Month: November 2013

From 1 January 2014, national advertising sales for Radio Sportiva will be exclusively handled by Mondadori Pubblicità.

Following the recent acquisitions of Radio Subasio and Radionorba, the range of editorial products offered by Mondadori Pubblicità will expand further in male targets rounding out an increasingly complete, articulated system able to meet the communication needs of its clients.

The positioning in the radio sector will now reach an overall audience of some 10 million listeners in the average day, a development that is in line with the capillary expansion that, in a few months, has added three new stations to the existing stations R101, Radio Kiss Kiss and Radio Italia solomusicaitaliana.

“The addition of Radio Sportiva confirms our strategy of selecting editorial excellence in the radio sector,” declared Paolo Salvaderi, general manager of Mondadori Pubblicità. “We believe that this station, which has a unique format in the media sector, provides a great opportunity for us to reach a sharply focused and profiled target and to offer to the market a new player to include in communication plans. We have many plans currently under examination that we are certain will give a significant boost to the station and the market,” Salvaderi concluded.

With an average daily audience 695,000 listeners, Radio Sportiva was first launched in 2010 and is a local station of national interest. It is aimed at sports fans and provides real time news and background on the Italian Serie A and B, as well as the Lega Pro football leagues, in addition to news and detailed reports about the main events of all other sports.

Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. has announced that the prospectus (pursuant to Art. 5 of Consob Regulation n. 17221/2010 and subsequent modifications) regarding the contribution to Mediamond S.p.A. of the business concerning the sale of advertising for magazines and radio managed by Mondadori Pubblicità S.p.A. is now available at the company’s head office, Borsa Italiana and on the web site www.gruppomondadori.it (in the Governance section).

Mondadori and Horizons Unlimited – the Bologna-based company that runs MLOL (MediaLibraryOnLine), a network of more than 3,000 libraries in 15 Italian regions and in 4 foreign countries for the distribution of digital content – have reached an agreement to make the ebooks of the Mondadori Group available at Italian public libraries.

From next January, over 6,000 ebook titles from the catalogues of Edizioni Mondadori, Einaudi, Sperling & Kupfer and Piemme will be made available to the library system through the MLOL platform, adding to the 19,000 or so digital titles already available.

MLOL will manage a distribution channel for Mondadori aimed at all the (public, university and school) libraries in Italy and abroad, along with a dedicated shop and a series of tools that will make it possible to integrate the Mondadori digital titles with the catalogues of the libraries.

The ebooks produced by the Mondadori Group will be distributed on MLOL with the standard “one-copy-one-user” formula: in practice, a mechanism that simulates the library loan of printed books. This basic formula will enable single libraries to acquire a given title at full price and to make it available as a free remote download with a DRM of 14 days to users of the library. The aim of the Mondadori and MLOL project, however, is also to experiment in the future with new sales formulas based on the concept of “pay per view”.

“We are extremely pleased with this agreement,” declared Riccardo Cavallero, general manager of Trade Books at the Mondadori Group. “Libraries are a very valuable channel for the experience of digital reading that in this way will become even more open, shared and accessible. It means that ebooks can reach a wider public in an authentic process of democratisation,” Cavallero concluded.

“The entry of the Mondadori Group in the digital market for libraries completes a cycle begun by MLOL in 2009,” said Giulio Blasi, CEO of Horizons. “The inclusion of all of Italy’s leading publishers on MLOL marks a significant closing of the gap between the situation here and that in the United States, where 90% of public libraries and all academic libraries offer their users access to ebooks. Through MLOL almost half of Italian public libraries have access to the books produced by the country’s leading publishers. This means that Italy is among the leaders in Europe in the provision of digital library services, something of which we are extremely proud.”

According to Stefano Parise, President of the Italian Libraries Association (AIB), “this is an agreement that gives libraries access to the ebook catalogues of Italy’s leading publishing group. I hope that this example will encourage other publishers to do the same and to experiment with innovative formulas, while we wait for the legislative measures that will define the role and prerogatives of libraries also in the digital area. The AIB is committed to facilitating this development, in line with the recommendations of the international library organisations, the IFLA and EBLIDA.”

