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The Board of Directors of Arnoldo Mondadori S.p.A. met today, under the chairmanship of Marina Berlusconi, to examine and approve the interim report for the first nine months of the year to 30 September 2014, as presented by the Chief Executive, Ernesto Mauri.

THE MARKET SCENARIO
The international macroeconomic situation continues to be characterised by a progressive slowdown in emerging economies and relative stability in mature markets.

The sectors in which the Mondadori Group operates have begun to show, in both Italy and France, progressively less marked declines that in recent periods.

GROUP PERFORMANCE IN THE PERIOD TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2014
The Mondadori Group’s figures to 30 September 2014 confirm, with a more marked acceleration, the improvement and recovery in profitability already seen in the first half of the year; in particular, the third quarter, with revenues essentially in line with those of the previous year, recorded a net profit for the first time after a prolonged period (seven quarters) of negative results.

In this market context, during the first nine months of 2014 the Group recorded consolidated revenues of €859.6 million, a fall of 4.8%, taking account of the contribution of the advertising sales activities to Mediamond S.p.A., finalised in January 2014 (-7.7% on the €931.2 million recorded on 30 September 2013).

The fall in revenues was contrasted also by higher reductions in operating costs, down by some €86 million, which made it possible to significantly improve EBITDA, which was up to €36 million from the €8.9 million of the previous year.

A contribution of over 50% was made to this performance by the Magazine area (Italy and France), the result of a combination of improved efficiency through action taken on the product, reductions in operating costs and lower restructuring charges.

Consolidated operating profit came to €18.8 million, compared with a loss of -€9.6 million in 2013, with amortizations and depreciations of tangible and intangible assets of €17.2 million (€18.5 million in the first 9 months of 2013).

Profit before taxation amounted to €1 million, compared with a loss of -€26.2 million in the previous year; during the period, financial charges amounted to €17.8 million (€16.6 million in the same period of 2013).

After minority interest, there was a consolidated net loss of -€7.5 million, compared with a loss of -€32.3 million for the same period of 2013.

The company also recorded a positive cash flow over the last twelve months of €49.5 million, deriving from a positive ordinary cash flow of €9.8 million and an extraordinary flow of €39.7 million, the latter mainly the result of a capital increase approved in June and the impact of the contribution of advertising activities to Mediamond.

Consequently, on 30 September 2014, there was a marked improvement in the net financial position which totalled -€327.4 million, compared with -€363.2 million at the end of 2013 (-€376,9 million on 30 September 2013).

RESULTS OF THE BUSINESS AREAS

· BOOKS

There was a continuation of the negative trend of the first half of the year in the trade books market, in both the bookstore and large-scale retail channels, with third quarter revenues down – compared with the same period of 2013, albeit less marked – by 0.9% in terms of value (Source: Nielsen, to September).

Over the nine months, the trade book market was down by 4.3% in terms of value (Source: Nielsen, to September). The fall, always in terms of value, was more marked in the large-scale retail channel (13.5%, Source: Nielsen, to September).

Total revenues generated by the Book area in the first nine months of 2014 amounted to €238.9 million, an increase of 2% on the €234.2 million of same period of 2013. There was also a positive trend in the third quarter, with an increase, compared with the same period of the previous year, of 10.2%.

The publishing houses of the Mondadori Group also confirmed their overall leadership with a market share of 26% (excluding large-scale retail): during the reporting period, the Group published 11 of the titles in the list of the 25 best-selling books.

In the trade books area, revenues in the first nine months of the year have been affected by both the dynamics of the market and the different publishing schedule that foresees the publication of titles by the most established authors in the latter part of the year.

September saw the arrival of the first of the most significant titles due for publication before the end of the year, Ken Follett’s I giorni dell’eternità, which was an immediate absolute best-seller (120,000 copies in just 15 days).

With regard to the digital e-book market, the Group’s share remains stable at around 40%, with an offer of some 8,000 titles.

In the educational area, the Group recorded a rise in revenues in the first nine months of 2014, compared with 2013, as a result of a positive performance in primary school adoptions.

There was also an increase in revenues in the museum area thanks to the excellent performance in the management of museum concessions, the organisation of exhibitions and relative publishing activities, as well as the management of museum stores.

EBITDA was down to €35.8 million from the figure for 2013 (€39 million) due to the different mix in revenues resulting from the significant rise in third-party distribution with lower percentage profitability; in particular, the educational area saw an increase in gross operating profit of more than 10% compared with the previous year.

· MAGAZINES ITALY

In the third quarter of the year there was a further downturn in the markets of reference compared with the same period of 2013, albeit less marked than in the first two quarters: in the reporting period there was a fall in circulation of 8.7% (internal figures to August) and advertising was down by 8.7% (Source Nielsen, to September).

In this context, the Magazines Italy area saw a continuation of the trend of the first half of the year with a better-than-market performance in both circulation and advertising. Mondadori also confirmed its leadership position with a market share (in terms of value) of 32.2%, up from 30.5% on 30 September 2013.

Total revenues for the Area amounted to €227.5 million, a fall of 10.1% on the €253.1 million of 2013 (-8.7% on a like-for-like basis, taking account of titles closed and sold).

The revenues generated by Mondadori magazines were affected by the negative trend in the markets of reference but, nevertheless, recorded a better-than-market performance.

In particular:
– circulation revenues were down by 8.4% (-6.2% on a like-for-like basis);

– advertising revenues for Mondadori brands (web + print) were down by 7% on the previous year;

– while revenues from add-ons were down compared with the first nine months of 2013, there was an increase in the percentage of profitability;

– the Mondadori web sites saw revenues increase by 4.1%, compared with the same period of 2013, thanks to the performance of Grazia.it (+34.9%) and Donnamoderna.com (+1.1%), in an Internet market that recorded average growth of 0.1% (Source: Nielsen, to September). There was also a positive performance in terms of traffic compared with 2013 for Grazia.it (+49%), Donnamoderna.com (+34%) and Panorama.it (+9.5%).

Despite the fall in revenues, there was a marked improvement in EBITDA, which went from -€9.7 million to +€4.2 million.

Considering the efficiencies deriving from the action taken on the product and efforts to reduce operating and structural costs in the Magazines Italy Area, along with the positive impact of the reorganisation of advertising sales in Italy, in the first nine months of the year the Group saw an overall improvement in aggregate EBITDA for the two activities of €19.2 million.

The revenues of Mondadori Pubblicità amounted €7.6 million and cannot be compared with the same period of 2013 due to the contribution of the advertising sales activity to Mediamond, the 50-50 joint-venture between Mondadori Pubblicità and Publitalia ’80.

International Activities

In the first nine months of the year, Mondadori International Business S.r.l. recorded an increase in revenues compared with the same period of 2013 of around 6%, thanks to the consolidation of the editions of the Grazia International Network, now operating in 23 countries; the launch, in November 2013, of the first international licence for the male lifestyle title Icon, and advertising sales in Italy for the Spanish daily El Pais, since October 2013.

The Grazia International Network received an additional boost with the very recent launch of Graziashop.com, an integrated e-commerce fashion platform that will enable the Grazia community around the world, made up of 17 million readers and 16 million unique users per month, and fashion enthusiasts everywhere, to buy selected items from many of the world’s most fashionable boutiques.

• MAGAZINES FRANCE

During the reporting period, the markets of reference in France continued to record a downward trend, both in newsstand circulation (-8% internal figure to August) and advertising sales (-8.6%, internal re-elaboration of Kantar Media data to August). In this context, Mondadori France recorded a better-than-market performance in circulation.

In the first nine months of 2014 the consolidated revenues of Mondadori France came to €254.2 million, down 3.3% on the €262.9 million at 30 September 2013; on a like-for-like basis, taking account of the sale of Le Film Français at the end of 2013 and the different number of issues of some titles, the downturn was just 2.3%.

There was a split in advertising sales revenues between print and the web; print was down by 12.5% (-10.3% like-for-like), but improving when compared with the first half of the year; while the web grew by 36% (like-for-like).

The aggregate figure for advertising revenues therefore shows a downturn of 6,5% compared with the same period of 2013.

Circulation revenues, that make up 70% of the total, were down by 1.4% (-1% like-for-like):

– sales from the newsstand channel fell by 5.5% (5.4% like-for-like), compared with a reference market that was down by 8%, also as a result of the significant performance of Top Santé (+19%), Pleine Vie (+10%) and Closer (+6%).

– subscription sales were down by 1.5% (-0.7% like-for-like).

In the first nine months of 2014 digital activities, on a like-for-like basis, saw a significant rise in revenues (+37%), due to the development of NaturaBuy, advertising sales and the sale of digital copies.

Despite the fall in revenues, there was a 2.3% increase in the Area’s EBITDA (€22.3 million compared with the €21.8 million of the first nine months of 2013), also as a result of the rationalisation of the structure and reductions in editorial and industrial costs and overheads. This process, begun in previous quarters, will continue with a view to adapting the organisation to the transformations taking place in the market.

Since January 2014 digital advertising sales have been managed by specially created cross-title structures.

Some of the web sites have been updated and further developed with new functions for tablets and smartphones: these changes have been positively received by the audience that has now reached 6.6 million unique users, +26% compared with 2013 (Source: Nielsen, to August), with a peak of 7.8 million in January; on mobile there was an increase in unique users of 77% on 2013 (Source: Nielsen, to July).

Activities and efforts continued to create new efficiencies with a plan for voluntary redundancies that will reduce the size of the staff, and a plan to have the whole staff on a single site in the first months of 2015.

• RETAIL

The retail continued to feel the effects of the weakness in consumer spending. In this context, the channel that was best able to contain the fall in revenues was the chains, unlike independent book shops and large-scale retailers.

The overall revenues of the Area continued to suffer from the stagnation in consumer spending and in the first nine months of the year amounted to €144.9 million, a 5.5% fall on the €153.4 million of the same period of 2013, despite some signs of a recovery compared with the first half of the year, which was down by 8.9% on the previous year.

A breakdown of revenues by product type shows that:

– books were the preeminent product, accounting for 75% of the total: in fact, book sale were 9 percentage pints better than the market of reference (-4.3% in terms of value), enabling Mondadori Retail to increase its market share from 13.4% to 14.7%;

– sales of consumer electronics continued to fall faster than the sector in general;

– the book club channel continued its negative trend, with a downturn in revenues in the period of around 20%;

– online sales, on the mondadoristore.it web site were up by around 4%.

