The German media group Bertelsmann reports an operating EBIT that rose to €284 million ($360.9 million) in Q1 2010, more than twice the figure for Q1 2009, which totaled €115 million ($146.1 million).
First-quarter revenues were up slightly year-on-year to €3.6 billion ($4.6 billion), from €3.5 billion ($4.5 billion) in Q1 2009.
Group income improved to €45 million ($57.1 million), after a loss of €78 million ($99 million) in the first three months of 2009.
In a statement, Bertelsmann chairman & CEO Hartmut Ostrowski said: “The first three months of 2010, the year of our 175th anniversary, have gone well. We are harvesting the fruit of the measures taken in fiscal 2009 and are profiting from a revival in the advertising markets and continued cost discipline. We are headed in the right direction, even though the economy itself remains difficult.”
Bertelsmann encompassing television (RTL Group), book publishing (Random House), magazine publishing (Gruner + Jahr), media services (Arvato), and media clubs (Direct Group) in more than 50 countries. Bertelsmann did not report details about BMG Rights Management, a joint venture with KKR Investment for music publishing.
