Month: May 2021

Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. (LEI Code 815600049A1F9AFE6666) announces the purchase on the MTA (Electronic Stock Market), in the period from 24 to 28 May 2021, of no n. 38,313 ordinary shares (equal to 0.014% of the share capital) at an average unit price of €1.6620 for a total amount of €63,677.08.

These transactions were made under the authorization to purchase treasury shares approved by the Shareholders’ Meeting of 27 April 2021, and as part of the purchase programme to service the 2021-2023, 2020-2022 and 2019-2021 Performance Share Plans, the start of which was approved by the Board of Directors on 13 May 2021 (as per the disclosure made on the same date also pursuant to Article 144 bis of CONSOB Regulation 11971/99, and to Article 5 of EU Regulation 596/2014).

The following table details the purchases made per day in the above period of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. ordinary shares, ISIN Code IT0001469383:

Date	Quantity	Average price (euro)	Amount (euro)
24/05/2021	10,000	1.6443	16,443.00
25/05/2021	11,385	1.6463	18,743.13
27/05/2021	11,419	1.6817	19,203.33
28/05/2021	5,509	1.6859	9,287.62

The purchases were made through the authorized intermediary Equita Sim S.p.A. (LEI Code 815600E3E9BFBC8FAA85), independently and with no influence from the Issuer as regards the timing of the purchases.

Following the purchases made so far, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. holds no 228,151 treasury shares, corresponding 0.087% of the share capital.

Purchases in detail in the complete pdf.

Great success for the INTERNI Designer’s Week 2021, the event organised by the Mondadori Group magazine edited by Gilda Bojardi, that ran from 12 to 23 April as part of Milano Design City, the urban exhibition dedicated to industrial and furniture design, and representative of the culture of design and innovation.

Twleve days of meetings, interviews, and debates, both in person and online, focused on the know-how of Italian industry, sustainability and the circular economy in production and consumption.

“The excellent success of INTERNI Designer’s Week, which was joined by over 50 of the main Italian furniture companies, two main partners, AUDI and Eni, and 100 designers, is a strong signal for the city, for the economy of the country and for a lively sector – such as that of design – which proposes and produces and which has not allowed itself to be beaten down. Indeed, thanks to their participation and their tireless desire to recover, they made it possible for the event to be realized “, says Gilda Bojardi, director of INTERNI.

Thanks to an articulated communication schedule – a guide with a calendar of all of the events, in both a printed and a digital version, a digital daily, the Interni Design Journal, banners hung around the city and a press campaign on both newspapers and magazines, out of home print & digital and a led wall DOOH circuit, as well as the introduction of Audience Targeting communication, in partnership with the digital advertising company AdKaora –, INTERNI was able to amplify new ideas and products from the world of design through the use of all available platforms, both on and offline.

In addition, enhanced social media activity, with the production of over 300 posts, led to a significant increase compared with the 2020 edition of the INTERNI Designer’s Week – including a +87% rise in reach on Instagram – with figures that are expected to rise even more in the coming months.

There was record traffic also for internimagazine.it with a +127% increase in unique users. This important result was obtained thanks to the revamping of the web site, which now offers clearer and more immediate use. The new features include a totally new menu, enhanced with new sections – for example, architecture, design, interiors, video – and, on the home page, three big up-front features covering the day’s highlights and, above all, companies’ products. In fact, it was the companies who played a key role in providing information to the target of reference, with an ad hoc section and an increasingly circular editorial plan, developed along with social media. Finally, there is background detail related to news and a monthly space for thematic dossiers on production launched in May and a special on kitchens and that will continue in June with a focus on sustainability.

Just a few weeks from the launch of the new site, advertising revenues have tripled, demonstrating that internimagazine.it is already a must and that companies in the sector are mature and ready to face the future digital challenges with a brand that since 1954 has had an international and multimedia vocation.

The site and social media platforms will be on the front line also during the FuoriSalone in September. INTERNI – which has always been a supporter of companies for the spread of design ideas, opinions, stories and the people who generate them – will use its communication platform to provide maximum visibility to all of the new collections and product previews. Plus, there will also be real time updates from the big Creative Connections event, organised by the magazine at the University of Milan and the Orto Botanico in Brera.

 

 

 

 

Mondadori Retail, the company that manages Italy’s most extensive chain of bookstores, continues its development strategy with the opening of con 10 new sales outlets across the country.

The new Mondadori Bookstores – both directly managed and franchised – that will open in the coming months will be supported by a plan to strengthen the offer, digitization and the launch of a training programme for booksellers.

“In a year that has been characterised by great dynamism in the book sector, we think that it is a real priority to invest in both the development of physical stores and the enhancement of services,” declared Carmine Perna, chief executive of Mondadori Retail. “Preference will be given to medium-sized shops, managed directly in the larger towns and cities and as franchises in smaller centres, with the aim of responding to the cultural needs of the local communities with an offer the corresponds to the customer. We will also offer specific training to our booksellers and new digital tools to encourage and expand the relationship with readers across the country,” Perna concluded.

A new Mondadori Bookstore has opened in Milan, within Bicocca Village. This directly-managed shop will be a point of reference for book lovers with over 10,000 titles available, from fiction to non-fiction, classics and comics, a sector dedicated to kids and young adults, with films and toys, and s selection of quality stationery, gift boxes and gift cards.

Another new opening took place at the end of May in Pontecagnano (Salerno): where the nee Mondadori Bookstore will enhance the offer of the Centro Maximall with the best of Mondadori’s offer of culture and entertainment.