From this week Mondadori will strengthen its presence in video distribution thanks to agreements signed with RTI Interactive and Italiaonline.

More than 2,000 video clips produced by Donnamoderna.tv and Panoramauto.tv, with professional content conceived specifically for the web, will also be distributed by Videomediaset, the platform run by RTI Interactive.

At the same time Mondadori will make the content available also on the properties of Italiaonline: Virgilio.it , Libero.it and the women’s site Dilei.it.

With this operation, the video content of Donnamoderna.tv and Panoramauto.tv will be available to the entire audience of the digital properties of Mediaset, Mondadori and Italiaonline, reaching a total pool of over 23 million unique users per month, the equivalent of a 75% market reach (Source: Audiweb-View January-September 2013 unduplicated).

By exploiting complementary targets of interest, the new platforms will enable Mondadori to maximise the presence of its brands multimedia content, engaging new high traffic audiences and, in the case of Videomediaset.it, coming mainly from television.

The video content of Donnamoderna.tv and Panoramauto.tv will enrich the daily schedules of the RTI Interactive and Italiaonline sites with special sections and thematic channels and, with over 150 new original videos each month, production will mainly concentrate on areas of interest for women, the distinctive characteristic of Donnamoderna.tv, and the passions of a male audience, with a focus on cars, thanks to the contribution of Panoramauto tv.

In particular, Videomediaset.it and Dilei.it will also feature the tutorials produced by Donnamoderna.tv and dedicated to the world of cooking, with well-known chefs and food blogger; beauty, with professional make up artists, hair stylists and nail artists; and backstage coverage and videos from the fashion shows around the world, in addition to the production of 18 exclusive web series, a genre that is attracting more and more success in terms of audience and viral spread, and involves professional actors, web talents and experts.

On Videomediaset.it car enthusiasts can enjoy the videos of Panoramauto.tv, featuring all that’s new from the car shows, interviews with leading players from the automotive sector and detailed road tests of dream cars.

The Mondadori digital offer Mondadori will also include the tutorials of TuStyle.it that will oversee the production of videos focusing on shopping and targeted at women interested in style.

The agreement with RTI Interactive also foresees the possibility of watching on Donnamoderna.com a selection of on-demand video clips from the programmes broadcast by the Mediaset channels, enabling, on the one hand, users to watch or catch up with episodes of programmes broadcast the day before and, on the other, offering RTI an opportunity to expand and reach a complementary audience. A selection of Videomediaset.it videos will also be available on other Mondadori Group sites, including Panorama.it, Grazia.it, Tustyle.it e Panoramauto.it, further enhancing the publishing Group’s multimedia offer.

From today Grazia will also be published in Mexico: the new international edition of the magazine, which will be published fortnightly, is the result of a licensing agreement signed between Mondadori and Editorial Televisa.

This launch further expands the Grazia International Network, which for the first time will have an edition on the Americas. In particular, thanks to this partnership, the Mexican magazine market will be enhanced by the inclusion of an upscale brand that is already an established international representative of elegance and style Made in Italy.

“The launch of the 23rd edition of Grazia finally sees our magazine present also in the Americas,” declared Zeno Pellizzari, head of Mondadori’s International Activities. “We are particularly pleased about this partnership with Gruppo Televisa, Latin America’s leading media group, and we are confident that Grazia Mexico will soon be followed by other editions in the main countries in the continent,” Pellizzari concluded.

Grazia Mexico, edited by Fernanda Lebrija Garfias, will introduce readers in the country to the unmistakable mix of celebrities, fashion and lifestyle that has always characterised Mondadori’s historic fashion magazine.

“We are extremely satisfied with this partnership that brings Grazia to Mexico, the first country in Latina America to have an edition of the magazine. We are convinced that the characteristics of Grazia will be appreciated by both readers and advertisers, thanks to content that is distinguished for its high quality and the attention it gives to women’s real interests,” declared Mar Abascal, publisher of the magazine in Mexico. “Editorial Televisa is the world’s biggest Spanish-language publisher. We can therefore claim to have a clear idea of what Mexican readers want and this is why we are convinced that Grazia will very soon become the favourite magazine of women in our country,” concluded Mar Abascal.