The trend in book sales helped to mitigate the negative impact on the Area’s EBITDA (-€6 million, compared with -€6.8 million in the first nine months of 2013), deriving from the fall in revenues from the book clubs and sales of consumer electronics.

When compared with the first nine months of 2013, the figure, if broken down by type of outlet, shows an improvement in directly-owned bookstores, stable for franchise outlets and in decline in the multicenters.

Given the ongoing recession, actions, already implemented in the first half, continued with the aim of recovering profitability.

In particular:

– progressive revision of the network, with the rationalisation of outlets and formats, in order to develop a new concept bookstore of the future;

– efforts to improve the assortment, supported by promotional activities, communication and advertising;

– the continuation of activities for the reorganisation of operating processes and staffing structures.

Mondadori Store was recently awarded Italy’s 2014-2015 Insegna dell’Anno (Retailer of the Year) as the bookstore chain offering the best customer experience in terms of price, assortment and service.

• RADIO

After a decidedly positive start, the radio market in the first nine months of 2014 experienced a downturn that led to a fall of -3.1% (Source: Nielsen, to September).

In this context, advertising sales for R101, in the first nine months of 2014, confirmed the trend of the first half, performing worse than the market.

The radio’s revenues, including those related to the web site and other initiatives, were down by 12,4% to €7.8 million (€8.9 million in the first nine months of 2013).

EBITDA (-€4.2 million compared with -€3,1 million in the first nine months of 2013) was affected by the negative trend in advertising sales and higher promotional and communication costs during the station’s re-launch phase in the early months of the year.

The main actions taken during 2014 to build the audience and offset the negative trend in the market, included:

– the repositioning of R101, partner of the concerts of leading Italian and international artists;

– an institutional television campaign aimed at strengthening the station’s brand awareness;

– the redesign of the layout and content of the r101.it web site and the release of the station’s new app;

– the enhancement of the music offer with the launch, with a view to creating an integrated system with the radio, of R101 TV, channel 66 on the digital terrestrial platform.

DIGITAL

In recent months the Digital Innovation area has continued its efforts aimed at consolidating the central structure, updating the platform for the management of users and contacts, as part of the CRM system, and technological enhancements aimed and a broader valorisation of the Group’s editorial content.

During the reporting period, revenues from purely digital activities in Italy and France rose, overall, by 8.7%, while revenues from marketing services (Cemit) were down compared with the first nine months of 2013.

§

Information regarding personnel

At 30 September 2014, permanent and temporary staff in the companies of the Group, totalled 3,194, a fall of 242 (-7%) compared to the end of 2013 and 345 (-9.7%) compared with September 2013.

Net of extraordinary operations that have modified the scope of the Group, the reduction in headcount was 6.3% compared with the end of 2013 and 9% compared with the previous twelve months.

In the first nine months of the year, labour costs, net of extraordinary operations and lower restructuring costs, were down by 8.1% compared with 2013.

§

Financial position and equity

The net financial position at 30 September 2014 improved by €35.8 million compared with 31 December 2013 and by €49.5 million, compared with the same period of the previous year.

Over the past year, there was a positive ordinary cash flow of €9.8 million as a result of the optimisation of the management of net working capital, which offset outflows for investment.

The first nine months of the year, also affected by the seasonal nature of the sector, recorded a normal cash absorption of €8.6 million (-€82.5 million in the first nine months of 2013) and an extraordinary cash flow of €44.4 million, of which €31.1 million resulting from the capital increase concluded in June; the net balance of the acquisition and disposal of assets takes account of the effects of the contribution to Mediamond and an advance amounting to €12 million, relating to the sale of an asset, the completion of which is expected by the end of the year.

§

FULL YEAR 2014 OUTLOOK

In a market that continues to be characterized by signs of weakness, although less marked than in the first half of the year, the actions taken by the Group – regarding the strategic rationalisation of the business portfolio, along with the constant commitment to reducing both operating and structural costs, as well as the excellent performance recorded by the Magazine Area, in Italy and France – have enabled the Group to improve during the year its capacity to generate financial resources.

In view of the current context and the above-mentioned actions, which will continue also in the last quarter of the year, for the full year 2014, it is reasonable to confirm the forecast, already announced, of an EBITDA for the Group higher than that of 2012, and of a consolidated net result at breakeven.

In line with the trend recorded in the first nine months of the year, it is expected by year end a significant improvement in the Group’s Net Financial Position compared with 2013.

§

The executive responsible for the preparation of the company’s accounts, Oddone Pozzi, declares that, as per art. 2, 154 bis of the Single Finance Text, the accounting information contained in this release corresponds to that contained in the company’s formal accounts.

§

The documentation relating to the presentation of the results to 30 September 2014 is available from the authorised storage system 1info (www.1info.it) and www.borsaitaliana.it and www.gruppomondadori.it (in the Investor Relations section).

PUBLICATION OF THE INTERIM REPORT FOR THE PERIOD TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2014
The interim report for the period to 30 September 2014, duly approved by the board of directors, will be available from today at the company’s headquarters, the authorised storage system 1info (www.1info.it), www.borsaitaliana.it and www.gruppomondadori.it (in the Investor Relations section).

The Board of Directors of Arnoldo Mondadori S.p.A. met today, under the chairmanship of Marina Berlusconi, to examine and approve the interim report for the first nine months of the year to 30 September 2013, as presented by the Chief Executive, Ernesto Mauri.

HIGHLIGHTS 30 SEPTEMBER 2013

In a market that is showing no signs of improvement also in sectors of relevance for Mondadori, the Group continued to pursue activities aimed at changing the strategy, reviewing the organisation and effecting significant reductions in costs.

A business model was also defined that sees digital as a driver of development cutting across all areas in the coming years, with the inclusion of new and specific skills in order to strengthen technological know-how, digital marketing and e-commerce.

As part of the of cost reduction plan, in the third quarter further savings for a total of €80 million have been identified, confirming the target of saving €100 million by 2015. In September the effects of cost reductions in both staff (-8.6% net of restructuring costs restructuring) and other operating costs (-5.8%) were evident.

Figures to 30 September 2013 confirm the trend already evident in the first half.

The decline in economic performance, compared with the same period of the previous year, is attributable to the presence in 2012 of positive non-recurring items worth €8.9 million and in 2013 of non-recurring negative items worth €27.3 million; the latter are primarily attributable to restructuring charges: in particular, in the Magazines Area, a reduction in operating costs, together with the relaunch of leading titles, is expected to enable a recovery in profitability.

A comparison of the first three quarters of 2013 with those of 2012, shows a trend toward stabilisation in the decline in revenues and a gradual recovery of the fall in gross operating margins (before non-recurring and restructuring charges ): -17.3% in the third quarter compared with -48.9% in the first half of the year.

GROUP PERFORMANCE IN THE PERIOD TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2013

Consolidated revenues amounted to €931.2 million, a fall of 9.5% on the €1,028.4 million in 2012.

Consolidated gross operating profit net of non-recurring items came to €36.2 million, a reduction of 33.5% compared with the €54.4 million in the same period of the previous year.

Consolidated gross operating profit came to €8.9 million, a fall of 85.9% on the €63.3 million in the same period of the previous year.

The Group made a consolidated operating loss of €9.6 million, compared with a profit of €44.8 million in 2012, with amortizations and depreciations of tangible and intangible assets of €18.5 million (€18.5 million in 2012).

The Group made a consolidated loss before taxation of €26.2 million, compared with a profit of €32.2 million last year; financial charges during the period amounted to €16.6 million (€12.6 million in 2012).

The consolidated net loss for the period amounted to €32.3 million, compared with a profit of €16.3 million in the same period of 2012.

Gross cash flow in the first nine months of 2013 showed a deficit of €13.8 million, compared with a surplus of €34.8 million in the same period of 2012. The Group’s net financial position showed a deficit of €376.9 million at 30 September 2013 (-€346 million at 30 September 2012 and -€267.6 at the end of 2012).

Information regarding personnel

At 30 September 2013, permanent and temporary staff in the companies of the Group, totalled 3,539, a fall of 164 (-4.4%) compared to the end of 2012 and 204 (-5.5%) compared with September 2012, confirming the ongoing efforts at optimising the structures of the Group.

In terms of business areas, the biggest drop was in the parent company Arnoldo Mondadori Editore where, as a result of the joint effect of the early retirement of graphics staff, especially belonging to the Central Staff, and the restructuring plan of journalists of Magazines Italy, the total headcount was reduced by 8% compared with last year.

Also at the subsidiaries, the effect of the reductions in fixed costs has led to a reduction of 6% ​​compared with September 2012, a third of which in the Retail Area.

Total personnel costs benefited, net of non-recurring charges, as well as from a fall in the number of employees, also from the effects of various social safety nets, resulting in a reduction compared with the same period of 2012 of €17.3 million, or 8.6%. More specifically, the Parent Company recorded a reduction of close to 10%, the Italian subsidiaries more than 12% and Mondadori France more than 4%.

It should be noted that the restructuring plans of the Central Staff and Magazines in Italy of the parent company, as well as in the subsidiaries Mondadori Pubblicità and Press-Di, will continue, until April 2014 and May 2015 respectively, enabling further savings in the coming years.

RESULTS OF THE BUSINESS AREAS

· BOOKS
In the first nine months of 2013 the trade books market remained below the level of the same period of 2012 with a fall in terms of value of 6.3%. In this market context, the Mondadori Group confirmed its leadership in its market of reference with a market share of 26.8% in in terms of value (source: Nielsen).

During the period, revenues generated by the Books area amounted to €234.2 million, a fall of 10.5% from the €261.6 million the previous year; excluding the effect of the significant fall in revenues from the distribution of third-party publishers, the figure is 8.4%.

It should be noted that the revenues of the Group’s publishing houses were affected in the third quarter by a particularly penalising comparison with the same period of 2012 which benefitted from the great success of the EL James Fifty Shades trilogy. There was also a significant fall in revenues from third-party publishers. These effects were partially compensated by the success of Dan Brown and Khaled Hosseini and the ongoing double-digit growth in ebooks.