By the end of July other new Mondadori Bookstores will be opened in Portogruaro (Venice), in the Adriatico2shopping mall and in San Martino Buon Albergo (Verona), inside Le Corti Venete, to be followed in the autumn by another three directly-managed stores in central-north regions.

Also franchised openings will continue: following those in March and April in Cava de Tirreni, L’Aquila, Avella, Naples and Frascati, new affiliated booksellers will open another three Mondadori Bookstores in the centre and south of Italy before the end of the summer.

As well as reinforcing the shops, the Mondadori Retail strategy is focused on enhancing specific market segments, expanding the in-store assortment with the introduction of the Just Comics format: an in-store comics factory, to give more visibility to a publishing area that is meeting with increasing public interest.

Just Comics is already present in Milan with an entire floor dedicated to the segment in the Rizzoli Galleria book shop and the Mondadori Megastore in Piazza Duomo, in the Mondadori Bookstores in Arese, Padua, Bologna, and  both the Via Appia and Fiumicino stores in Rome, and with an extensive section in the main shops of the chain, as well as on www.mondadoristore.it. With a selection of over 10,000 comic and illustrated titles, that go from manga to graphic novels and superheroes, it will be a new point of reference of all comics fans and everyone who wants to discover a world full of stories.

Mondadori Retail has also launched an extensive training programme for booksellers, which aims to reinforce the skills of the teams in the directly-managed stores, by enhancing important aspects of the relationship with readers, from when they arrive in the shop until they make a purchase. For the franchise chain, a series of meetings will begin in the autumn aimed at providing booksellers and the entrepreneurs who have decided to affiliate with the chain with the tools and knowledge necessary to develop their skills.

Particular attention is also being given to digital services, which are increasingly central in the relationship with readers and the buying process, which have been designed around the needs of new consumers. The entire Mondadoristore.it catalogue – with over 1 million titles, including books in Italian and in original languages, school textbooks, eBooks, eReaders, films in DVD and Blu-ray, music of every kind, toys, gift ideas and stationery products – is accessible also through free multichannel services, selecting between the Pick Up Point, Prenota e Ritira (Order & Collect) and Invia a casa (Delivery) options.

There is also an expansion of the range of new cashless services, such as Scalapay, available from June, which enables customers of the online channel to pay by instalments, and a  pay by mail solution, which will be up and running by the end of the year, to pay remotely for purchases made in store.

The logistics area – essential to ensure an increasingly efficient service for both customers and booksellers – is also being upgraded, with the optimisation of the entire process – from orders to delivery– with the autumn introduction of dropshipping, an innovative distribution model that makes it possible to reduce delivery times.

Donna Moderna, brand leader in the women’s magazines segment, is launching #OneGenerationWoman: a special issue in which the magazine edited by Annalisa Monfreda gives space and a voice to five different generations. From the silent generation to the women of the ’50s, through Generation X up to the post-millennial girls and Alpha: five generations that today are increasingly searching for a common language and interests that are ageless and can stimulate dialogue in which all of them can both learn and teach something.

“We looked at what each of these generations can give to the others, what visions of life, of work, feelings, money, the environment can contaminate women of different ages. We believe that there is much to be gained from comparison, exchange, experience. And we hope that this issue will stimulate the curiosity of each generation about the others,” declared Annalisa Monfreda, editor of Donna Moderna.

An issue with two covers and a two-way option of reading that allows for two different journeys: on the one hand the view of the women known as boomers by the youngest generation, with their stories and their great experience to be transferred and related to the later generations; and, on the other hand, the voices of the post-millennial girls who are changing the way we live and see the world and becoming an inspiration for women of all ages.

Two different perspectives, represented by two exceptional personalities selected by Donna Moderna as symbols of their generations.

The star of the cover dedicated to the silent generation is Licia Fertz, known on Instagram with the profile “Buongiorno nonna”. Licia is a 91-year-old “granfluencer” whose charisma and energy have made her an authentic social media star. She posed for a fashion shoot for the magazine with a determined look, starting from the studded-leather on the cover .

The face on the cover dedicated to Gen Z is the singer-songwriter Gaia. At 23, she was the winner of the 19^th edition of Amici, and is now one of the most popular young artists on the scene, with some 750,000 followers on Instagram, over 160 million streams, two platinum and one gold discs. A symbol of the young women of the new generations, on the pages of Donna Moderna she interprets vintage pieces, a cult of more mature women.

Both covers were curated exclusively for Donna Moderna by the Spanish designer Pablo Pasadas.

There are a number of in-depth themes in this special issue. From health and prevention with an interview with gynaecologist Alessandra Kustermann, the first female medical director of the Mangiagalli Maternity Hospital in Milan, who explains how, over the years, women have struggled to change their approach to such issues.

Extensive space is also given to the issue of work, with a number of stories of family businesses where the baton is passed from generation to generation. And then reverse mentoring, a tool to enhance diversity between senior and junior figures in companies.

Also in the pages of the special issue is a “dictionary of slang”, to discover the most frequently used words and expressions of the new generations and advice on the young people to follow on social networks: from the singer Ultimo to the blogger Sofia Viscardi, the fashion influencer Emanuele Ferrari (@emilife) to the YouTuber Noa Planas, and from the actress Ginevra Francesconi to the TikToker Khabi Lame.

The two visions that are the connecting thread of the two sections of the issue will intertwine at the centre of the magazine in a special feature on beauty with a test to discover the biological age of one’s skin and the most suitable beauty routine for every woman that will also be on Instagram.

