Bertelsmann is a media, services and education company that operates in about 50 countries around the world. It includes the broadcaster RTLGroup, the trade book publisher Penguin Random House, the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, the music company BMG, the service provider Arvato, the Bertelsmann Printing Group, the Bertelsmann Education Group and Bertelsmann Investments, an international network of funds. The company has 117,000 employees and generated revenues of €17.7 billion in the 2018 financial year. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination promotes first-class media content and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world.
in € millions | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Business Development | |||||
Group revenues | 17,673 | 17,190 | 16,950 | 17,141 | 16,675 |
Operating EBITDA | 2,586 | 2,636 | 2,568 | 2,485 | 2,374 |
EBITDA margin in percent1) | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.2 | 14.5 | 14.2 |
Bertelsmann Value Added (BVA) | 121 | 163 | 180 | 180 | 211 |
Group profit | 1,104 | 1,198 | 1,137 | 1,108 | 572 |
Investments3) | 1,434 | 1,103 | 1,240 | 1,259 | 1,578 |
Consolidated Balance Sheet | |||||
Equity | 9,838 | 9,127 | 9,895 | 9,434 | 8,380 |
Equity ratio in percent | 38.8 | 38.5 | 41.6 | 41.2 | 38.9 |
Total assets | 25,343 | 23,713 | 23,794 | 22,908 | 21,560 |
Net financial debt | 3,932 | 3,479 | 2,625 | 2,765 | 1,689 |
Economic debt4) | 6,619 | 6,213 | 5,913 | 5,609 | 6,039 |
Leverage factor | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.7 |
Dividends to Bertelsmann shareholders | 180 | 180 | 180 | 180 | 180 |
Distribution on profit participation certificates | 44 | 44 | 44 | 44 | 44 |
Employee profit sharing | 116 | 105 | 105 | 95 | 85 |
As of January 1, 2018, the new accounting standards IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers were applied for the first time.
In accordance with the transitional provisions of IFRS 9 and IFRS 15, prior year comparatives have not been adjusted. Further details are presented in the section
“Impact of New Financial Reporting Standards.”
The figures shown in the table are, in some cases, so-called Alternative Performance Measures (APM), which are neither defined nor described in IFRS. Details are
presented in the section “Alternative Performance Measures” in the Combined Management Report.
Rounding may result in minor variations in the calculation of percentages. |
RTL Group is a leader across broadcast, content and digital, with interests in 60 television channels, eight video-on-demand platforms, 30 radio stations, content production throughout the world and rapidly growing digital video businesses. The television portfolio of RTL Group includes RTL Television in Germany; M6 in France; the RTL channels in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Croatia and Hungary; and Antena 3 in Spain. The Group’s flagship radio station is RTL in France, and it also owns or has interests in other stations in France, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg. RTL Group’s content production arm, Fremantle, is one of the largest international creators, producers and distributors of scripted and unscripted content in the world. Combining the on-demand services of its broadcasters, the multiplatform networks BroadbandTV, StyleHaul, Divimove, United Screens and Fremantle’s more than 300 YouTube channels, RTL Group has become the leading European media company in online video. RTL Group also owns the advanced video ad serving platform SpotX. Bertelsmann is the majority shareholder of RTL Group, holding 75 percent of its shares.
Penguin Random House, the world’s largest trade book publisher, is dedicated to its mission of nourishing a universal passion for reading by connecting authors and their writing with readers everywhere. The company employs more than 10,000 people globally. With nearly 275 independent imprints and brands on six continents, Penguin Random House comprises adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction print with primarily English- and Spanish-language trade book publishing businesses in more than 20 countries worldwide. With 15,000 new titles, and around 600 million print, audio and eBooks sold annually, Penguin Random House’s publishing lists include more than 80 Nobel Prize laureates and hundreds of the world’s most widely read authors. Bertelsmann owns 75 percent of shares in Penguin Random House; Pearson owns 25 percent.
The German-language Verlagsgruppe Random House in Munich, with 40 renowned publishers, is not part of Penguin Random House from a legal point of view, but is under the same corporate management and is part of the Penguin Random House division.
Gruner + Jahr is one of Europe’s leading premium magazine publishers. Its products include established brands such as “Stern,” “Geo,” “Brigitte,” “Essen & Trinken” and “Schöner Wohnen” – as well as younger brands like “Chefkoch,” “Barbara,” “Beef” and “11 Freunde.” In total, Gruner + Jahr publishes around 500 print and digital media products across more than 20 countries. It also markets products and licenses such as the “Schöner Wohnen” Collection. Gruner + Jahr’s activities focus primarily on Germany and France. In the latter, its French subsidiary Prisma Media boasts one of the widest audiences of any publishing company. Digital business makes up a quarter of sales, and is exhibiting continued strong growth. Indeed, the company’s digital products lead the rankings in all publishing segments, from news to people to living. G+J also operates international digital marketing platforms (e.g., AppLike). Territory, Germany’s largest communications agency for brand content, is a member of the G+J family. Other members include Europe’s leading special-interest publisher, Motor Presse Stuttgart (“Auto Motor und Sport”), and DDV Mediengruppe in Dresden (“Sächsische Zeitung”). G+J also holds a stake in Spiegel-Gruppe (“Spiegel,” “Manager Magazin”). Gruner + Jahr is wholly owned by Bertelsmann.
BMG is the first new international music company of the streaming age, designed to help artists and songwriters best manage and market their music-related rights, from songs and recordings to videos and books. Creating competitive advantage with its core values of Fairness, Transparency and Service, BMG offers the traditionally separate music publishing and recording rights off the same state-of-the-art platform internationally. BMG’s 15 offices across 12 core music markets now represent over three million songs and recordings, including many of the most renowned and successful catalogs and artists in popular music history. BMG is wholly owned by Bertelsmann.
Arvato is an internationally active services company that develops and implements innovative solutions for business customers from around the world. These include SCM solutions, financial services and IT services, which are continuously developed with a focus on innovations in automation and data/ analytics. Globally renowned companies from a wide variety of industries – from telecommunications providers and energy providers to banks and insurance companies, e-commerce, IT and Internet providers – rely on Arvato’s portfolio of solutions. Arvato is wholly owned by Bertelsmann. The services business also includes the Majorel group of companies, in which Bertelsmann owns 50 percent of shares.
The Bertelsmann Printing Group unites Bertelsmann’s printing activities. This includes the German offset printing companies Mohn Media, GGP Media and Vogel Druck, the Prinovis gravure printing operations in Germany and the United Kingdom, and the offset and digital printing plants Berryville Graphics, Coral Graphics and OPM in the United States. The Group combines a wide range of print and service offers. Campaign, DeutschlandCard and the Dialogue business are also part of Bertelsmann Printing Group. The Bertelsmann division also includes the advertising agency MBS, RTV Media Group and Sonopress. Bertelsmann Printing Group is wholly owned by Bertelsmann.
The Bertelsmann Education Group encompasses Bertelsmann’s education businesses. The group is shaping professional learning in the 21st century with digital education and service offerings focused on the healthcare and technology sectors. It draws on Bertelsmann’s resources and global network. The Bertelsmann Education Group is wholly owned by Bertelsmann.
Bertelsmann Investments unites Bertelsmann’s start-up investments around the world. Its activities focus on the strategic growth regions Brazil, China, India and the United States. Shareholdings are acquired through the strategic investment funds Bertelsmann Brazil Investments (BBI), Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI), Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) and Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI). Bertelsmann owns stakes in more than 185 innovative companies via these funds.