• MAGAZINES ITALY

The negative trend in the consumer magazine market continued in the third quarter; in particular, figures for August showed a fall in circulation of 12.4% (internal estimate), of add-on sales of 20.4% (internal estimate) and advertising sales of 24.3% (source: Nielsen, September).

In this context, in the first nine months of 2013 Mondadori recorded revenues of €253.1 million, a fall of 14.2% on the €295.1 million of the same period of 2012. This is attributable to reductions in revenues from:

• circulation (-9.9%), penalised by a fall in subscriptions and single copy sales;
• add-on sales (-12.2%), despite an increase in market share to more than 41%;
• advertising (-26.3%), in a seriously compromised advertising market and with a number of discontinuities;

and an increase in licensing revenues (+13.8%).

It should be noted that in the third quarter Casaviva, VilleGiardini, Panorama Travel and Men’s Health ceased publication, in addition to the changes of the first half (the closure of Panorama Economy and the transformation of Flair in a supplement of Panorama ).

During the period revenues generated by Mondadori titles were down 16%; on a like-for-like basis, i.e. net of the effects of the events mentioned above, the fall was 13.4%: in particular, advertising revenues were down 28.4% (22.8% on a like-for-like basis) and circulation revenues were down 9.9% (-8.2% on a like-for-like basis ).

Regarding the performance of the magazines, the excellent results of the main women’s titles were confirmed, Donna Moderna, Grazia and TuStyle all of which were relaunched in May, and performed very well during the summer, reaching, with the addition of the weekly magazine Chi, an average combined circulation of 1,200,000 copies, an increase of 37% compared with April.

During 2013, the websites of the main magazine titles of the Mondadori Group, confirmed an ability to attract a growing number of users and the interest of advertisers, with higher growth rates than the market, which fell by 2.6% (source: Nielsen).

In a still highly critical context, the Mondadori sites recorded growth of 6.2% compared with 2012, thanks to the performance of Donnamoderna.com (+5%), Grazia.it (+26%) and Panoramauto.it (+25%).

International Activities
In the first nine months of 2013, the volume of business generated by Mondadori’s international network grew by 6.3% compared with 30 September 2012. The improvement is mainly attributable to the Grazia International Network, which in February launched Grazia in Spain and Korea, and is currently working on new projects for further development. A few days ago the first international edition of Icon was launched in Spain.

Despite difficult market conditions, in the first nine months of 2013, advertising sales on behalf of international partners showed a slight improvement compared with 2012, in contrast to the local market also as a result of the expansion of the range of Mondadori’s International Business.

Mondadori is present in China with a 50% stake in Mondadori Seec Advertising Co. Ltd, the exclusive advertising sales company for the local edition of Grazia, which, in the first nine months of 2013, achieved revenue growth of 23% compared with the same period of 2012.

There was also a positive performance by the joint-venture Mondadori Independent Media, publisher of the Russian edition of Grazia, which, in the first nine months of 2013, recorded an increase in revenues of 9%.

In Greece, in an economic environment which remains extremely difficult, and an advertising market down 30%, Attica Publications in the first nine months of the year saw a fall in revenues of approximately 10.7%. Despite this, it achieved a positive result thanks to strong and consistent efforts to reduce costs and diversify revenues.

• ADVERTISING

In the first nine months of the year advertising investments in the market were down by 14.6% (source: Nielsen) compared with 2012, confirming the trend of recent years. Even the Internet which during these years of crisis, maintained a positive performance, was down (-2.6%).

Mondadori Pubblicità closed the first nine months with total sales of €105.1 million, a fall of -18.6% on the €129.1 million in the previous year.

Revenues from Magazine advertising was affected by the downturn of Mondadori titles (-28.4%), significantly affected by the closure of a number of titles, net of these changes, the fall was 22.8%.

The trend outlined, that is significantly better than the market (-24.3 %, source: Nielsen), is the result of two main phenomena: on the one hand the excellent results of the combined sale of advertising for Grazia, Donna Moderna and TuStyle, and the monthly cooking and furniture titles, and, on the other, the continuing difficulties in finding advertisers in other sectors, including in particular in the fashion industry.

With regard to sales for radio, the first nine months of 2013 closed up 32% thanks to the acquisition of the contract, starting in April, for Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana and, from September, of Radio Subasio, which was joined in October by Radionorba, enabling Mondadori Pubblicità to strengthen its presence in the sector with an offer of a total daily average of 9.3 million listeners.

The advertising relating to the Internet, managed by the joint venture Mediamond, performed much better performance than the market, with an 18.3% increase on the same period of 2012, thanks to the excellent performance of Grazia.it (+26%) and Videomediaset.it (+42%).

• MAGAZINES FRANCE

During the third quarter of 2013 the French consumer magazine market continued to face a difficult period with a downturn in both advertising and circulation revenues.

In this context, the revenues of Mondadori France at the end of September came to €262.9 million, a fall of 7.6% from the €284.5 million in the first nine months of 2012.

Mondadori France saw a fall in advertising revenues, in terms of value, of 11.1%, while, in terms of volume, despite a decline of 3.3%, it still performed significantly better than the market which was down by 6.9% (source: Kantar Media, for August). Mondadori France confirmed its position as the second largest operator with a market share of 11.2% (source: Kantar Media), an increase of 0.4%.

Circulation revenues, including newsstand sales and subscriptions, and accounting for around 72% of total revenues, were down by 6.5% compared with the same period last year.

Newsstand sales were down 5.7%, compared to a market that saw a fall of 7% in January- September 2013 (internal source/in terms of value).

During the period brand extension efforts continued with the launch of successful new products, including Closer Teen and Vital by TopSanté.

The focus on editorial quality remains a priority pursued with the new formulas for Modes&Travaux, Sport-Auto, Science&Vie Junior, Grand Gibier, Auto-Journal and Auto Plus. In addition new titles were launched in the games and a cooking sectors.

Mondadori has continued to invest in the digital sector bringing the audience for its sites to over 5 million unique users (source: Nielsen), an increase of 20% compared with the same period of last year. Revenues were up by 19.8% in the period.

• RETAIL

Starting from the third quarter 2013, following the redefinition of the scope of the business area, the results and assets of the direct marketing activity managed by Cemit Interactive Media are shown in the Corporate and other business section. The comparable figures to 30 September 2012 have therefore been adjusted and made comparable to the figures from the current year.

Revenues generated by the Retail area in the first nine months of the year amounted to €153.4 million, a fall of 3% on the €158.1 million of the same period of the previous year.

The Retail Area manages its business across the country through a network that, on 30 September 2013, comprised 565 sales outlets, ranging from directly-owned and franchised bookshops, Multicenter stores, Edicolè and book clubs.

In view of the ongoing recession, which has resulted in a further decline in revenues, the process of rationalisation has continued and has led to the closing of 32 outlets since the beginning of the year.

Also sales generated through the web site www.inMondadori.it recorded a fall compared with the first nine months of 2012, both as a result of increased competition from the different players in the market and for the general downturn in consumer spending for non-essential goods.

• RADIO

Advertising spending in Italy has been severely affected by the general crisis with all media more or less sharply affected compared with 2012. Radio, in particular, while remaining in a negative trough (-14.4% to June), in September picked up slightly at -12.1% (source: Nielsen) and showing, in recent months, pale signs of containing the decline.

In this context, advertising sales for R101 in September were essentially in line with the trend in the market showing, in addition to the downturn in the main product sectors – in particular the automotive sector – also the typically marked seasonality of the period: total revenues came to €8.9 million, a fall of 13.6% on the €10.3 million of the first nine months of 2012.

On the content side, in addition to the appointment of a new head of content, efforts continued for the implementation of the renewal and enhancement of formats with a series of targeted actions, some of which already defined, others in progress, aimed at enabling R101 to take advantage of the opportunities that will derive from the hoped for recovery in advertising spending.

RENEGOTIATION OF CREDIT LINES FOR A TOTAL OF €570 MILLION WITH WAIVERS ON EXISTING COVENANTS

Mondadori has renegotiated the credit facilities for a total amount of €570 million.

In particular, it has signed a new loan agreement with a syndicate of five banks for an amount of €270 million with maturities, for the same sum, in 2016-2017-2018 to replace existing credit lines with short maturities for a total of around €380 million.

Existing credit lines, amounting to €300 million, comprising a loan of €200 million granted by Intesa Sanpaolo expiring at the end of 2016, and by a €100 million loan granted by Mediobanca and expiring at the end of 2017 have also been renegotiated.

The “all-in” face value cost of all credit lines is 485 bps (+Euribor).

Waivers on the existing covenants net debt/EBITDA for 2013 and 2014 have also been defined to facilitate the processes of organisational restructuring and relaunching of the Group.

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE FULL YEAR

The actions put in place by the Group regarding the change in strategy and organisation and significant cost reductions, have affected all the businesses and will have more positive effects in the latter part of the year, for which we expect a level of gross operating profit (before restructuring charges and extraordinary items) in line with that of the same period last year.

As for the full year 2013, the ongoing lack of any signs of improvement in the market means that the gross operating result will be substantially lower than last year, also as a result of marked effect of non-recurring items and restructuring charges.

§

The executive responsible for the preparation of the company’s accounts, Carlo Maria Vismara, declares that, as per art. 2, 154 bis of the Single Finance Text, the accounting information contained in this release corresponds to that contained in the company’s formal accounts.

§

The interim report for the period to 30 September 2013 will be available from today at the the company’s headquarters, Borsa Italiana S.p.A. (www.borsaitaliana.it) and on the web site www.gruppomondadori.it (in the “Investor Relations” section).

Also today, the documentation relating to the analysts’ presentation of the results for the year to 30 September 2013 will be available on www.gruppomondadori.it (in the “Investor Relations” section) and www.borsaitaliana.it.

The Board of Directors of Arnoldo Mondadori SpA met today, under the chairmanship of Marina Berlusconi, to examine and approve the interim report for the first nine months of the year to 30th September 2012, as presented by the Group’s Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive, Maurizio Costa.

