (-€1.4m). It was driven primarily by the acquisitions made in October 2022 of Unify‘s publisher activities in France (Marmiton, Aufeminin, Doctissimo, Les Numériques, etc.) and subsequently in January 2023 of the Grazia and Icon international brands and their media activities in Italy. The integration of these assets is an operational priority and a major strategic focus in the Group’s development and internationalisation. Over the 1st half, they contributed €26.3m to consolidated revenue, of which €22.3m to the BtoB division and €4.1m to the BtoC division. The proportion of Group revenue generated outside France rose to 29% (26% in H1 2022).
In organic terms[1], Group revenue consolidated at €240.1m, down by 0.6% (-€1.4m). The 1st half of 2022, which benefited from a strong post-Covid activity rebound, is thus a high basis for comparison. The BtoB division recorded organic revenue growth of +3.5% (+€4.1m), driven by good momentum in the affiliation and performance offers, on a digital advertising market that is slowing down but remains positive (+3.8%[2] excluding Search). Extending the trend observed in the 2022 financial year, the BtoC division has continued to rationalise its magazine circulation volumes and recorded revenue down by 4.4% (-€5.5m).
See table of figures presented in the pdf file
BtoC: a limited decline in revenue, continued rigorous management in an inflationary environment
In the 1st half of 2023, the BtoC division posted revenue of €122.7m, a limited decline of -1.2% (-€1.4m) and -4.4% (-€5.5m) on an organic basis.
In an inflationary context with a slowdown in household consumption, the Group has made it an objective to continue to rationalise its magazine distribution volumes in order to limit the anticipated impact of its rising industrial costs, particularly that of paper, on its profitability, and not to completely offset this drop through price increases, so as to maintain its market share and subscriber portfolio.
As a result, magazine sales were down by 2.6% (organic: -5.0%) compared with H1 2022, while the diversification offering (other contents, products and services) recorded growth of +28.6% (organic: +7.3%) in its sales. Unit sales, which account for 54% of the BtoC division’s revenue, were down by 0.8% (organic: -6.1%) and subscription sales were down by 1.5% (organic: – 2.4%).
In the 2nd half, the BtoC division will continue to apply rigorous principles in managing distribution, while continuing to develop subscription sales and diversify its offerings.
BtoB: record revenue, due to the combined effect of external and organic growth
In the 1st half of 2023, the BtoB division’s revenue reached an all-time high of €143.7m, growing by +22.5% (+€26.4m) and +3.5% (€+4.1m) in organic terms.
As at end-May 2023, the Group ranked 3rd among digital media groups in France, with an average proprietary audience of 32.9 million unique monthly visitors[3], up by 23.0%. The Group’s digital brands also have 77.5 million followers[4] on the social medias.
The affiliation and performance offers posted the most significant growth over the half-year, in line with market dynamic (+9%5 in affiliation). In a challenging economic environment, these offers enabled the BtoB division to respond perfectly to advertisers’ expectations of refocusing on performance topics, and to make up for a sluggish market in the traditional display (-5%[5]), OPS[6] (-7%5) and social (+3%5) formats.
The finalisation of Unify’s assets integration strengthens the BtoB division’s growth prospects for the 2nd half of the year. The Group continues to invest in the most buoyant monetisation drivers on the digital advertising market, and to capitalise on its position as leading media platform in France. The Group is confident in its ability to build an innovative offering that is perfectly in line with the expectations of a market which, despite the slowdown in growth in the 1st half, follows a very dynamic long-term trend.
This press release presents unaudited consolidated revenue figures, established in accordance with the regulations governing consolidated financial statements in effect in France.
Agenda: half-year results to be published on 20 September 2023.
[1] Consolidated revenue on a like-for-like basis for the 1st half of 2022 ended 30 June 2022, excluding the acquisitions of Unify and Reworld Media Italia, consolidated since 1 October 2022 and 10 January 2023 respectively.
[2] 30th edition of Observatoire de l’E-Pub, July 2023.
[3] Médiamétrie//Netratings, Global Internet Audience in France, average at end-May 2023 compared with average at end-May 2022, in monthly unique visitors.
[4] Total number of non-deduplicated subscribers to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and Twitch platforms, publisher data.
[5] 30th edition of Observatoire de l’E-Pub, July 2023.
[6] OPS: special advertising operations.