The magazine, that will have a circulation of 100,000 copies and be distributed in Mexico and Central America, will have a cover price of 36 pesos (€2.00), and will be launched with a special promotional price for the first issue of 25 pesos (€1.40).

The launch of Grazia Mexico will be supported by a media campaign on TV, print, radio and outdoor, focused on the concept of Made in Italy.

Editorial Televisa is Latin America’s leading media group. It is the biggest magazine publisher and among the leading players in the newspaper sector, in addition to printing and the distribution of magazines and digital content. Editorial Televisa publishes more than 186 magazines, distributed through more than 80,000 sales outlets in Mexico and Latin America.

In the book by Tea Stilton titled The Blue Scarab Hunt (Edizioni Piemme) for the purpose of explaining the history of the ancient city of Thebes – currently Luxor – a map of the Nile Valley was published with no indication of the State of Israel.

This was never meant to be a geographic and/or political depiction of Egypt and/or its borders, but simply an identification of the place where the new fictional story of the leading character occurred.

Geronimo Stilton, with his book titled Il mio primo atlante (My First Atlas), has undertaken to describe the geographic layout of the area in a page with a political map where all sovereign states are clearly indicated.

We regret the error and we proceeded to stop the distribution of the book and pulped all the copies while in its next reprint, a new map will be attached.

The boards of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. and Mediaset S.p.A. have approved the general outline of the plant to integrate the advertising sales activities of Mondadori Pubblicità S.p.A., a subsidiary of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A., in Mediamond S.p.A., a joint venture established in 2009 and owned 50-50 by Mondadori Pubblicità S.p.A. and Publitalia ’80 S.p.A.

Specifically, the plan concerns the integration in Mediamond – which already manages the sale of advertising on the web sites of the Mondadori Group, RTI and third-party publishers – of advertising sales activities for magazine titles and the radio stations, currently managed by Mondadori Pubblicità S.p.A.

The operation will make it possible create, under a single company – Mediamond S.p.A. – the most complete, integrated advertising sales company for magazines, radio and the web in Italy.

For Mondadori this operation – which is part of a more extensive process of innovating the business model – will contribute to further reinforcing the Group’s leadership, thanks to a new approach that offers significant synergies and types of offer more in line with the new needs of the market. Advertising clients need to be able to respond to the needs of their potential customers across all possible platforms and at any time of the day: the new Mediamond, with digital, magazines and radio, will be able to help them in this regard.

For Mediaset the reinforcement of Mediamond makes it possible to profile the Group’s offer at the high end of innovation in the sector and to interpret the new needs of advertising clients. Companies will now find, within a single sales company, both the leading media for their sector of reference and the possibility of developing multimedia plans in order to ensure that their communication in more creative and effective.
In detail, the operation will involve:

(i) the contribution by Mondadori Pubblicità S.p.A. to Mediamond S.p.A. of the business activity concerning the sale of magazine and radio advertising for titles and stations run owned Mondadori and by third party publishers.

The business activity has been the subject of an evaluation conducted by independent experts;

(ii) an increase in the capital of Mediamond S.p.A. underwritten by Publitalia ’80 S.p.A. thereby maintaining the existing 50-50 balance of the ownership of Mediamond S.p.A. by the existing shareholders.

The activities of Mondadori Pubblicità S.p.A. will henceforth concentrate on the management of operations, i.e. the provision of operational support services for advertising sales.

The expected benefits of the operation aim to gradually absorb the losses made by Mondadori Pubblicità S.p.A. by improving the capacity to generate new revenues.

At the same time the Mediaset Group will see the enhancement of its advertising sales on its web sites that will be offered through a more experienced sales network in typically “vertical” sectors. The online commercial offer will be further enhanced by enabling clients to access, in both integrated and stand-alone ways, media that are complimentary to the web, such as magazines and radio. Mediamond, meanwhile, will not be active in the TV area: advertising sales on Mediaset’s free-to-air channels will continue to be managed exclusively by Publitalia and sales for pay TV channels exclusively by Digitalia.