THE MARKET SCENARIO
During the third quarter all the main indicators pointed to a continued worsening of the economy. Italy continues to feel the continuing effects of a deep recession and there are no signs of a turnaround in the short term.
With regard to the markets of reference for the Mondadori Group:
– book sales continued to fall (-7.8%) across all the distribution channels, with a particularly disappointing performance in the paperback segment;
– according to the figures up to the end of August, in magazines the downward trend continued both in circulation (-11.5%) and advertising (-16.2%), while in the add-ons market there was no end to the decline that began some years ago (-20.7%);
– in France newsstand magazine sales were down by -5.3%; with subscriptions stable (official figures to September are not yet available); due to a significant reduction in advertising investments in recent months advertising revenues for the period to September were down by 4.2% (-0.5% to May).

GROUP PERFORAMCE IN THE PERIOD TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2012
Consolidated revenues amounted to €1,028.4 million, a fall of 7.5% compared with €1,112 million for the same period of 2011. Excluding the consolidation of Editions Mondadori Axel Springer Snc by Mondadori France, the reduction in revenues would be of 10.3%.

Consolidated gross operating profit amounted to €63.1 million, a fall of 39.7% on the €104.6 million of the previous year. The reduction was partly due to lower non-recurring income and higher costs for restructuring sustained in 2012 compared with last year.

Consolidated operating profit amounted to €44.6 million, compared with €87.8 million last year, with amortizations and depreciations of tangible and intangible assets of €18.5 million (€16.8 million in 2011).

Consolidated profit before taxation came to €32 million, compared with €71.3 million in the same period of last year. During the period financial charges amounted to €12.6 million, an improvement of €3.9 million compared with 2011.

Consolidated net profit for the period totalled €16.1 million, (after minority interest of €1.3 million) compared with €44.1 million in the same period of the previous year.

Gross cash flow in the first none months of 2012 amounted to €34.6 million, compared with €60.9 million in 2011.

The Group’s net financial position went from -€335.4 million at the end of 2011 to -€346 million on 30 September 2012 (-€380.6 million on 30 September 2011).
Significant facts following the end of the third quarter included the signing on 5 November of the agreement for the sale to the Bertelsmann Group of the company’s 50% stake in Random House Mondadori, a book publisher based in Barcelona and operating in the Spanish and Latin American markets. The operation, with a value of €54.5 million, is subject to approval by the Spanish antitrust authorities and should be concluded before the end of the year.

Information regarding personnel
As of 30 September 2012, the personnel employed by companies of the Group (both on temporary and permanent contracts) amounted to 3,743. On a like-for-like basis, staff numbers were down by 66 (-1.7%) and the cost of labour by 3%, also taking account of start-up and restructuring costs.

With regard to the scope of consolidation, it should be noted that the figures for 2012 include the staff, and related costs, of Editions Mondadori Axel Springer Snc, which in 2011 was consolidated using the net equity method. Similarly, the total number of employees of Italian companies was reduced by 32 and the Parent Company increased due to the incorporation of Mondadori Editorial Wellness S.r.l. and a number of intercompany transfers.

It should also be noted that on 5 October 2012 a Ministerial Decree recognised and approved the “state of crisis” and the resulting restructuring plan for the companies Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A., Mondadori Pubblicità S.p.A. e Press-Di Distribuzione Stampa e Multimedia S.r.l..
The implementation of the aforementioned plan, which is expected to be completed by April 2014, involves 152 employees on printing-editorial contracts and will permit a further reduction in labour costs from November 2012.

RESULTS OF THE BUSINESS AREAS

• BOOKS

Compared with the same period of 2011, in the first nine months of the year, the trade book market saw a continuing fall in the bookstore channel, both in the number of copies sold (-7.1%, source: Nielsen) and in terms of value (-8.1%, source: Nielsen), also due to poor sales of paperbacks. The downturn also affected the large-scale retail and online channels.
In this context, the Mondadori Group confirmed its leadership in the market of reference (27.7% in terms of value, source: Nielsen), and with 6 of the top 10 best selling titles in the period and 45 of the top 100.

During the period, revenues from book sales amounted to €261.6 million, a fall of 6.7% compared with the €280.5 million of the same period of the previous year.

As regards the performance of the Group’s trade publishing houses in the third quarter, Edizioni Mondadori has reached a market share of 14.1% in terms of value (+1.3% compared with the same period of 2011), thanks also to the full effects of the success of the EL James Fifty Shades trilogy, which in just over three months sold 2,400,000 copies in Italy, and for several weeks holding the first, second and third places in the best-sellers list.
In the genre fiction area, in September Mondadori was the first company in the world to publish the highly anticipated second novel of The Century Trilogy, L’inverno del mondo by Ken Follett with an initial print run of 450,000 copies. Within a few days, the book reached the top of the best-sellers list, doubling the results of the first volume of the trilogy, La caduta dei giganti, published two years ago.
There was also great satisfaction for the victory in the two most prestigious Italian literary prizes: the Premio Strega, 2012, awarded to Alessandro Piperno with Inseparabili (80,000 copies sold) and the Premio Campiello 2012, which was won by Carmine Abate with La collina del vento (40,000 copies in September alone).
A strong publishing programme is confirmed for the final quarter with the arrival of new titles from, among others, Paolo Giordano, Valerio Massimo Manfedi, Luciana Littizzetto, Michael Connelly, Stephen King, Murakami Haruki and Ian McEwan.

On the Educational side, Mondadori is the third largest operator with a market share of 12.8%. During the period the company has developed technological solutions that allow for greater flexibility of use, regardless of the operating system or device, and a greater integration of digital products.

In the ebook market, Mondadori is the leader with a market share of around 40%. The third quarter of 2012 showed a significant increase in sales, especially in the August, which recorded average daily downloads of more than 5,000.
The E.L. James trilogy alone recorded more than 90,000 downloads in the quarter. Romantic Fiction also performed well, which includes the digital version of the “Category” titles (published in print form only for newsstands) and the series Emozione degli Oscar Mondadori. There was an excellent start for the new book by Ken Follett L’inverno del mondo. Finally, also of note was the launch of the new digital series “Mondadori XS”.

• MAGAZINES ITALY

The worsening of the economic and financial crisis and increased uncertainty over the short and medium term have had a marked influence on the dynamics of the markets in which Mondadori operates. Particularly in the last quarter, there was an additional reduction in revenues from both the sale of magazines and advertising, only partially offset by the results in the three summer months of add-on sales.

In the first nine months of 2012 the area generated revenues of €298.6 million, a fall of 15% compared to the €351.1 million euro in the first nine months of 2011.

There were varying trends among the various activities included in this aggregate.
– circulation revenues, penalised by the downturn in subscriptions and newsstand sales, and despite a reduction in average prices, were down by 10.8%;
– revenues from add-on sales (-18.3%), were down less than in the first half;
– advertising revenues were down by 20.7%, in a very difficult market with some significant changes, such as the temporary suspension of publication of Flair and the closure of Economy;
– revenues from International Activities (licensing +6.7%, advertising sales for the network +27.1%) and net revenues from Mondadori sites (around +40%, net for the publisher) performed well and are growing rapidly.

In terms of circulation, in the period Mondadori recorded a fall of 10.8%, in line with the market, excluding the additional copies of the new weeklies and monthlies (Source: internal estimate). Despite these new launches, the market recorded a downturn of more than 6%.
In particular, an analysis of circulation figures for the year showed that the usual seasonal upturn in summer sales of magazines was as marked as usual.

In a context characterised by a sharp slowdown in advertising in all media, the Internet advertising market showed a growth of 11% compared with the same period of 2011. At the same time the sites of the main Mondadori magazines ​​ performed much better than the market in terms of traffic and advertising, allowing an increase in revenues of 39.3%.

• ADVERTISING

The performance of the advertising market to August 2012 showed an overall downturn of 10.5% compared with the same period of 2011, and was also down on the first half of 2012 (-9.5%).
This negative trend affected all media: television (10.9%), radio (-7.4%), outdoor (-12.5%), cinema (-22.4%), direct mail (-15.7%), newspapers (-13.9%) and magazines (-16.2%).
The only exception was the Internet, which did not grow as fast as in previous years.

In the first nine months of 2012 Mondadori Pubblicità recorded revenues of €129.1 million, a fall of 21.8% from the €165 million of 2011.
The magazines published by Mondadori saw a downturn of 22.3%, due to a negative performance in almost all sectors, as well as the temporary suspension of the publication of Flair.
The aggregate figure, which includes revenues from third-party publishers of newspapers and joint ventures, showed an overall decline of 26.7%. This trend in revenues was due in equal measure to the contribution of both monthly and weekly titles.
With regard to the advertising sales for the two radio stations in the portfolio, the company recorded a fall of 11.3%.

During the first nine months Mondadori Pubblicità attempted to respond to the market by developing the organisation and management of events involving the company’s most important brands, and increasing revenues in this area by 85% compared with the first nine months of 2011.
As for the internet, Mediamond continued to record strong growth in revenues in the period (+63.7% compared with 2011), thanks to the positive performance of Donnamoderna.com (+16%), Grazia.it (+60%) and Panorama.it (+36%) for the RTI there was a good performance for TGcom24 (+15%) and SportMediaset (+53%) and rapidly expanding sales for VideoMediaset.

• MAGAZINES FRANCE

Mondadori France ended the first nine months of 2012 with revenues of €284.5 million, up 9.6% from the €259.6 million of the same period of 2011, on a comparable basis (i.e. excluding the effects of the change in the method of consolidation of the joint venture Editions Mondadori Axel Springer Snc), revenues were down by 2.3%.
The continued focus on editorial quality and costs made it possible to report an increase in the gross operating margin of 5.9% compared with 30 September 2011, taking it to €27 million euro.

Advertising revenues: In a market that – contrary to an essentially stable situation in the first six months of the year – saw a sudden downturn in the third quarter with an overall reduction of 4.2% over the nine months, revenues for Mondadori France titles (on a like-for-like basis) were down by 1.9% compared with the same period last year, mainly due to the trend in the upscale women’s segment, which includes the weekly Grazia (+6.6%) and the monthly Biba (+8.4%), and L’Auto Journal (+7.1%), Sport Auto (+7.2%) and Mode & Travaux (+7.1%).

