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August 18, 2023 / 07:47

FINANCIAL RESULTS OF THE AGORA GROUP IN THE 2Q 2023

In the second quarter of 2023 the Agora Group recorded a nearly 25% increase in sales revenue, which amounted to PLN 326.9 million. Following the consolidation with Eurozet, advertising revenues in the Radio segment increased significantly, Outdoor Advertising has higher revenues than before the pandemic, and sales in Helios cinemas are steadily recovering. The Group's digital and online revenues reached a record high for second quarters. Despite cost increases due to consolidation and inflation, the company once again improved its operating results. EBITDA increased by 71.6% to almost PLN 45 million, while net profit amounted to PLN 12.5 million.

– The second quarter of this year confirms the upward trend in the Agora Group's revenues. This was due to the good economic situation in the advertising market, particularly visible in outdoor advertising, but also – which we are very happy about – the return of cinemas to normal operation. We are also noticing the first positive effects of the Eurozet Group's joint sales offer. In the last quarter – like all entrepreneurs – we had to deal with growing operating costs, but despite this we achieved a significant improvement of our results year on year – comments Anna Kryńska-Godlewska, member of the Management Board of the Agora Group.

In the second quarter of 2023, Agora Group's total revenue amounted to PLN 326.9 million, a 24.9% increase compared to the previous year's results. This is largely a result of the consolidation with Eurozet, thanks to which the Radio segment gained in importance, while achieving the highest revenue growth among all Agora's operating segments. It is worth noting that the Group's digital and Internet revenues increased to PLN 92.3 million – a record for the second quarters.

Revenues from the sale of advertising services in the Agora Group increased by over 40% compared to April-June 2022, and reached PLN 181.8 million. This was mostly driven by 225.5% higher advertising revenues in the Radio segment, which amounted to PLN 71.6 million. This was due to – in addition to the consolidation of results – the launch of the Eurozet Group's sales offer, i.e. the combined portfolio of Agora Radio Group and Eurozet. Advertising revenues were also higher in Outdoor Advertising and cinema business, with year-on-year growth of 13% and 24% respectively. This is largely the result of both businesses rebuilding their operations after the pandemic. In the other segments, namely Internet, and Digital and Printed Press, advertising revenues were lower than a year ago.

According to Agora's estimates, in 2Q2023 the advertising market in Poland grew by 6.5% yoy. Advertisers spent PLN 3.1 billion on promoting their products and services during this period¹. This value was also higher compared to the corresponding periods of 2019, 2020 and 2021. Taking into account the growth rate of the entire domestic advertising market and its individual segments, Agora's Management Board expects the dynamics of advertising spending in Poland in 2023 to reach 4-6%.

Revenue from ticket sales to Helios cinemas in 2Q2023 was 7.7% higher at PLN 42.1 million. In turn, revenues from concession sales in cinemas increased by more than 9% to PLN 25.1 million.

The revenue from the sale of publications in the second quarter of 2023 amounted to PLN 33.9 million, an increase of 2%. Revenues of the Digital and Printed Press segment remained at a level similar to the second quarter of the previous year, but it is worth noting that the structure of these revenues changed – revenues from the sale of the paper edition of Gazeta Wyborcza decreased, but revenues from digital subscriptions increased.

The Agora Group also noted an increase in revenue from gastronomic business and film activity. It is worth mentioning that revenue from other sales, including the sale of printing services, increased by almost 27% to PLN 30.2 million.

The Agora Group's net operating expenses in the second quarter of 2023 increased by 19% to PLN 326.2 million. They were higher in the Radio, Movies and Books, and Outdoor Advertising segments, while they were lower in the Digital and Printed Press, and Internet segments. In addition to general market conditions – mainly high inflation – the consolidation with Eurozet had a significant impact on the Group's cost level².

The largest item among the Agora Group's expenditures in April-June 2023 was the cost of external services, which amounted to PLN 112.5 million and was 28% higher than in the corresponding period of 2022. This category consists, among others, of costs related to the sale of advertising, costs of rents and lease fees, marketing services and, in the case of the Outdoor Advertising segment, costs of developing and maintaining the infrastructure of advertising panels.

There was also a significant change in staff costs, which accounted for PLN 105.0 million and were 15% higher than those recorded a year ago. The increase affected almost all Group segments, the exceptions being Digital and Printed Press, and Movies and Books, where restructuring took place in the last quarter of 2022. The Radio segment had the largest impact on the growth of this cost item – mainly due to the consolidation of results with Eurozet. On the other hand, the biggest growth was in the category of representation and advertising costs, where there was an increase of 36%, to PLN 19.1 million. This is a result of the consolidation of results with Eurozet and advertising activities in Gazeta.pl.

In summary, in the second quarter of 2023 the Agora Group achieved an EBITDA of PLN 44.8 million, an EBIT of PLN 0.7 million and generated a net profit of PLN 12.5 million, a significant improvement in the figures compared to the same period last year³.

The second quarter of this year saw two events in the Agora Group that will have a significant impact on the Company's development in the coming years. At the end of May, for the first time ever, Agora announced its ESG Strategy, which complements its strategic directions. As a publisher of independent media, operating also in other business areas, in the next five years the Company wants to act, among other things, to successively reduce its carbon footprint, further support democracy and freedom of speech, and create an attractive workplace open to diversity.

On 26 June, the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders voted on amendments to the Company's Articles of Association which allow for the spinning off of organised parts of the enterprise – i.e. the business areas: Gazeta Wyborcza, Gazeta.pl, Agora Publishing House and selected support divisions – to separate subsidiaries fully controlled by Agora. This allows for the continuation of the process of organising the Group's structure in order to increase the efficiency of the said business areas.

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FINANCIAL RESULTS OF THE AGORA GROUP IN THE 2Q 2023