Dialogue between the generations started in recent weeks on social networks with a call to action that involved the brand’s community of about 11 million users (Source: Nielsen Media Impact Data Fusion December 2020), who were invited to tell their stories, which were then also published in the magazine.

The launch of the new issue of Donna Moderna will be supported by an advertising campaign created by Casiraghi & Greco, and planned on print, radio, social media and out-of-home digital.

Beauty partner of the Donna Moderna skin test is the Laboratoire Native Group with the Lierac brand, which has always been inspired by innovation in aesthetic medicine to offer women targeted and effective solutions, Roger & Gallet, which has been producing timeless fragrances for 150 years, and Phyto, which for 50 years has been taking care of the health and beauty of hair through the use of highly concentrated plant extracts.

Everyone should read. Everyone can read.

Mondadori Libri per Ragazzi presents its first collection of high-interest books to help its readers develop their skills. A graphics project intended not only for readers with learning difficulties, but for everyone who finds reading challenging. A fun way to help children discover the pleasure of reading and make reading child’s play!

• What exactly is a high-interest book? The features of the high-interest graphics project are:
  use of the leggimi font developed in 2006 by Sinnos in collaboration with neuropsychiatrists, speech therapists and teachers; designed to be easier to read and intended specifically for people with reading difficulties;
• the line spacing and spaces between letters are wider than usual;
• the text is always aligned on the left and there are no word divisions;
• spacing to indicate paragraph divisions or narrative sequences, in order to facilitate understanding and give readers achievable objectives.

20 May 2021
The first four books in the collection

Il diritto di sognare by Sarah Pellizzari Rabolini:
Bea feels she is always second-best, but when she hears the story of Claudette Colvin who, before Rosa Parks, refused to give up her seat to a white woman but has been largely forgotten, she learns to come to terms with grading. Sarah Pellizzari Rabolini is an Italian teacher and journalist. She has written novels, poetry and short stories and received a number of awards.

Un salto tra le stelle by Daria Bertoni:
Stella is looking forward to starting her artistic gymnastics training again and there’s a wonderful piece of news: she will be a member of the Gazzelle competition team! Daria Bertoni has worked as bookseller at the Libreria dei Ragazzi in Milan for many years. With Mondadori she has published Stelle in equilibrio and Libera. Un’amica tra le onde.

Scuola di mostri by Sabrina Guidoreni:
It’s the first day at school and Giò is worried. His father says starting something new is always a great adventure, but he’s not so sure. Sabrina Guidoreni was born and lives in Bologna. She studied at Bottega Finzioni, and is a nursery-school teacher and indefatigable reader.

Il bambino fiocco di neve by Viviana Mazza:
The moving true story of Wang Fuman, the little boy who was determined to go to school at any cost. Viviana Mazza is a journalist on the foreign desk of “Corriere della Sera”. She was one of the first people in Italy to tell young people about Malala Yousafzai in her book La storia di Malala.

Focus and Focus Junior, the Mondadori Group brands, leaders in the popular science segment, are the media partners of “IllusiOcean™”, an exhibition developed by the Milano-Bicocca University, in collaboration with the National Museum of Cinema in Turin, dedicated to the wonders of the sea.

This initiative will enable Focus – Italy’s most widely read magazine, with a total audience of 6.4 million readers and users and a multimedia communication system that includes the web, a TV channel, social media and events – to strengthen its commitment to safeguarding the planet, through the promotion of the sustainable development goals of the UN Agenda 2030 aimed at readers, students and teachers that will continue throughout the year.

The exhibition has been conceived with the aim of raising public awareness of the marine environment and its creatures, using the fascinating world of illusions capable of altering our perception of reality in a fun and surprising way.

This itinerant project, that will start on 1 October in Milan and have a digital life, thanks to an exclusive collaboration with Focus that will offer users the opportunity to visit the exhibition on its website: with an immersive experience that users will be able to navigate within “rooms of illusions” and discover a range of curiosities about the sea and its inhabitants.

Constantly in support of exclusive events related to the world of science, the Mondadori Group’s contribution to the sector revolve around Focus, Focus Junior, Focus Pico and Focus Scuola will also accompany readers in the coming months and throughout the entire period of the exhibition with a rich programme of initiatives: insights, digital workshops, webinars and special content from the magazines, on social media and the web.

“When I met Professor Paolo Galli from the Bicocca University he told me about the exhibition he had in mind, and I immediately proposed a partnership with Focus,” explained Raffaele Leone, editor of the popular science magazine, leader in the sector. “The sea and its protection, the professor’s special subjects, are familiar topics for us at Focus. Optical illusions are also a form of magic that has always fascinated us and, coincidentally, when I met Galli we had a cover that was hitting newsstands precisely on optical illusions. From that happy alignment of the stars, the exhibition could not but be a joint endeavour. The partnership is part of a wider project of rooting Focus in the territory to make it a publishing phenomenon that, starting from the printed edition, becomes increasingly multifaceted. This initiative with the University Bicocca is a perfect example.”

FOCUS: SPECIAL ISSUE, WEBINARS AND ACADEMY

To coincide with the opening of the exhibition Focus, in collaboration with the Bicocca University, will dedicate a large in-depth special to “Life underwater” in the issue on newsstands from 21 September.

Objective 14 will be a topic on which high school students will also compete in a series of meetings organised in the autumn by Focus Academy, a Focus project which aims to attract children to science and history through online educational activities, in line with the school-work alternation aims defined by the PCTO convention.