Circulation revenues generated by Mondadori France, which include both newsstand sales and subscriptions (70% of total revenues), were slightly down at the consolidated level (-2.3% on a like-for-like basis). The trend in newsstand sales (-5%) was in line with the market (-5.3%) compared with the first nine months of last year, whereas for subscriptions (33.8% of revenues), Mondadori France, with a portfolio of more than three million customers, continued to grow (+0.7% compared with the same period of 2011).
Several titles saw an increase in copies sold: 351,000 copies Biba (+6.7%), L’Ami des Jardins, 159,000 copies (+7.9%), Modes & Travaux 437,000 copies (+1.4%); Grazia, launched in 2009, confirmed its success with an increase of 3.4% to 193,000 copies.

In the first nine months of the year investments in the digital sector continued, both to increase the audience for existing sites and their presence on the new devices, and to diversify the offer and explore new opportunities through new acquisitions.

International Activities
The company’s international activities, transferred to the new company Mondadori International Business, created as part of the corporate restructuring project previously announced to the market following the approval of the interim report for the period to 30 June 2012, continued their development: the Grazia International Network now has 19 editions, in addition to Italy, and will be expanded before the end of this year by Grazia Poland and in 2013 by Grazia Korea and Grazia Spain. In addition, in August the company also saw the launch of Flair Germany.

On the advertising front, in the first nine months of 2012 sales in the Italian market, in the fashion and furniture sectors, of €4.8 million euro, an increase of 27.1% compared with the same period of 2011. Of particular note was the excellent performance of Grazia France, Grazia UK, Grazia Russia and Grazia Germany (+54% compared with 2011).

As regards investments, Mondadori is present in:
– Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia through its stake in Attica Publications that, despite the serious crisis, has achieved results in line with the previous year, thanks to a strong growth in market share, cost cutting and the success of add-on sales;
– China, with the joint-venture Mondadori SEEC Advertising Co. Ltd., the exclusive advertising sales company for Grazia China, which ended the first nine months of 2012 with revenues of €7.8million (+57% compared with the same period of 2011);
– Russia, which with an edition of Grazia that in the first nine months of 2012 performed better than the market (revenues +17% compared with 2011).

• DIGITAL

Following a change in the organisational structure of the Group, the figures relating to digital activities in the first nine months of the year are booked, in line with internal reporting procedures, as follows:
– for publishing activities, e-books, properties, subscriptions and online advertising, in the business areas of reference, i.e., Books, Magazines Italy and Magazines France;
– for e-commerce activities, conducted through the web site Bol.it (from November inMondadori.it) and online Bookclubs, in Direct;
– for diversification activities and investment to support the business, gambling, applications and CRM, in Other Business.

• DIRECT

In order to counter the recessionary economic environment a process of rationalization of the network of book shops was begun in the first half, which saw the closure of the Milan Berchet store and some smaller stores, and a development plan for new sources of revenue through the expansion of the range of products.

Total revenues amounted to €169.5 million (-11% compared to the €190.4 million at 30 September 2011 (it should be noted that the main economic indicators for 2011 have been restated to include the figures for activities conducted through Bol.it attributed to the business with effect from the beginning of the year).
Revenues can be broken down as follows:
– retail sales and other revenues, down due, as well as to general market conditions, the closure of some stores, during the second half of 2011 and first half of 2012 and a new commercial approach;
– direct marketing sales, down overall as a result of cutbacks in investments by companies, a significant reduction of consumer spending and shifts in buying habits of the benefit to retailers;
– sales form e-commerce activities, managed by the site Bol.it, down as a result of the contingent market phase and changes in the competitive scenario.

In early October, following the partnership signed with Kobo Inc., Mondadori launched in Italy the series of eReaders made by the Canadian group, to be sold online and through the network of stores (350 stores which will rise to 500). Among the objectives of this operation:
– the achievement of a market share for ebooks significantly greater to that for printed books;
– to be the only operator in the world, market leader in trade publishing, with a physical and digital retail system integrated and brought together under a single brand inMondadori and high quality eReading devices on an open platform.

• RADIO

At 30 September 2012, radio advertising revenues in Italy recorded a downturn of 8.1% compared with last year, following a decline in the first half of 5.5% and an even bigger drop in the third quarter (-14.6%, Source: FCP Assoradio).
During the period advertising sales for R101 generated net revenues of €10.3 million, down 12% on the €11.7 million of the same period of 2011.

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE FULL YEAR
In the third quarter figures for production, consumer spending and investments confirmed the trend of a gradual worsening of the economic situation. Moreover, it is not at present possible to predict when or how there might be a reversal of this trend.

In the current market situation in which Mondadori operates we only not repeat what was stated in the interim financial statements, regarding:
– the Group’s priorities: i.e. the continuous improvement of product quality, the development of digital activities and the international network of magazines, and continued commitment to the review of processes and structures for the reduction of operating costs;
– the forecast of the level of operating profitability, which will be less than the previous year also in the last quarter.

ADHERENCE TO THE PROCESS OF SIMPLIFIED RULES ADOPTED BY CONSOB REGULATION N. 18079 OF 20 JANUARY 2012§
Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to art. 3 of Consob resolution no. 18079 of 20 January 2012, the Board of Directors of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore SpA resolved, in relation to the provisions of Articles. 70, paragraph 8, and 71, paragraph 1-bis of Consob Regulation no. 11971/99, to make use, with effect from today, of the possibility to waive its obligations to publish information as foreseen by the aforementioned Consob Regulation regarding significant operations such as mergers, spin-offs, capital increases by contribution in kind, acquisitions and disposals.

§

The executive responsible for the preparation of the company’s accounts, Carlo Maria Vismara, declares that, as per art. 2, 154 bis of the Single Finance Text, the accounting information contained in this release corresponds to that contained in the company’s formal accounts.

§

The interim report for the period to 30 September 2012 will be available at the company’s corporate headquarters, Borsa Italiana S.p.A. and on the web site www.gruppomondadori.it (Investor relations section) from today.
Also today, the company will publish on the web site www.gruppomondadori.it (Investor relations section) and www.borsaitaliana.it, the presentation made to analysts of the results for the period to 30 September 2012.

The Board of Directors of Arnoldo Mondadori S.p.A. met today, under the chairmanship of Marina Berlusconi, to examine and approve the interim report for the first nine months of the year to 30th September 2011, as presented by the Group’s deputy chairman and chief executive, Maurizio Costa.

THE MARKET SCENARIO
As is well known, the third quarter of the year saw a significant deterioration in markets, particularly in the eurozone. Concerns of an economic nature were heightened also by fears of a financial crisis even worse than that of the recent past.
The lack, at a European level, of an immediate and common response to market problems has resulted in an even more negative perception of the situation and a high level of pessimism about prospects for growth, employment and stability.
The magazine market in Italy saw a continuation of the decline in circulation and a was sharp downturn in advertising. The book sector remained essentially stable, despite the absence of bestsellers and falling cover prices. There was a particularly marked fall in retail sales, both in directly managed stores and the large-scale retail channel.
In France, there were no particular changes in the annual trend in the magazine sector while advertising, which remained buoyant until September, saw a downturn from the beginning of October.

GROUP PERFORMANCE FOR THE PERIOD TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2011
In the context of the situation described above, in the first nine months of the year the Mondadori Group recorded:
– revenues that were slightly down against the same period of 2010, with a growing contribution for digital activities;
– another improvement in operating profitability, thanks to essential stability in the traditional businesses while positive non-recurring elements have made it possible to compensate most of the development costs of the digital business;
– a marked increase in net profit, also due to the absence of extraordinary tax charges paid in 2010 relating to previous years.

Consolidated revenues came to €1,114.7 million, a slight fall (-1.4%) on the €1,130.2 million for the same period of 2010.

Consolidated gross operating profit amounted to €104.6 million (+1.5% on the €103.1 million for the first nine months of last year): on a like-for-like basis, excluding non-recurring items and investments for digital development, gross operating profit increased by del 3.2% compared with the same period of 2010.

Consolidated operating profit came to €87.8 million, an increase of 2.6% on the €85.6 million for the same period of 2010, with amortizations and depreciations on tangible assets of €16.8 million (€17.5 million in 2010).

Consolidated pre-tax profit amounted to €71.3 million, an increase of 5,6% on the €67.5 million of the same period of last year, with interest of €16.5 million, compared with €18.1 in 2010.

Consolidated net profit came to €44.1 million, an increase of 43.6% compared with the €30.7 million of the same period of the previous year, which was impacted by non-recurring tax charges related to previous years (net of which the increase would still have been of 11.9%).

Gross cash flow for the first nine months of 2011 amounted to €60.9 million, compared with €48.2 million for the same period of 2010.

The Group’s net financial position went from -€342.4 million at the end of 2010 to -€380.6 million on 30 September 2011 (-€369 million on 30 September 2010); and in May the company paid dividends of €40.3 million.

Information concerning personnel
On 30 September 2011 permanent and temporary contract staff employed by the companies of the Group amounted to 3,720, essentially in line with the figure for the same period of last year (3,717).

The headcount figure includes also the development activities of the new Digital Area, the start-up of a new web company (Glaming), the hiring on fixed-term contracts of a number of staff at museum bookshops and the consolidation of AME Editoriale Wellness.
Given these changes, the current headcount is in fact 52 units lower than the same period of 2010 (-1.4%).
Account should also be taken of the fact that the figure for September traditionally rises for the hiring of temporary seasonal staff related to the school textbook sector until the end of the year.

THE BUSINESS AREAS
BOOKS
Nielsen figures for the first nine months of 2011 show that the summer was characterised by a general uncertainty and weakness in consumer spending that resulted in a slowdown in sales. In this context, the Mondadori Group nevertheless confirmed its leadership in trade books with a market share of 26.1%.

Revenues generated by the Books area amounted to €280.5 million, a 4.8% fall compared with the €294.5 million of the same period of the previous year.

The editorial programme for the closing months of the year is expected to allow for a positive result in terms of market positioning, thanks to strong titles that include new novels by Fabio Volo (Le prime luci del mattino), Giorgio Faletti (Tre atti, due tempi), John Grisham (I contendenti) and Alessandro D’Avenia (Cose che nessuno sa), as well as the considerable interest generated by the only official biography of Jobs.
The quarter also saw the consolidation of growth for the new NumeriPrimi° series, which with sales of 1.6 million copies is at the top of the paperback bestsellers lists.