Related parties

The operation is defined as being one between related parties: Mondadori Pubblicità S.p.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A.; Publitalia ’80 S.p.A., a company that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mediaset S.p.A.; Mediamond S.p.A., a company jointly owned (50-50) by Mondadori Pubblicità S.p.A. and Publitalia ’80 S.p.A..

The general outline of the operation has been approved by the boards of both companies, after receiving favourable evaluations by their respective committees of independent directors for operations with related parties, in line with the rules laid down by Consob regulation 17221 of 12 March 2010 and subsequently modified and integrated (“Consob Regulations”) and the relative procedures adopted by the boards of directors.

With regard and limited to the procedure adopted by the board of directors of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. concerning operations with related parties, it should be noted that the operation is defined as being of “significant relevance”, involving, with regard to the consolidated assets of Mondadori at 30 September 2013, a higher level of significance in the relevance to assets and liabilities, as identified, in line with art. 4 of the Consob Regulation, and endorsed (on a ratio of 2.5%) in the relative procedure adopted by the board of directors.

Following the definition of the terms of the operation, an inline with art. 5 of the Consob Regulation, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. will proceed with the publication of a detailed prospectus, in line with the provisions of the same art. 5.

With regard to the procedure adopted by the board of directors of Mediaset S.p.A. regarding operations with related parties, this operation is defined as being of “minor significance”. The internal committees of independent directors on operations with related parties unanimously agreed that the operation was in the interest of the company and its shareholders, as well as approving the substantial correctness of the relative conditions.

The definition of the operation, which is subject to the regular completion of information procedures foreseen by law for trade unions, is expected by the end of 2013 and to become effective from 1 January 2014, having secured definitive approval also by the relevant corporate bodies of the subsidiaries affected as well as the completion of the legal documentation for the contribution and the increase of capital of Mediamond S.p.A.

The Board of Directors of Arnoldo Mondadori S.p.A. met today, under the chairmanship of Marina Berlusconi, to examine and approve the interim report for the first nine months of the year to 30 September 2013, as presented by the Chief Executive, Ernesto Mauri.

HIGHLIGHTS 30 SEPTEMBER 2013

In a market that is showing no signs of improvement also in sectors of relevance for Mondadori, the Group continued to pursue activities aimed at changing the strategy, reviewing the organisation and effecting significant reductions in costs.

A business model was also defined that sees digital as a driver of development cutting across all areas in the coming years, with the inclusion of new and specific skills in order to strengthen technological know-how, digital marketing and e-commerce.

As part of the of cost reduction plan, in the third quarter further savings for a total of €80 million have been identified, confirming the target of saving €100 million by 2015. In September the effects of cost reductions in both staff (-8.6% net of restructuring costs restructuring) and other operating costs (-5.8%) were evident.

Figures to 30 September 2013 confirm the trend already evident in the first half.

The decline in economic performance, compared with the same period of the previous year, is attributable to the presence in 2012 of positive non-recurring items worth €8.9 million and in 2013 of non-recurring negative items worth €27.3 million; the latter are primarily attributable to restructuring charges: in particular, in the Magazines Area, a reduction in operating costs, together with the relaunch of leading titles, is expected to enable a recovery in profitability.

A comparison of the first three quarters of 2013 with those of 2012, shows a trend toward stabilisation in the decline in revenues and a gradual recovery of the fall in gross operating margins (before non-recurring and restructuring charges ): -17.3% in the third quarter compared with -48.9% in the first half of the year.

GROUP PERFORMANCE IN THE PERIOD TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2013

Consolidated revenues amounted to €931.2 million, a fall of 9.5% on the €1,028.4 million in 2012.

Consolidated gross operating profit net of non-recurring items came to €36.2 million, a reduction of 33.5% compared with the €54.4 million in the same period of the previous year.

Consolidated gross operating profit came to €8.9 million, a fall of 85.9% on the €63.3 million in the same period of the previous year.