In addition, the magazine will organise a special webinar designed especially for students but open to all readers, dedicated to Objective 14 of the 2030 Agenda which focuses on the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

FOCUS JUNIOR ACADEMY EVENTS

Already this month we will start from the events of the Focus Junior Academy, the Focus Junior didactic workshop for primary and lower secondary school children. The May events, which are already fully booked, are dedicated to enabling students to discover the fantastic world of corals and how to protect them: three days of lessons during which the classes will build, together with journalists, an in-depth feature that will be published in the magazine and on the web from 21 June.

Another event for Focus Junior readers will take place in July with a feature made with fascinating and surprising images of underwater illusions.

“Our young readers are very attracted to the underwater world and the life of marine species,” said Sarah Pozzoli, editor of Focus Junior. In addition, for some years they have been increasingly interested in issues related to the wellbeing of the planet. The exhibition perfectly combines these two aspects: curiosity and environmental protection.”

FOCUS SCUOLA E AND FOCUS PICO INITIATIVES

There will also be a series of special initiatives for teachers: a webinar organised by Focus Scuola, the magazine that provides support to teachers of primary and secondary schools with advice on teaching and materials. An event to explore the issues related to the UN Agenda with proposals for workshops and innovative activities to involve students on the subject of illusions.

There will also be space to discover the wonders of the sea even for younger children: Focus Pico, the monthly magazine designed for children between the ages of 3 and 6, will propose, in the July issue, games, stickers, a science poster on the fish that live in coral reefs and a special illustrated history of the world of the sea, created in collaboration with the children and teachers of the Bicocca University Children’s School.

Focus is Italy’s most widely read magazine, with a total audience of 6.4 million readers and users (Source: Nielsen media impact data fusion, November 2020). It is increasingly appreciated and engaging on social media, where it has a growing audience of over 3.2 million followers (Source: Shareablee, April 2021). The magazine is at the centre of a multimedia ecosystem that includes the web, a TV channel, social media and events: a distinctive reference point for highly topical issues, from science to technology to nature, thanks to the contribution of authoritative voices of international renown. and an approach that is always fresh and rigorous.

Focus Junior is a reference point in the world of kids, with an average monthly circulation of over 88,000 copies (Source: Ads, January 2021), 589,000 unique users per month on the site (Source: Audiweb, January 2021) and a social community of 142,000 fans (source: Shareablee, April 2021).
Mondadori Group

For over 110 years, the mission of the Mondadori Group has been to promote the dissemination of culture and ideas, ensuring a quality offer of entertainment to the widest possible audience. Leader in the book market and the number one Italian multimedia publisher, Mondadori has embarked on a path of social responsibility that also includes the promotion, across all its channels, of quality content that rewards sustainability, plurality of thought, diversity and inclusion, with an approach that is constantly focused on innovation.
Mondadori’s commitment is reflected in a series of activities in support of the communities in which the Group operates: from the promotion of reading and education to training and social and health care.
The Group has also adopted a plan of initiatives aimed at reducing the environmental impact of its offices and bookstores, which has resulted in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and led to an increase in the use of certified paper for the production of books and magazines.

Today, the meeting of the Board of Directors of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A., chaired by Marina Berlusconi, reviewed and approved the Interim Management Statement at 31 March 2021 presented by the CEO Antonio Porro.

“In the first quarter, the Mondadori Group posted a sharp increase in profitability driven, on the one hand, by the double-digit growth of revenue in the Books area and, on the other, by the ongoing efforts to curb operating and structural costs, in the Media and Retail areas in particular.
These results fit into a flying start of the year for the Books market, pushed by the greater reading propensity of Italians during the months of the pandemic.
This trend, along with the extended and improved generation of cash flow from ordinary operations and the company’s greater structural efficiency, is further proof of the solidity of the Mondadori Group; all this leads us to be optimistic on both the coming months of the year and on medium-term prospects,” said Antonio Porro, Chief Executive Officer of the Mondadori Group.

HIGHLIGHTS OF FIRST QUARTER 2021
In first quarter 2021, the Books market showed a rather positive trend, growing by 39.6%^[1] versus the same period of 2020, which strengthened and consolidated the positive performance that had started from the second half of last year.
This buoyant performance is also confirmed when comparing it with first quarter 2019 – a period totally immune to the pandemic^[2] – showing an increase of 26.1%.

The segment’s buoyancy was driven by the increased reading propensity of Italians^[3]: in 2020, readers in the 15-74 age group amounted to 61% versus 58% in the prior year. The restrictive measures that have limited and continue to limit access to other forms of entertainment during leisure time have of course contributed to this trend.

PERFORMANCE AT 31 MARCH 2021
Consolidated revenue amounted to € 144.8 million, up by 7% versus € 135.3 million of the prior year, thanks in particular to the strong growth in the Books area, driven by the buoyancy of the market in the quarter under review.

Adjusted EBITDA came to a positive € 1.1 million, improving by € 4.1 million versus the first three months of 2020, when the Group reported an operating loss of € 3.1 million; this positive performance reflects, on the one hand, the good trend in revenue in the Trade Books segment, and, on the other, the effects of the ongoing efforts to curb operating and structural costs made by the Group.

Group reported EBITDA came to € 0.2 million which, compared with the loss of € 4.2 million recorded in the prior year, shows a clear improvement of approximately € 4.5 million.

Group EBIT at 31 March 2021 came to a negative € 9 million, improving by € 5 million versus the same quarter of 2020, thanks to the trend of the abovementioned components, as well as to lower amortization and depreciation of € 0.5 million, resulting mainly from a lower average residual duration of the existing lease contracts in the Retail area (pursuant to IFRS 16).