On the e-book front, on 30 September 2011 the Mondadori catalogue contained 2,700 trade titles, including apps. Thanks to the opening in Italy of Apple’s iBookstore, which has contributed to an increase of more than 100% in the sale of digital titles, growth forecasts for the year can be confirmed.

MAGAZINES ITALY
In a market context of generalised decline in Italian and international magazine publishing, the revenues of Magazines, Italy, which include, in addition to circulation and advertising revenues from Mondadori titles, also revenues from the distribution of titles published by third parties, amounted to €351.1 million, in fall of 3% compared with the €362 million for the first nine months of 2010.

This was the result of:
– a 4.8% fall in circulation revenues (above all due to a reduction in investments in the subscription channel) and a 5.2% slide in add-on sales, which nevertheless retained a high level of profitability in line with the previous year;
– as light reduction in advertising for Mondadori titles compared with 2010 (-0.7%), but with a better than the market trend (-1.8%; Source: Nielsen to August); a marked increase in sales for the internet and the titles of the international network, taking the overall figure to +0.8%.

Work continued in the third quarter on the re-launch and repositioning of titles, of particular note was Donna Moderna Wellness, a new title dedicated to the ecology of body and mind, and the redesign of Sale&Pepe and di Panorama Travel. Initial indications show excellent levels of appreciation prime by both readers and advertisers.
Regarding the Mondadori web sites, in the period from January to September advertising sales grew by 37%, after a particularly brilliant third quarter (+50%), and well ahead of the market (Source: Nielsen to August +13.5%), thanks to the performance of www.donnamoderna.com (+31%), www.grazia.it (+54%) and www.panorama.it (+84%).

MAGAZINES FRANCE
Mondadori France ended the first nine months of the year with revenues of € 259.6 million, a 2.8% increase on the €252.6 million of the same period of 2010.

Circulation revenues, which account for 69% of the total, rose by 2.4%; a particularly significant result given the difficult situation facing the magazine market in recent years which, also in France, has been marked by a constant decline (-4.2%; internal data, in terms of newsstand sales in September).

The total advertising market in the first nine months of the year recorded an increase, in terms of value, of 0.5% (Source: Kantar Media) before a downturn that began from October.
In the same period, Mondadori France out-performed the market with an increase of 5.7% in revenues compared with the same period of the previous year, reaching €62.7 million. This result was mainly due to the excellent performance in revenues from the women’s weekly Grazia (+52%) and the monthly Biba (+11%).
In the last 12 months (October 2010-September 2011) Grazia sold 2,436 advertising pages, an increase of 63%, putting it in second place for total pages among French magazines. The company’s upscale women’s titles now account for 33.5% of total advertising revenues (25.9% in the same period of 2010).

International activities
The positive revenues trend for the company’s international activities continued (+30% compared with the first nine months of 2010), driven by a marked increase in revenues from advertising (+60%). There was also a positive contribution from licensing revenues (+26%), in particular for Grazia Germany, Holland and China.
The number of editions of Mondadori titles published under licence also continued to grow, with three new editions in the period.
There was a decided improvement in the results of the 50-50 joint ventures in Russia and China, in particular thanks to a rise in advertising sales.
The Greek subsidiary Attica saw a fall in revenues due to the worsening financial crisis that has had a negative impact especially on advertising. Nevertheless – thanks to a good performance by the radio stations and a number of add-on initiatives, the reorganisation of the company and the renegotiation of procurement, the final result showed an improvement compared with the same period of last year.

ADVERTISING
Advertising trends in Italy in the first nine months of 2011 have largely confirmed the negative trend that characterised the first six months of the year (Source: Nielsen to August: -4%).
In particular, for the first time since the beginning of the crisis in 2008, there was a slowdown in newspapers (-8.3%), in particular the free press (-49.7%), radio (-5.5%) and television (-4.7%).
Magazines showed a limited downturn (1.8%) on the back of a good performance in the fashion, cosmetics and pharma sectors, and ongoing difficulties in other sectors. Bucking the trend was the internet (+13.5%), making it the healthiest medium at the present time.

With regard to the Group’s activities, Mondadori Magazines saw a slight fall (-0.7%), with continuing positive trends for trend Grazia, Donna Moderna and Tu Style. Monthlies were in line with 2010, with a resilient performance by titles in the interiors sector.

Efforts continued, along with the publisher, for the organisation of fashion events, including Pitti and Milano Fashion & Design, which this year involved Grazia, Interni and R101, as testimonials for an event that was notably successful with both sponsors and the public.

For radio, the new organisation of Mondadori Pubblicità, launched in May and focused on exploiting the sales potential of the company’s entire network, has made it possible to achieve greater results than in 2010, compared with a market that was down by 5.5%.

Advertising sales generated by Mediamond were very positive (+65.9%), thanks to the brilliant results of sites www.donnamoderna.com and www.grazia.it and news sites www.tg.com and www.sportmediaset.it.

The company closed the first nine months of the year with total sales of €165 million, a slight fall (-3.1%) compared with the €170.2 million of the same period of 2010. The difference was largely determined by a downturn in business for third party publishers.

DIRECT and RETAIL
In the first nine months of 2011 total revenues generated by the Direct and Retail area amounted to €182 million, a 3.8% increase on the €175.4 million of the same period of 2010 (for last year’s figures, Mondolibri S.p.A. was consolidated from 1 May 2010).

Direct
Business levels were affected by the negative economic climate and particularly by the fall in direct marketing activities by a number of operators in the large-scale retail sector, traditionally a substantial part of Cemit’s business: faced with a fall in revenues of over 20%, the company was nevertheless able to mitigate the impact on its results.

Retail
Total revenues from stores were in line with the same period of last year, thanks to new affiliations in the franchising network, which compensated for a fall in turnover at the company’s directly owned stores, the result of the closure of a number of significant locations in the centre of Rome and Turin.
The number of outlets in the network rose to 608 (compared with 570 at the end of September 2010).

Revenues generated by the franchise bookshop chain in the first nine months of 2011 rose by 12.8% compared with the same period of the previous year, thanks to new affiliations that increased the number of outlets to 499, compared with 463 in September 2010. On a like-for-like basis, revenues were in line with those of last year.

The directly owned shops saw a fall in turnover of 11.5% compared with the previous year, mainly due to the aforementioned closures. On a like-for-like basis, there was a 3.3% fall in sales.

RADIO
The Italian radio market to 30 September 2011 recorded an overall downturn of 5.5% on the previous year, with a more marked slide in the first half of the year (-8.4%), compensated by a clear recovery in the summer months (+11%), but followed by a decline in September (-6% – Source: FCP Assoradio).

Advertising sales for R101, which markedly outperformed the market, generated revenues in the first nine months of €11.7 million, a 14.7% increase on the €10.2 million of the same period of last year, with a more limited increase in the first half (+7.9%) and a more marked upswing in the last three months (+27%).

DIGITAL
Revenues in the first nine months of 2011 from direct activities amounted to €13.1 million, compared with €5.8 million in the same period of 2010, while the development of indirect digital activities, in the context of other business sectors (e-books, online book clubs, web sites, subscriptions and advertising), achieved a turnover of €19.9 million, up from the €16.4 million of the first nine months of last year. Overall, the Digital area Digital recorded total revenues of €33 million, compared with €22.2 million in the first nine months of 2010.

Among the direct activities, of note were:
– e-commerce, represented by the sale of books, editorial products and sundry goods by Bol.it, which saw a steady improvement (+50% year on year) in the number of monthly visitors (over 1 million users) and a growth in orders of 30% compared with the same period of 2010;
– the development of the applications and services for mobile phones area continued with the creation of apps that have reached the top of the iTunes best sellers list in their category. The last quarter also saw the launch of the first game for the iPad and iPhone produced by Mondadori;
– the Mondadori project for the development of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, aimed at bringing together all of the Group’s various client databases is continuing in line with the forecasted plan;
– on 28 September, the company was awarded a public gaming licence by the AAMS which will enable Glaming, a company owned jointly by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. (70%) and Fun Gaming S.r.l. (30%), to progressively launch a series of online games by the end of November.

FORECAST FOR THE FULL YEAR
The third quarter of the year saw a sharp increase in concerns about the health of the economy, above all in the eurozone, and the resilience of the public finances of member states.
This, combined with consequent pressures on the credit system, has worsened an already difficult situation in manufacturing, consumer spending and investments; while also unemployment, especially among the young, has reached very high levels.

The markets of reference for Mondadori have not been exempt from the general economic crisis, even if the company has so far been able to deal with the situation by placing even more attention on product quality and process efficiency, also with a view to containing costs.

With regard to the prospects for the full year, we can only repeat, with even greater conviction, what we said after the first half report, about the difficulty of making any forecasts, even in the short term.
It should also be noted that the figures for October show a generalised worsening of market indicators; consequently, the evolution of markets in the closing months of the year will be fundamental in determining a level of operating profitability in line with last year.

§
The interim report for the period to 30 September 2011, as approved by the board of directors, will be available from today at the company’s headquarters, Borsa italiana S.p.A. and on the corporate web site www.gruppomondadori.it (in the Investor Relations section).
§
The executive responsible for the preparation of the company’s accounts, Carlo Maria Vismara, declares that, as per art. 2, 154 bis of the Single Finance Text, the accounting information contained in this release corresponds to that contained in the company’s formal accounts.

The Board of Directors of Arnoldo Mondadori S.p.A. met today to examine and approve the interim report for the first nine months of the year to 30th September 2010, as presented by the Group’s Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive, Maurizio Costa.

THE MARKET SCENARIO IN THE THIRD QUARTER

There were no significant changes in the economic trends in the sectors of reference for Mondadori in the third quarter of the year. In particular, both circulation figures and advertising investments remained at lower levels than the previous year. Despite this unfavourable context, the company has been able to achieve in the third quarter a level of gross operating profit 73.2% higher than the same period of last year, bringing the increase for the first nine months of 2010 to 51.2%

A SUMMARY OF BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

The elements that have determined such a conspicuous improvement in profitability, with just a slight increase in revenues (+1.4%), are further confirmation of what was already stated in the report for the first six months, ie:

– a good level of stability in terms of magazine circulation, with a performance clearly ahead of the market average both in Italy and in France;

– a further increase in profitability in the book business, where revenues in the third quarter were also up on 2009;

– a constant improvement of the results from the international network and the ongoing success of Grazia France, both in terms of circulation and advertising sales;

– the increasing contribution of the plan for the reduction of operating costs – which has already realised 85% of the target savings of €170 million over the three-year period 2009-2011 – and which will continue for the whole of next year.