The Group made a consolidated operating loss of €9.6 million, compared with a profit of €44.8 million in 2012, with amortizations and depreciations of tangible and intangible assets of €18.5 million (€18.5 million in 2012).

The Group made a consolidated loss before taxation of €26.2 million, compared with a profit of €32.2 million last year; financial charges during the period amounted to €16.6 million (€12.6 million in 2012).

The consolidated net loss for the period amounted to €32.3 million, compared with a profit of €16.3 million in the same period of 2012.

Gross cash flow in the first nine months of 2013 showed a deficit of €13.8 million, compared with a surplus of €34.8 million in the same period of 2012. The Group’s net financial position showed a deficit of €376.9 million at 30 September 2013 (-€346 million at 30 September 2012 and -€267.6 at the end of 2012).

Information regarding personnel

At 30 September 2013, permanent and temporary staff in the companies of the Group, totalled 3,539, a fall of 164 (-4.4%) compared to the end of 2012 and 204 (-5.5%) compared with September 2012, confirming the ongoing efforts at optimising the structures of the Group.

In terms of business areas, the biggest drop was in the parent company Arnoldo Mondadori Editore where, as a result of the joint effect of the early retirement of graphics staff, especially belonging to the Central Staff, and the restructuring plan of journalists of Magazines Italy, the total headcount was reduced by 8% compared with last year.

Also at the subsidiaries, the effect of the reductions in fixed costs has led to a reduction of 6% ​​compared with September 2012, a third of which in the Retail Area.

Total personnel costs benefited, net of non-recurring charges, as well as from a fall in the number of employees, also from the effects of various social safety nets, resulting in a reduction compared with the same period of 2012 of €17.3 million, or 8.6%. More specifically, the Parent Company recorded a reduction of close to 10%, the Italian subsidiaries more than 12% and Mondadori France more than 4%.

It should be noted that the restructuring plans of the Central Staff and Magazines in Italy of the parent company, as well as in the subsidiaries Mondadori Pubblicità and Press-Di, will continue, until April 2014 and May 2015 respectively, enabling further savings in the coming years.

RESULTS OF THE BUSINESS AREAS

· BOOKS
In the first nine months of 2013 the trade books market remained below the level of the same period of 2012 with a fall in terms of value of 6.3%. In this market context, the Mondadori Group confirmed its leadership in its market of reference with a market share of 26.8% in in terms of value (source: Nielsen).

During the period, revenues generated by the Books area amounted to €234.2 million, a fall of 10.5% from the €261.6 million the previous year; excluding the effect of the significant fall in revenues from the distribution of third-party publishers, the figure is 8.4%.

It should be noted that the revenues of the Group’s publishing houses were affected in the third quarter by a particularly penalising comparison with the same period of 2012 which benefitted from the great success of the EL James Fifty Shades trilogy. There was also a significant fall in revenues from third-party publishers. These effects were partially compensated by the success of Dan Brown and Khaled Hosseini and the ongoing double-digit growth in ebooks.

• MAGAZINES ITALY

The negative trend in the consumer magazine market continued in the third quarter; in particular, figures for August showed a fall in circulation of 12.4% (internal estimate), of add-on sales of 20.4% (internal estimate) and advertising sales of 24.3% (source: Nielsen, September).

In this context, in the first nine months of 2013 Mondadori recorded revenues of €253.1 million, a fall of 14.2% on the €295.1 million of the same period of 2012. This is attributable to reductions in revenues from:

• circulation (-9.9%), penalised by a fall in subscriptions and single copy sales;
• add-on sales (-12.2%), despite an increase in market share to more than 41%;
• advertising (-26.3%), in a seriously compromised advertising market and with a number of discontinuities;

and an increase in licensing revenues (+13.8%).

It should be noted that in the third quarter Casaviva, VilleGiardini, Panorama Travel and Men’s Health ceased publication, in addition to the changes of the first half (the closure of Panorama Economy and the transformation of Flair in a supplement of Panorama ).