The consolidated loss before tax amounted to € -12.1 million versus € -23.8 million in the first three months of 2020. Additionally, this significant improvement is also explained by:

• the reduction in financial expense of approximately € 0.5 million (from € 1.6 million to 1.1 million), due primarily to a lower average interest rate (from 0.89% to 0.78%), in addition to the reduction in ancillary expense;
• the effects of the sale of the investment in Reworld Media, completed in February 2021, which resulted in the recognition of a capital loss of € 0.4 million^[4] with a positive change of € 6.5 million versus the capital loss of € 6.9 million recorded at 31 March 2020;
• the result for the period of associates (consolidated at equity) came to a loss of € -1.6 million versus € -1.3 million at 31 March 2020.

The Group’s net result, after minority interests, amounted to € -10.2 million, recovering strongly from  € -19.1 million recorded in the first three months of 2020: the loss usually recorded in the first quarter of the year and attributable to the seasonal nature of the Education business was thus cut by half.

The net financial position before IFRS 16 at 31 March 2021 stood at € -47.9 million, down by approximately € 50 million versus € -96.9 million at 31 March 2020, as a result of the strong generation of cash flow from ordinary operations recorded in the last 12 months, amounting to € 60.4 million, which confirms the positive path of financial improvement of the Group, despite a context still marked by uncertainty.
The IFRS 16 net financial position amounted to € -131.8 million and includes the recognition of the financial payable from the application of IFRS 16 equal to approximately € 84 million.

Group employees at 31 March 2021 amounted to 1,838 units, down by 5.5% from the 1,944 units at 31 March 2020, due primarily to the efficiency measures that continued across all the business areas.

BUSINESS OUTLOOK
The positive performance seen in the first few months of the year, driven in particular by the strong growth trend of the Books market, as well as the continued cash flow generation, allow the Group to forecast at consolidated level – and with the current consolidation scope – an improvement on the estimates previously disclosed.

Performance targets

• Revenue in 2021 is forecast to grow slightly (low single-digit), basically confirming the previous estimate resulting from:
  – an improvement in revenue from the Trade Books segment versus expectations at the beginning of the year, linked to the higher growth of the Books market, albeit with a gradual normalization versus the trend seen in the first quarter;
  – the postponed resumption of museum activities and a more gradual recovery than previously expected in revenue from the Retail area, due to the impact of the tougher restrictive measures.
• The current forecast for Adjusted EBITDA reflects a moderately improved net contribution from the combined effect of the above trends, in addition to the effect of the relief awarded to the Group for museum activities: as a result, margins at consolidated level are expected to settle in the upper part of the range previously disclosed (11%-12%), namely around 12% of revenue.
• The net result for 2021 is confirmed to rise sharply, due also to two “one-off” effects:
  – the resort by the Group to the relief arising from the tax realignment on part of the intangible assets, which will allow the recognition of a significant positive tax component;
  – the impact on the 2020 result of the write-down of certain balance sheet items that is not currently expected in 2021.

Cash Flow and Net Financial Position
Additionally, with regard to the Group’s financial debt, one can reasonably expect an improvement on previous forecasts, due to the continued robust cash generation recorded by the business in the last six months: specifically, the new forecasts show the cash flow from ordinary operations settling in a range between € 50 and € 55 million (versus the previous range of € 40-€ 45 million), which allows the Group to confirm the achievement, before the impacts from the adoption of IFRS 16, of a positive consolidated net financial position at year end.
Conversely, taking account of the impact of IFRS 16, indications point to a Group financial debt no greater than 0.7x Adjusted EBITDA (from the previous 0.8x).

PERFORMANCE OF BUSINESS AREAS

• BOOKS

As mentioned, in the first three months of 2021 the Trade books market in Italy posted a sharp growth of 39.6%^[5] versus the same period of the prior year, consolidating the trend started in the second half of 2020. If the comparison with first quarter 2020 is affected in every way by the lockdown, which impacted on the operation of almost all sales channels in March 2020, the comparison with first quarter 2019 bears more significance to the extraordinary trend that the Books market is experiencing: growth in the first three months of the year versus the same period of 2019 amounted, in fact, to 26.1%.

Against this backdrop, the Mondadori Group – thanks to its improved performance versus the overall performance of other publishers – increased its market share to 23.7%, confirming its undisputed leadership in the Trade segment.

As proof of the quality of the editorial plan, mention should be made that during the first 3 months of the year, the Group placed 4 titles in the top ten bestsellers in terms of value^[6]: Il sistema. Potere, politica, affari: storia segreta della magistratura italiana by Alessandro Sallusti and Luca Palamara, published by Rizzoli, which was the chartbuster in the opening months of the year, ranking firmly at the top, followed by La disciplina di Penelope by Gianrico Carofiglio (Mondadori); Insieme in cucina. Divertirsi in cucina con le ricette di «Fatto in casa da Benedetta» by Benedetta Rossi (Mondadori Electa) and A riveder le stelle. Dante, il poeta che inventò l’Italia by Aldo Cazzullo (Mondadori).

Revenue in the Books area in the first three months of 2021 amounted to € 71.6 million, up by 23% versus € 58.2 million in the first three months of 2020. This performance is even higher than the revenue achieved in the same period in 2019 (€ 70.2 million).

