LUXEMBOURG: Europe's largest commercial broadcaster, RTL Group, posted a 19.1% rise in revenues to €2.85 billion ($3.65bn; £1.91bn) in the first half of 2006 amid "improved advertising conditions in most of our major markets (with the notable exception of the UK)."
The broadcaster, owned by German-headquartered media conglomerate Bertelsmann, saw net profits for the same period dip from €361 million to €355m as a "one-time tax benefit" in 2005 was not repeated.
It also reports that its non-advertising businesses accounted for 40% of total revenue compared with 37% the previous year, boosted by cellphone services, ecommerce and game show productions.
RTL is cautiously optimistic on advertising prospects for H2 "where visibility remains limited".
Data sourced from Financial Times online; additional content by WARC staff