During the period revenues generated by Mondadori titles were down 16%; on a like-for-like basis, i.e. net of the effects of the events mentioned above, the fall was 13.4%: in particular, advertising revenues were down 28.4% (22.8% on a like-for-like basis) and circulation revenues were down 9.9% (-8.2% on a like-for-like basis ).

Regarding the performance of the magazines, the excellent results of the main women’s titles were confirmed, Donna Moderna, Grazia and TuStyle all of which were relaunched in May, and performed very well during the summer, reaching, with the addition of the weekly magazine Chi, an average combined circulation of 1,200,000 copies, an increase of 37% compared with April.

During 2013, the websites of the main magazine titles of the Mondadori Group, confirmed an ability to attract a growing number of users and the interest of advertisers, with higher growth rates than the market, which fell by 2.6% (source: Nielsen).

In a still highly critical context, the Mondadori sites recorded growth of 6.2% compared with 2012, thanks to the performance of Donnamoderna.com (+5%), Grazia.it (+26%) and Panoramauto.it (+25%).

International Activities
In the first nine months of 2013, the volume of business generated by Mondadori’s international network grew by 6.3% compared with 30 September 2012. The improvement is mainly attributable to the Grazia International Network, which in February launched Grazia in Spain and Korea, and is currently working on new projects for further development. A few days ago the first international edition of Icon was launched in Spain.

Despite difficult market conditions, in the first nine months of 2013, advertising sales on behalf of international partners showed a slight improvement compared with 2012, in contrast to the local market also as a result of the expansion of the range of Mondadori’s International Business.

Mondadori is present in China with a 50% stake in Mondadori Seec Advertising Co. Ltd, the exclusive advertising sales company for the local edition of Grazia, which, in the first nine months of 2013, achieved revenue growth of 23% compared with the same period of 2012.

There was also a positive performance by the joint-venture Mondadori Independent Media, publisher of the Russian edition of Grazia, which, in the first nine months of 2013, recorded an increase in revenues of 9%.

In Greece, in an economic environment which remains extremely difficult, and an advertising market down 30%, Attica Publications in the first nine months of the year saw a fall in revenues of approximately 10.7%. Despite this, it achieved a positive result thanks to strong and consistent efforts to reduce costs and diversify revenues.

• ADVERTISING

In the first nine months of the year advertising investments in the market were down by 14.6% (source: Nielsen) compared with 2012, confirming the trend of recent years. Even the Internet which during these years of crisis, maintained a positive performance, was down (-2.6%).

Mondadori Pubblicità closed the first nine months with total sales of €105.1 million, a fall of -18.6% on the €129.1 million in the previous year.

Revenues from Magazine advertising was affected by the downturn of Mondadori titles (-28.4%), significantly affected by the closure of a number of titles, net of these changes, the fall was 22.8%.

The trend outlined, that is significantly better than the market (-24.3 %, source: Nielsen), is the result of two main phenomena: on the one hand the excellent results of the combined sale of advertising for Grazia, Donna Moderna and TuStyle, and the monthly cooking and furniture titles, and, on the other, the continuing difficulties in finding advertisers in other sectors, including in particular in the fashion industry.

With regard to sales for radio, the first nine months of 2013 closed up 32% thanks to the acquisition of the contract, starting in April, for Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana and, from September, of Radio Subasio, which was joined in October by Radionorba, enabling Mondadori Pubblicità to strengthen its presence in the sector with an offer of a total daily average of 9.3 million listeners.

The advertising relating to the Internet, managed by the joint venture Mediamond, performed much better performance than the market, with an 18.3% increase on the same period of 2012, thanks to the excellent performance of Grazia.it (+26%) and Videomediaset.it (+42%).

• MAGAZINES FRANCE

During the third quarter of 2013 the French consumer magazine market continued to face a difficult period with a downturn in both advertising and circulation revenues.

In this context, the revenues of Mondadori France at the end of September came to €262.9 million, a fall of 7.6% from the €284.5 million in the first nine months of 2012.

Mondadori France saw a fall in advertising revenues, in terms of value, of 11.1%, while, in terms of volume, despite a decline of 3.3%, it still performed significantly better than the market which was down by 6.9% (source: Kantar Media, for August). Mondadori France confirmed its position as the second largest operator with a market share of 11.2% (source: Kantar Media), an increase of 0.4%.