Revenue of the Trade segment, amounting to € 55.9 million, posted a sharp increase (+39.4%) versus € 40.1 million in first quarter 2020. Revenue also improved (+13.4%) versus first quarter 2019, unaffected by the pandemic.

Revenue of the Educational segment, amounting to € 13.8 million, fell by 17.2% versus the same period of 2020 (€ 16.7 million), due primarily to the contraction of Electa’s activities, attributable to the closures of museums and archaeological sites, only partly offset by the increase in revenue from Rizzoli International Publications.

Revenue from the sales of e-books and audiobooks, which accounted for approximately 7.3% of total publishing revenue, was up by 5.9% versus the prior year.

Adjusted EBITDA in the Books area came to € 0.6 million versus € -4.5 million in first quarter 2020, an improvement of over € 5 million, thanks to the positive trend of revenue in the Trade segment in the period under review.

Reported EBITDA amounted to € 0.6 million versus € -5.2 million at 31 March 2020, while EBIT amounted to € -2.5 million versus € -8.3 million in first quarter 2020, with an upward trend consistent with the above dynamics.

• RETAIL

The Retail area registered revenue of € 33.4 million, up by € 2.3 million (+7.4%) versus € 31.1 million in the same period of the prior year, due exclusively to the improved performance of the Book product (up by more than € 3 million or +16.4%), which accounted for more than 80% of the Area’s revenue^[7].

The quarter was negatively impacted by the government measures to contain the pandemic, which caused severe restrictions on sales activities from early January and throughout the period. Our directly-managed stores, located mainly in large tourist cities, were strongly affected.
The franchised channel – composed mainly of proximity stores located in small towns – was less affected by government restrictions and, instead, posted a positive performance, growing by approximately 30%.

In the first three months of the current year, Mondadori Retail recorded adjusted EBITDA of € -0.4 million, improving significantly (€ +0.8 million) versus € -1.2 million in the same period of 2020, as a result of the deep transformations, the renewal of the network of physical stores, the careful cost management and the thorough review of the organization and of processes: reported EBITDA in fact was basically at breakeven (€ -0.3 million versus € -1.3 million in the first three months of 2020); EBIT came to € -2.4 million (€ -3.8 million in the first three months of 2020), posting a robust improvement (€ +1.4 million).

• MEDIA

In the first three months of 2021, the advertising market showed a positive trend in the web channel, up by +6.4% versus the first quarter last year: this figure recovered strongly from the first two months of the current year, driven by the strong growth recorded in March (+27%); the magazine channel was down (-32.2% versus first quarter 2020^[8]).

The circulation (-7.6%[9]) and magazines add-on products market (-25%) both followed suit.

Against this backdrop, the Mondadori Group’s circulation market share stood at 23%, steady versus March of the prior year¹³.

The Group retained its position as Italy’s top multimedia publisher, continuing to engage with and strengthen its communities during the period: print with 10.2 million readers^[10]; web with a reach in March 2021 of 80% and approximately 32.8 million unique users^[11] up by over 4% versus March 2020; social with a fanbase of 39.2 million^[12] at 31 March 2021.

The Media area reported revenue of € 46.8 million, down by 7.5% versus € 50.6 million in the same quarter of the prior year. Digital activities, which account for approximately 17% of the area’s total revenue, posted a sharp growth of 36% in the quarter, driven by the consolidation of Hej!, a company specialized in tech advertising.

Specifically:

• circulation revenue was down by 7.3%, with television magazines performing better (approximately -4% in terms of copies);
• advertising revenue grew by 3.2% overall, pushed by advertising sales on digital brands (+18.2% on a like-for-like basis) and the contribution of the newly-acquired Hej!, which more than offset the contraction in print advertising (-31%);
  A point worth mentioning is that digital revenue on total advertising revenue now accounts for 66% of the total (up from 48% in first quarter 2020), driven by the strong growth also following the consolidation of Hej!.
• revenue from add-on products fell by approximately 34% versus first quarter 2020, due primarily to the extraordinary success last year of musical initiatives and the reduced availability of DVD titles, due to the lack of film releases caused by the pandemic;
• other revenue, which includes revenue from distribution activities, increased by 5.6% versus first quarter 2020.

Adjusted EBITDA in the Media area stood at € 2 million, steady versus the first three months of 2020, thanks in particular to the growth of digital activities and the continued measures to contain operating costs, which allowed the Group to curb the negative impact on profitability resulting from the decline in print activities.
Reported EBITDA amounted to € 2 million, up from € 1.8 million in first quarter 2020, thanks to the absence of non-recurring items in the period under review.

EBIT came to a positive € 0.4 million versus a negative € 0.1 million at 31 March 2020, due also to lower amortization and depreciation for a total of € 0.3 million, attributable mainly to the effects of the write-downs made in 2020.

START OF SHARE BUYBACK PROGRAM TO SERVICE THE 2021-2023, 2020-2022 AND 2019-2021 SHARE PERFORMANCE PLANS

 The Board of Directors of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. approved the start of a share buyback program, under Article 5 of Regulation (EU) no. 596/2014, to be executed in accordance with the terms and conditions, already disclosed to the public, resolved by the Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting of 27 April 2021 which, among other things, authorized:

• the purchase and disposal of treasury shares for a maximum amount of up to 0.39% of the share capital, which is intended to provide the Company with the no. 1,023,731 shares required over the three-year period to meet the obligations under the 2021-2023 Performance Share Plan established by the same Shareholders’ Meeting, pursuant to Article 114-bis of the TUF;
• the continuation of the buyback program to service the 2019-2021 Performance Share Plan and the 2020-2022 Performance Share Plan in the manners and within the limits set out in the relevant Regulations.

