WDH: RTL Closes 2021 with Record Results – Highest Dividend Since 2015 | 03/17/22

(In the last sentence of the first paragraph, the word unreliable was omitted.)

Luxembourg (dpa-AFX) – Television group RTL achieved record results last year and wants to pay its shareholders the highest dividend since 2015. Net profit after minorities rose from 492 million euros to 1.3 billion euros, announced the company, which will soon be included in MDAX Once again, in Luxembourg on Thursday. Among other things, the group benefited from sales and positive effects from revaluations and increased operating result (EBITA). Management wants its shareholders to share in the success and is proposing a €5 dividend – more than in 2015. Parent company Bertelsmann, which owns just over 76 percent of the shares, will benefit more from the higher dividend.

In the current year, sales are expected to increase to about 7.4 billion euros after 6.6 billion euros in 2021. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITA) will remain stable at around 1.15 billion euros. The reason for this is the high start-up losses when creating streaming services: it was 166 million euros last year, and the board expects about 250 million euros in 2022./ngu/zb