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Investing.com -- RTL Group SA (H:RRTL) reported a 3.2% decline in first-half sales on Friday, missing market forecasts as weaker advertising and content production revenue weighed on results.
The European broadcaster posted revenue of €2.78 billion ($3.24 billion) for the January–June period, below the €2.83 billion average estimate from analysts surveyed by Vara Research.
The drop was partly offset by a 27% year-on-year increase in streaming revenue, which reached €235 million in the first half.
"In the first half of 2025, we made key steps to accelerate the transformation of RTL Group," CEO Thomas Rabe said, pointing to streaming growth, the renewal of its distribution partnership with Deutsche Telekom (ETR:DTEGn) until 2030, and the acquisition of Sky Deutschland.
"We are confident to significantly increase our operating profits in the coming years, driven by improved macroeconomic conditions in Germany, streaming profitability and synergies from the Sky Deutschland acquisition, when approved by the regulators," he added.
RTL announced in June that it had agreed to buy Sky Deutschland, aiming to combine two major sports and entertainment providers to better compete with U.S. streaming rivals in the German market.
Adjusted EBITA fell 7% to €160 million but came in above the €153 million consensus.
During the six-month period, RTL Group grew streaming subscribers 15.3% year-on-year to 7.2 million, with streaming revenue up 27% and start-up losses halved to €34 million.
TV advertising revenue declined 6.9%, while digital advertising grew 27.1%.
The group reaffirmed its 2025 guidance for revenue of about €6.45 billion and adjusted EBITA of roughly €780 million, assuming TV advertising rises 2–3% in the second half.