Activities related to digital content have continued with even greater impulse with the stipulation of agreements with operators in production, telecoms and retail; since the beginning of September the digital area has also taken on a locomotive role, both for its own activities and in support for other business sectors, above all magazines and books.

Thanks to the introduction of a new business model and the redefinition of the organisational structure – which will become fully operational from the beginning of next year – will encourage and stimulate the involvement and cooperation of all of the business areas in response to new market opportunities.

GROUP PERFORMANCE IN THE PERIOD TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2010

Il Consolidated revenues came to €1,130.2 million, an improvement of 1.4% on the €1,114.3 million of the first nine months of 2009.

Consolidated gross operating profit amounted to €103.1 million, an increase of 51.2% compared with the €68.2 million of last year, despite higher costs due to increased postal charges of €5.5 million.

This is equal to a figure of 9.1% as a proportion of revenues, compared with 6.1% for the same period of 2009.

Consolidated operating profit reached €85.6 million, a 71.2% increase on the €50 million of 30 September 2009, with amortizations and depreciations of tangible and intangible assets for a total of €17.5 million (€18.2 million in 2009). As a proportion of revenues, an increase from 4.5% in 2009 to 7.6%.

Consolidated profit before taxation amounted to €67.5 million, an increase of 35% on the €50 million of the first nine months of 2009, with net financial charges of €18.1 million. For an appropriate comparison with the previous year, account should be taken of a capital gain of €14.5 million in the third quarter resulting from the closure of a private placement and relative derivatives.

Consolidated net profit came to €30.7 million, a 13.3% increase on the €27.1 million of 30 September 2009: this result was affected by the payment of €8.7 million to clear a pending fiscal suit.

Consolidated adjusted net profit, which takes account of the net impact of the extraordinary elements outlined above (financial capital gains in 2009 and tax charges for previous years paid in 2010), was more than double that of the same period of 2009.

Gross cash flow in the first nine months of 2010 amounted to €48.2 million, compared with €45.3 million in 2009.

The Group’s net financial position went from -€372.9 million on 31 December 2009 to -€369 million. The improvement compared with 30 September 2009 was of €47.9 million and €275.5 million compared with 30 September 2008.

Personnel

On 30 September 2010 staff employed by the companies of the group, on both permanent and temporary contracts, totalled, a tempo 3,717.

On a comparable basis, in other words excluding the impact of the recent consolidation of Mondolibri S.p.A., there was a reduction of 260 (-7%) compared with 31 December 2009. This is mainly attributable to the ongoing restructuring process at the parent company, as well as constant efforts to improve efficiencies at all of the companies in the group.

There was a reduction in staff numbers of 688, which corresponds to 89% of the plan 2008/2011.

The action taken to date has been conducted in full compliance with the approved restructuring plan and has made it possible, in nine months and on a comparable basis, to reduce staff by 8% in Italy and almost 5% in France.

As a consequence, the cost of contract staff, which amounted to €198.2 million (€217,9 million on 30 September 2009) was down by 9%.

Finally, it should be noted that the national contract for printing and publishing employees, which expired in March 2010, has, to date, still not been renewed.

RESULTS OF THE BUSINESS AREAS

• BOOKS

Market data for the first nine months of 2010 (source: Nielsen) confirm the leadership of the Mondadori Group in trade books, with an overall market share of 26.7%, with Edizioni Mondadori and Einaudi in the top two places on the list of publishers.

Revenues in the Books area at 30 September 2010 totalled €294.5 million, a fall of 3.8% on the €306 million of the same period of the previous year.

Sales in the third quarter, especially in September, showed signs of a recovery in market share. Of note during the period were the awards of the Premio Strega 2010 to Antonio Pennacchi for Canale Mussolini (Mondadori), the Premio Campiello for the novel Accabadora by Michela Murgia (Einaudi), and the Nobel Prize for Literature to Mario Vargas Llosa, a historic author of Einaudi, as well as the success of the new novel by Ken Follett, and a series of other important new title that augur well for the Christmas season for all of the group’s publishing houses.

To 30 September 2010 Edizioni Mondadori generated revenues of €85.9 million, a 2.8% fall compared with the previous year.

The autumn season was characterised by the simultaneous world publication of the new novel by Ken Follett, La caduta dei giganti, which immediately entered the bestsellers list with an initial print run of 500,000 copies. Among the successful titles in foreign fiction were Sophie Kinsella’s, I love mini shopping, with sales of more than 160,000 copies and first-time author Maria Dueñas with La notte ha cambiato rumore che, that began with sales of 40,000 copies, confirming a great interest among readers for Spanish fiction.

In Italian fiction, Canale Mussolini by Antonio Pennacchi continued to perform well, selling 200,000 copies (making a total of 265,000) and the new novel by Andrea Camilleri, L’intermittenza (already in its fourth printing) has sold more than 150,000 copies.

In non-fiction there was a confirmation of the success of I segreti del Vaticano by Corrado Augias (160,000 copies), while in the unclassified segment the Fabio Volo phenomenon continued (with sales of over 160,000 copies of Il tempo che vorrei two years after it was first published, making a total of 750,000 copies). There were excellent results form the Oscar Mondadori campaign with an increase in sales of around 8% compared with the previous year. The protagonist during the summer months was the Oscar Grandi Bestsellers paperback edition of Paolo Giordano’s La solitudine dei numeri primi, which sold 280,000 copies in just three months, returning to the top of the bestsellers list with the release of the film based on the novel.

In the third quarter of 2010 Einaudi imporved its performance compared with the situation at 30 June 2010, with total net revenues of €33.8 million (-2% compared with the first nine months of 2009).

Among the best performing titles were: Accabadora by Michela Murgia (120,000 copies in 2010); Tre secondi by Roslund-Hellstrom (51,000); Per l’alto mare aperto by Eugenio Scalfari (51,000); Il giovane Holden by J.D. Salinger (77,000) and the recent Mia suocera beve by Diego De Silva with sales of more than 40s000 copies, La vendetta by Anne Holt (35,000). There was confirmed success for La parola contro la camorra by Roberto Saviano and Prima di morire addio by Fred Vargas. It should also be noted that the editorial plan of Einaudi foresees the publication of numerous titles in the last quarter of the year.

In the first nine months of 2010, Sperling & Kupfer recorded revenues of €18.4 million, a fall of 3.7% compared with the first nine months of 2009, mainly due to a fall in revenues from the sale of rights for add-on initiatives. Of particular note was the great success of Sveva Casati Modignani’s Mister Gregory, published at the end of the first half, which has sold almost 190,000 copies.

Cumulative revenues at Piemme to 30 September 2010 amounted to €34.9 million, an increase of 3.6% compared with the same period of last year.

Fiction and non-fiction lines saw an overall fall of 5.1% compared with 2009, mainly due to a different editorial programme for new titles.

The Junior sector continued its positive trend, in the Stilton line the most significant new titles were Sesto viaggio nel Regno della Fantasia (126,000 copies) and Viaggio nel tempo 3 (79,000 copies). Also of significance during the period was the publication of a celebrative volume to mark the tenth anniversary of Stilton, Caccia al libro d’oro (45,000 copies).

Total revenues by Mondadori Electa were down by 17.6% on the same period of 2009, this was due to the effects of a slowdown in all of the segments in which the company operates. The fall of revenues in the bookshop channel (-29.7%) and the substantial disappearance of add-on sales were not, unlike other years, compensated by revenues on the Cultural Heritage area (-12% compared with 2009) mainly due to the loss of certain museum bookstore concessions (Brera and Cenacolo in Milan, and the Musei Civici in Venice) and Sponsorship sales (-16%). There was, however, a recovery in co-editions (sales of foreign rights), penalised by the strength of the euro against the dollar and the pound.

During the first nine months 2010 Mondadori Education generated revenues of €66.8 million, a fall of 1.8% on the same period of the previous year, essentially confirming its share of the textbook adoptions market. The primary school segment confirmed the results of the previous year, thanks to the five-year rule on adoptions. The first level secondary segment saw an overall fall, despite good results for new titles and new editions.

The second level secondary segment saw a slight fall but confirmed excellent results in the subjects in which Mondadori Education is the market leader. There were good results in the scientific subjects affected by the reforms in high schools. Note should also be made of trend for price reductions in both secondary levels.

• MAGAZINES ITALY

Magazine sales during the summer months, traditionally positive for the magazine market, were positive and resulted in a recovery in terms of circulation.

In this context Mondadori performed better than the market, both in terms of advertising sales and single copy sales through the different channels.

The revenues of Magazines Italy in the first nine months of the year came to €362 million, a slight fall (-1.2%) on the €366.5 million of the same period of the previous year.

Even more significant with respect to the market of reference was the increase in profitability, despite the impact of the cancellation of postal subsidies.

This encouraging performance was based on the following factors:

– a 2.9% fall in circulation revenues, markedly better than the performance of the competitors in a market that lost around 5% (around 9% in terms of copies);

– essential stability in revenues from add-on sales (+1.4%), in absolute contrast to a market that slumped by 22%;

– a moderate re-balancing in advertising revenues (-2.4%), even more contained on a like-for-like basis.

Among the most significant factors during the period were:

– the re-launch at the end of July of Tu Style, supported throughout August by a big advertising campaign and promotional initiatives: to date the weekly has achieved notable results (with sales of over 200.000 copies);

– strong support for weeklies, that made it possible in the summer season to grow newsstand revenues close to the levels of 2009;

– the launch of an intensive campaign of launches of add-on sales, some of which are achieving much better than expected results;

– the ongoing programme of reorganisation in editorial and management structures;

– the reinforcement of the activities of Press-Di, the wholly-owned Mondadori subsidiary operating in distribution and subscription management for the group’s titles and third-party publishers. In addition to the numerous contracts for the distribution of newspapers and magazines acquired in recent years, since 1 October the company will also distribute the products of Sergio Bonelli Editore, leader in comic books;

– the conclusion, at the end of July, of the negotiation between Fieg and the Italian postal for an agreement on postal charges, following the cancellation from 1 April of subsidies which for many years compensated publishers for the inefficiencies of the service. The agreement will make it possible to reduce by around 50%, from 1 September, the charges resulting from the application of the new conditions for the delivery of subscription products.