Pursuant to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052, details of the buyback program are shown below:

• Purpose of the program

The sole purpose of the program is the buyback of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. treasury shares to service the 2021-2023 Performance Share Plan, the 2020-2022 Performance Share Plan and the 2019-2021 Performance Share Plan.

• Maximum amount in cash allocated to the program

Buybacks will be made at a minimum unit price not lower than the official Stock Exchange price on the day before the purchase transaction, reduced by 20%, and at a maximum unit price not higher than the official Stock Exchange price on the day before the purchase transaction, increased by 10%. The volumes and unit purchase prices will, however, be defined in accordance with the conditions governed by Article 3 of EU Delegated Regulation 2016/1052. Specifically, no shares may be purchased at a price higher than the higher between the price of the last independent trade and the price of the highest current independent bid on the trading venue where the purchase is carried out. In terms of volumes, daily purchase amounts will not exceed 25% of the daily average volume of Mondadori shares traded over the 20 trading days before the dates of purchase.

• Maximum number of shares to purchase

Purchases will regard a maximum of no. 860,000 ordinary shares (equal to 0.3289%) of the share capital to service the 2021-2023 Performance Share Plan, the 2020-2022 Performance Share Plan and the 2019-2021 Performance Share Plan, in the manners and within the limits set out in the relevant Regulations.

The maximum total amount of shares under the program is therefore within the limits of 10% of the share capital indicated by the Shareholders’ Meeting of 27 April 2021, taking account also of the no. 1,838,326 treasury shares, equal to 0.7031% of the share capital, already held by the Company.

• Duration of the program

The buyback program runs from 14 May 2021 and will end with the Shareholders’ Meeting to approve the financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2021, which coincides with the expiration of the authorization to purchase treasury shares approved by the Shareholders’ Meeting on 27 April 2021.

The buyback program may be renewed upon further authorization by the shareholders.

• Buyback procedures

The buyback program will be coordinated and executed by an authorized intermediary, who will make the purchases independently, with no influence from Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. as regards the timing of the purchases.

Buybacks will be made pursuant to the combined provisions of Article 132 of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 and of Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014, Article 144-bis of the Issuer Regulation, and the EU and national legislation on market abuse (including Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052), in accordance with the resolutions of the above Shareholders’ Meeting of 27 April 2021.

Any subsequent changes to the buyback program will be promptly disclosed by the Company.
The transactions made will be disclosed to the market in the manners and within the time limits of applicable law.
For information on the above Performance Share Plans, reference should be made to the information documents prepared pursuant to Article 114-bis of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 and to Article 84-bis of CONSOB Regulation no. 1197/1999 and available on the website www.gruppomondadori.it (Governance section) and at the authorized storage mechanism 1Info (www.1Info.it).

The results at 31 March 2021, approved today by the Board of Directors, will be presented to the financial community by the Mondadori Group CEO Antonio Porro and CFO Alessandro Franzosi at a conference call scheduled today, 13 May 2021, at 3pm.
The relevant documentation will be concurrently available on the website www.gruppomondadori.it (Investors section) and on 1Info(www.1info.it).

Journalists will be able to follow the presentation, in listening mode only, by connecting to the dedicated number +39.028020927, and via the web in audio mode by registering at the link https://hditalia.choruscall.com/?calltype=2&info=company.

The Interim Management Statement at 31 March 2021 will be made available on the authorized storage mechanism (www.1Info.it) and in the Investors section of the Company website www.gruppomondadori.it on 14 May 2021.

PUBLICATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE SHAREHOLDERS’ MEETING
Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. informs that the minutes of the Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting held on 27 April 2021 are available on the authorized storage mechanism (www.1info.it), in the Governance section of the Company website www.gruppomondadori.it and at the Company’s registered office.

The Financial Reporting Manager – Alessandro Franzosi – hereby declares, pursuant to Article 154 bis, paragraph 2, of the Consolidated Finance Law, that the accounting information contained herein corresponds to the Company’s records, books and accounting entries.

Annexes (in the complete pdf):

1. Consolidated balance sheet;
2. Consolidated income statement;
3. Group cash flow;
4. Glossary of terms and alternative performance measures used.

 

[1] GFK, March 2021 (figures in terms of market value)

[2] The comparison with 2020 is in fact affected by the closure enforced on all bookstores from March: from 12 March until the end of April, the government measures applied to contain the pandemic led in fact to the closure of bookstores across the Country; in the early stages, the online channel too had to apply restrictions on book deliveries due to the need to prioritize the distribution of staple goods.

[3] AIE, Libro Bianco del Cepell, 2021

[4] The monetization of this investment generated a total gain (2019-2021) of € 1.1 million.

[5] GFK, March 2021 (figures in terms of market value)

[6] GFK, March 2021 (ranking in terms of cover value)

^[7] Product revenue excluding Club revenue

[8] Nielsen, March 2021

[9] Internal source: Press di, March 2021, in terms of value

[10] Audipress 2021

[11] Comscore, March 2021

[12] Shareablee + internal processing

The Mondadori Group announces the conclusion of a new loan agreement for a total of € 450 million, expiring on 31 December 2026, which replaces and extends the current credit lines expiring on 31 December 2022.

This loan consists of an Amortizing Term Loan line of € 95 million to repay the existing debt; a Revolving line (RCF) of € 125 million to support the financial requirements of ordinary operations; a line of € 230 million for potential acquisitions, consistent with the strategic guidelines previously disclosed to the market.

