Bertelsmann posts record revenue, tops 20 bln euro target (updated)

Bertelsmann SE & Co KGaA

30/03/2023 07:36

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       March 30 (Reuters) - Germany's Bertelsmann  BTGGg.F  on
Thursday posted record annual revenue, topping its target of 20
billion euros ($21.68 billion), the  media, services and
education conglomerate said.
    Sales grew 8.3% to 20.2 billion euros.  
    However, its biggest subsidiary, broadcaster RTL Group
 AUDK.LU , which generates about a third of its profit, reported
a fall in core profit, missing expectations, weighed by weak
advertising market and streaming losses. 
    Last October RTL scrapped a plan to sell its controlling
stake in French TV group M6  MMTP.PA .   
    In November, Bertelsmann's Penguin Random House publishing
business abandoned a planned $2.2 billion acquisition of Simon &
Schuster after U.S. regulators raised anti-trust concerns. 
    Those failures have piled pressure on Chief Executive Thomas
Rabe, who had earned plaudits for reshaping the family-owned
media empire since his appointment in 2012.
    ($1 = 0.9225 euros)

 (Reporting by Andrey Sychev and Tristan Veyet; editing by
Christian Schmollinger and Jason Neely)
 ((Andrey.Sychev2@thomsonreuters.com;
Tristan.Chabba@thomsonreuters.com))