Circulation revenues, including newsstand sales and subscriptions, and accounting for around 72% of total revenues, were down by 6.5% compared with the same period last year.

Newsstand sales were down 5.7%, compared to a market that saw a fall of 7% in January- September 2013 (internal source/in terms of value).

During the period brand extension efforts continued with the launch of successful new products, including Closer Teen and Vital by TopSanté.

The focus on editorial quality remains a priority pursued with the new formulas for Modes&Travaux, Sport-Auto, Science&Vie Junior, Grand Gibier, Auto-Journal and Auto Plus. In addition new titles were launched in the games and a cooking sectors.

Mondadori has continued to invest in the digital sector bringing the audience for its sites to over 5 million unique users (source: Nielsen), an increase of 20% compared with the same period of last year. Revenues were up by 19.8% in the period.

• RETAIL

Starting from the third quarter 2013, following the redefinition of the scope of the business area, the results and assets of the direct marketing activity managed by Cemit Interactive Media are shown in the Corporate and other business section. The comparable figures to 30 September 2012 have therefore been adjusted and made comparable to the figures from the current year.

Revenues generated by the Retail area in the first nine months of the year amounted to €153.4 million, a fall of 3% on the €158.1 million of the same period of the previous year.

The Retail Area manages its business across the country through a network that, on 30 September 2013, comprised 565 sales outlets, ranging from directly-owned and franchised bookshops, Multicenter stores, Edicolè and book clubs.

In view of the ongoing recession, which has resulted in a further decline in revenues, the process of rationalisation has continued and has led to the closing of 32 outlets since the beginning of the year.

Also sales generated through the web site www.inMondadori.it recorded a fall compared with the first nine months of 2012, both as a result of increased competition from the different players in the market and for the general downturn in consumer spending for non-essential goods.

• RADIO

Advertising spending in Italy has been severely affected by the general crisis with all media more or less sharply affected compared with 2012. Radio, in particular, while remaining in a negative trough (-14.4% to June), in September picked up slightly at -12.1% (source: Nielsen) and showing, in recent months, pale signs of containing the decline.

In this context, advertising sales for R101 in September were essentially in line with the trend in the market showing, in addition to the downturn in the main product sectors – in particular the automotive sector – also the typically marked seasonality of the period: total revenues came to €8.9 million, a fall of 13.6% on the €10.3 million of the first nine months of 2012.

On the content side, in addition to the appointment of a new head of content, efforts continued for the implementation of the renewal and enhancement of formats with a series of targeted actions, some of which already defined, others in progress, aimed at enabling R101 to take advantage of the opportunities that will derive from the hoped for recovery in advertising spending.

RENEGOTIATION OF CREDIT LINES FOR A TOTAL OF €570 MILLION WITH WAIVERS ON EXISTING COVENANTS

Mondadori has renegotiated the credit facilities for a total amount of €570 million.

In particular, it has signed a new loan agreement with a syndicate of five banks for an amount of €270 million with maturities, for the same sum, in 2016-2017-2018 to replace existing credit lines with short maturities for a total of around €380 million.

Existing credit lines, amounting to €300 million, comprising a loan of €200 million granted by Intesa Sanpaolo expiring at the end of 2016, and by a €100 million loan granted by Mediobanca and expiring at the end of 2017 have also been renegotiated.

The “all-in” face value cost of all credit lines is 485 bps (+Euribor).

Waivers on the existing covenants net debt/EBITDA for 2013 and 2014 have also been defined to facilitate the processes of organisational restructuring and relaunching of the Group.

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE FULL YEAR

The actions put in place by the Group regarding the change in strategy and organisation and significant cost reductions, have affected all the businesses and will have more positive effects in the latter part of the year, for which we expect a level of gross operating profit (before restructuring charges and extraordinary items) in line with that of the same period last year.

As for the full year 2013, the ongoing lack of any signs of improvement in the market means that the gross operating result will be substantially lower than last year, also as a result of marked effect of non-recurring items and restructuring charges.