The new agreement, concluded with a pool of four banks (Banca Nazionale del Lavoro/BNP Paribas, Banco BPM, Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit, which act as Lenders and Mandated Lead Arrangers; UniCredit acts as an Agent too), sets better financial conditions than those under the pool loan agreement concluded on 22 December 2017, in terms of lower interest rates and ancillary expense.

The initial spread of the new credit lines is 70 bps, 25 bps lower than the current 95 bps. The rate may vary depending on consolidated NFP/EBITDA movements pre-IFRS 16, from a low of 70 bps to a high of 160 bps.
At 31 December 2020, the Mondadori Group reported a pre-IFRS 16 net financial position of € -14.8 million and a pre-IFRS 16 reported EBITDA of € 69 million.

The pre-IFRS 16 consolidated NFP/EBITDA ratio is 3.25x for all financial years, while the net financial debt covenant cannot exceed a maximum amount of € 385 million at 30 June 2021; € 350 million at 30 June 2022; € 315 million at 30 June 2023; € 280 million at 30 June 2024; € 245 million at 30 June 2025; € 210 million at 30 June 2026.

Concurrent to the granting of the new loan, the Mondadori Group will fully repay the debt of € 95 million arising from the agreement concluded in December 2017 and cancel the existing, unused Revolving line of € 100 million.

The Mondadori Group has set up a Diversity & Inclusion function, assigned to Francesca Rigolio as Chief Diversity Officer. Rigolio is tasked with valorising gender, age and skill diversity and promoting inclusivity in the workplace, to ensure that every individual has the opportunity to express their opinions and talents and make a significant and personal contribution to the challenges facing Mondadori.

Increasingly regarded as important sustainability levers, diversity and inclusion are carefully assessed by everyone: consumers, institutions, the financial community, key stakeholders. In other words, by the community of which the company is an integral part. This is the starting point from which the Mondadori Group will become a workplace characterised by a drive for innovation, open discussion and widespread responsibility, where each individual can bring their unique characteristics. It has been shown that companies that offer everyone real opportunities for professional and economic growth also have a greater propensity for innovation, a more positive working environment and better performance.

The new function will work systematically to collect the data needed to analyse and manage phenomena such as the gender pay gap and the co-existence of different generations in the workplace and promote growth paths open to everyone, fostering the development of interfunctional projects that embrace business challenges and the diversity culture. Using her knowledge of the company and her experience with the Human Resources department, Francesca Rigolio will focus on people development with special attention to gender, age and skill diversity.

11 May 2021

Sperling & Kupfer today launches the podcast Senza perdere il filo. Narratori di mondi possibili on the main audio platforms. This is the first podcast produced by a publishing house with original content created ad hoc by authors with the Mondadori Group’s publishing houses.

The theme of the podcast is sustainability. Developed from an idea by Linda Poncetta, a fiction editor at Sperling & Kupfer, and Grazia Rusticali, chief fiction editor at Sperling & Kupfer and Piemme, the project is part of the eleventh edition of the international Nudge Global Impact Challenge.

People who tell stories create new worlds, or show us the world in which we live in a different light, suggesting ways it could be improved. With their stories, the protagonists of this podcast stimulate reflection on a new beginning, an opportunity to imagine a different future after Covid. Because there is an answer to the change we are looking for: a more sustainable world, a future where we respect ourselves, other people and the environment around us.

From high-quality teaching to gender equality, from the fight against climate change to the value of diversity:  Senza perdere il filo is a podcast that examines the past, recounts the present and imagines the future, through contributions from 7 authors, who talk about every aspect of sustainability.

Each episode is inspired by one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The authors who took part are Sara Rattaro (Le parole cambiano il mondo; storytelling and creative writing), Claudio Pelizzeni (Consigli per viaggiare sostenibile), Federica Gasbarro (Le parole insegnano, gli esempi trascinano; climate change), Guido Marangoni (Uguali e diversi; diversity and inclusion), Francesca Vecchioni (È l’uomo misura di tutte le cose?; gender equality), Andrea Maggi (Lezioni per un futuro sostenibile; high-quality teaching) and Annalisa Monfreda (Quell’intreccio prezioso di vita e lavoro; smart working and the future of work).
The podcast is available free on: Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Amazon Music. The first three episodes are currently available; the next two will be published on 17 May and the last two on 24 May. The Senza perdere il filo series is produced by Sperling & Kupfer with the editorial supervision of Linda Poncetta. Sound design and realisation is by Luca Carano.
https://www.spreaker.com/show/senza-perdere-il-filo
The project stems from the Mondadori Group’s participation in the Nudge Global Impact Challenge, an eight-month personal development program concentrating on leadership and sustainability, for young professionals from all over the world. During the program the ninety participants have the chance to develop an idea with a positive impact for a more sustainable world.

For more than 110 years, the mission of the Mondadori Group has been to foster the circulation of culture and ideas, through a high-profile leisure offer for the widest possible public. A leading player on the book market and Italy’s primary multimedia publisher, Mondadori has embraced a social responsibility path that, through all its channels, promotes quality content highlighting sustainability, plurality of thought, inclusion and diversity, with an approach geared to innovation.

Mondadori’s commitment takes the form of activities to support the communities where the group operates: promotion of reading, education, training and social and healthcare assistance. The group has also implemented a range of initiatives to reduce the environmental footprint of its offices and bookstores, which have led to a significant reduction in carbon emissions and increased use of certified paper for the production of books and magazines.