§

The executive responsible for the preparation of the company’s accounts, Carlo Maria Vismara, declares that, as per art. 2, 154 bis of the Single Finance Text, the accounting information contained in this release corresponds to that contained in the company’s formal accounts.

§

The interim report for the period to 30 September 2013 will be available from today at the the company’s headquarters, Borsa Italiana S.p.A. (www.borsaitaliana.it) and on the web site www.gruppomondadori.it (in the “Investor Relations” section).

Also today, the documentation relating to the analysts’ presentation of the results for the year to 30 September 2013 will be available on www.gruppomondadori.it (in the “Investor Relations” section) and www.borsaitaliana.it.

From tomorrow Icon, the Panorama fashion and lifestyle magazine, will also be published in Spain as a supplement to the national daily El País.

Icon Spagna will be the first international edition of the Mondadori title which, with this launch, underlines the success of a formula that in Italy has made the title a point of reference for male style and culture among leading fashion and luxury brands.

“This launch will give an additional boost to the international development of our brands,” declared Ernesto Mauri, chief executive of the Mondadori Group. “We are sure that, having created a highly successful system that has led to the publication of Grazia in more than 20 countries around the world, Icon can become for the market the most qualified interpreter of Italian fashion and elegance for men,” Mauri concluded.

Also with this new edition, that will be edited by Lucas Arraut Barroeta, Icon is aimed at readers who are attentive to trends in fashion, art, design and lifestyle, as represented by contemporary icons. For the cover of the first issue of Icon’s Spanish edition, a leading player from the international film scene, James Franco.

“The certified international success of Icon is a further proof that also publishing is an aspect of the excellence of made in Italy. This achievement is the result of the intelligent, continuous and never-ending efforts to improve the title made by Emanuele Farneti and his team since 2011. Panorama is consequently proud to accompany Icon in its new path and to stand beside the title for its future success,” said Giorgio Mulè, editor of Panorama.

“Just two years since the launch, Icon has become an international format and we are delighted with this development and proud to be able to work with a partner of such outstanding journalistic quality as El País. Together we will work to make Icon a point of reference for male style,” declared Emanuele Farneti, editor of Icon in Italy.

“We are enthusiastic to be the first international edition of Icon. The Spanish version is the best in terms of journalistic quality and photographic excellence, which are part of the nature of both Panorama and El País, and to which will be added the typical aspects of Spanish lifestyle which, in our view, will contribute to strengthening the brand,” underlined Lucas Arraut Barroeta, editor of Icon in Spain.

The magazine will be distributed to the readers of El País, a leading Spanish-language newspaper, on the first Thursday of each month, with a print run of 300,000 copies for ten months of the year.

Icon Spagna will also make its debut online at icon.elpais.com: a channel wholly dedicated to male lifestyle and an ideal point of encounter for readers of the print edition, with enhanced editorial content including interviews and multimedia content such as photo-galleries, backstage video clips and fashion shoots.

The launch of the new magazine will be celebrated with a party at the Salón de Baile del Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, and will be supported by a national communication campaign on TV, print, radio, internet and outdoor.

TuStyle, the fashion, shopping and news weekly edited by Marina Bigi, will be one of the protagonists of “Fashion Style”, Italy’s first fashion-based talent show to be broadcast on La5 from 11 November.

The Mondadori magazine, among the most popular and widely read by women looking for cool style suggestions and ideas, having been involved in the casting of the programme, has also created one of the challenges that the contestants will have to face: the TuStyle Test, in which the participants have to re-interpret, under the supervision of fashion editor Carlotta Marioni, one of the title’s fashion services.

TuStyle will assist the challengers with comments and detailed suggestions, also in the day-time phase, in which the teams of “Fashion Style” will be involved in fashion and beauty tutorials.

The talent show will conclude with the victory of one of the four teams. For the grand finale TuStyle will also provide one of the prizes: a service produced by the weekly’s fashion department together with the winners (a designer, a hair stylist, a make-up artist and a model) that will be published in the magazine and be seen and appreciated by its many readers.