Circulation

As already mentioned, the market saw an overall drop in newsstand circulation of 9% in terms of copies and around 5% in terms of value, compared with the above indicated -2.9% by Mondadori.

Among the group’s weekly titles, there was a marked improvement in the performance of Tu Style; TV guides held up well, as did Chi, Grazia and Donna Moderna. For monthlies, there was an increase in circulation revenues for the titles in the interiors and cooking segments.

Add-on sales

The add-on sales market, which saw a big slump (-22%), was characterised during the period by some particular phenomena, including an increase in the number of initiatives, the maintenance of relatively high prices and a strong downturn in average sales.

In this context Mondadori confirmed also in the third quarter a performance in marked contrast to the market that is expected to continue for the rest of the year.

The various initiatives in the home video segment and collectables were markedly up on 2009; those in music and editorial products, while less brilliant, were nevertheless satisfactory. In a portfolio of articulated activities, the operations linked to the major titles, including TV Sorrisi e Canzoni and Panorama, remain fundamental

International activities

The international activities of Mondadori Magazines generated excellent result to 30 September 2010, with licensing revenues up by 46%, following the good performance of Grazia UK, Grazia Olanda and the contribution of Grazia Germania and Grazia Francia launched during the period.

Revenues for the sale of advertising in Italy for the international network more than doubled, both on account of new editions and for growth in revenues for existing titles (Grazia UK +10%, Grazia Russia +67%).

The performance of 50-50 joint ventures in Russia and China was decidedly better than last year and markedly better than the budget, particularly in terms of advertising sales.

The Attica subsidiary has felt the effects of the financial crisis in Greece and the Balkans with a fall in advertising revenues of around 22% (-20% on a like-for-like basis). A strong cost reduction programme is already being implemented in order to at least partially compensate for the fall in revenues by the end of the year.

Digital

The online advertising market grew significantly, with, in particular, an increase in display advertising of 17.7% compared with the same period of the previous year (source: Nielsen in terms of value, August 2010).

Advertising sales for Mondadori sites, managed by Mediamond, in the first nine months of 2010 saw an increase of 36%, thanks to a significant push by DonnaModerna.com, the positive results of which confirm the validity of the group’s decision to focus on the women’s market.

• MAGAZINES FRANCE

Mondadori France ended the first nine months of the year with total revenues of €252.6 million (-0.9% on the €254.8 million of the same period of last year). Excluding the operations that have affected the consolidation area (the sale of titles to the joint venture Editions Mondadori Axel Springer S.n.c., the launch of Grazia and the restructuring of the magazine portfolio), revenues would be up by 6.7% compared with 2009.

Circulation

Circulation revenues totalled €175.8 million, a 2.1% fall (+4,5% on a like-for-like basis, compared with the same period of last year, thanks mainly to the launch of Grazia and a significant increase in subscriptions). Being less exposed to economic cycles, the subscription channel, which makes up around 33% of circulation revenues, is an important asset for the group.

This positive performance demonstrates the appropriateness of the strategy of repositioning the portfolio of titles towards the “grand public” market that the group has been pursuing since 2007 and has been accompanies by a constant improvement in the editorial quality of the titles. These results are even more remarkable given the current situation in the magazine sector and have been recognised by the market which has, over the last two years, awarded ten prizes for editorial excellence to our products.

In terms of copies Mondadori France recorded an increase of 3% in circulation, while the market as a whole saw a fall of 1.8%. In addition to the effect of Grazia, the excellent performance of other titles in the portfolio should be underlined, in particular Modes et Travaux (+6.2%), Science et Vie Découverte (+5.7%), Biba (+5.1%), Science et Vie Junior (+4.8%), L’Ami des Jardins et de la Maison (+2.5%), Science et Vie (+2.4%) and Closer (+1.7%).

Advertising

Advertising sales were up 5.5% on the previous year, an improvement that was even more significant on a like-for-like basis (+19.1%).

This excellent performance is above all explained by the growth in advertising sales for the up market (haut de gamme) women’s titles (the weekly Grazia and the monthly Biba) that now account for 26% of total advertising revenues.

The magazine advertising market to the end of September recorded an increase of 8.8% in page numbers (source: Kantar Media). In the same period Mondadori France recorded a very positive performance with an increase of 25.8% in pages and a 1.2 percentage point increase in market share.

Activities during the period

The strategic decisions taken in 2009, the launch of Grazia, the concentration in the joint venture with Axel Springer of the auto sector titles and the closure of marginal titles, have had a positive impact of the accounts in 2010.

Despite strong competition from two new titles (Be and Envy, which, however, interrupted publication at the end of September) the positive performance of Grazia continued with an average of 30 advertising pages in 2010 and newsstand circulation of 177,000 copies.

The activities of the joint venture Editions Mondadori Axel Sprinter, following the concentration of the auto sector titles, continued to show positive results, increasing newsstand sales; the editorial structure is evaluating new formulas for Sport Auto and Auto Plus and working on the development of digital activities.

The policy of cost reduction, began in recent years, continued, with particular attention on industrial costs and general expenses.

• ADVERTISING

Advertising investments in the first nine months of 2010 continued the generally positive trend noted in the first half of the year (+4.8% to August, source: Nielsen) showing, on the one hand, a progressive recovery in “healthy” media, including internet, radio and television, while on the other, ongoing difficulties for print media, within which newspapers (with the exception of the free press) and national commercial advertising remained essentially stable.

Magazine advertising, meanwhile, saw a fall of 8.4%, with the positive changes recorded in certain sectors, FMCGs, fashion, cosmetics and lately even furniture, only partially compensating the downturn in other segments. Despite positive August sales, a general uncertainty continues to hang over the medium in the latter part of the year characterised by different client behaviour on different titles, some of which have bucked the general trend in the market.

Mondadori Pubblicità ended the first nine months of the year with total revenues of €170.2 million, essentially in line, on a comparable basis, with 30 September 2009 (€181.6 million).

Marked changes in the revenue breakdown, such as the termination in November 2008 of the contract with Società Europea di Edizioni S.p.A. and the shift of online advertising sales, from January, to Mediamond, have had a negative impact on 2010 of around 7 percentage points.

After a third quarter in slight decline, the Mondadori titles have remained essentially in line with the first nine months of 2009 (-1.2%): on a like-for-like basis -2.4%.

Weeklies have held up well (+1.2%), thanks mostly to the performance of women’s titles, particularly Donna Moderna, Chi and Tu Style, that was supported by a targeted sales campaign that resulted in a total increase in sales of 35%, coinciding with the re-launch in July (+50% in the third quarter alone). The monthlies remained below the levels of 2009.

In concert with the publisher, activities have continued in the development of digital projects, including the launch of iPad versions of Panorama and Grazia, and the realisation of new events with innovative promotional formats. These include “Fashion & Design 2.0”, organised by Grazia and Interni during the Milan Fashion Week and “Milano Design Weekend”, an event dedicated to the interiors sector that took place in October.

In radio, the positive trend of R101 continued, up 6.2% in the first nine months of the year, and progressively recovering compared with the trend in the market in recent months. The figure is even more significant when account is taken of the comparison with an excellent first quarter in 2009, 7 percentage points ahead of the market. Sales were also good for Radio KissKiss, which began in March of last year.

• DIRECT and RETAIL

The Direct and Retail area generated revenues in the first nine months of 2010 of €181.2 million, a 29.2% increase on the €140.2 million of the same period of 2009.

It should be pointed out that the figures for last year did not include Mondolibri S.p.A., which has only been consolidated since April 2010; on a comparable basis, the increase was of around 7%.

Direct

Cemit saw a 25% increase in revenues, in a market that grew by just 2%.

Since May 2010, Cemit has been joined by Mondolibri, which with its seven thematic book clubs operates in mail-order sales with around 800,000 members.

The revenues of the book clubs were down by 6% compared with 2009; though this was compensated by growth in the e-commerce channel through the Bol.it web site (+34%).

Retail

Retail sales which, from May also include sales from the Mondolibri book shops, grew by 12.1% (5% on a like-for-like basis) compared with the same period of last year.

This increase in turnover was largely due to the expansion of the network, which now totals 570 book shops and multicenters, including both directly owned and franchised stores and Edicolè outlets

• RADIO

Advertising for R101 generated total net revenues in the period of €10.2 million (+5.2% on the €9.7 million in the first nine months of 2009). These are essentially the company’s share of the gross advertising revenues of around €14.7 million, up by 6.2% on the same period of last year.

In particular, in September, R101 recorded growth in advertising sales of 5.3% compared with 2009, in a market of reference that was down (-0.5%; +11.2% cumulative to the end of September: source FCP Assoradio).

The figure, overall lower than the market average, is however positive when account is taken of the fact that in the period display advertising on R101 (which makes up 91% of the radio station’s advertising) grew by 10% on 2009. The fall is therefore entirely attributable to a lower number of special initiatives compared with the first nine months of last year.

R101 is currently examining new projects to be introduced in the early part of next year aimed at further improving the station’s positioning in its targets, revamping the schedule and continuing to build the audience.

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE FULL YEAR

The third quarter saw a confirmation of the indications outlined in the half yearly report: all of the businesses achieved better revenue performance than the market benchmarks and, at the same time, continued to pursue the development of new activities.

Reorganisation objectives were also achieved, both in terms of simplifying processes and reducing operating costs.

These have resulted in a substantial recovery of profitability, which, failing any particular changes in market trends, we expect to continue during the last months of the year, allowing the company to significantly increase its operating profit for 2010, despite higher costs resulting from increased postal charges.

Also the estimate for net profit for the year, the improved operating performance should compensate for the impact of extraordinary items (positive in 2009 and negative in 2010) making it possible to post a significantly better final result than last year.

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SHAREHOLDERS MEETING: APPROVAL OF THE APPOINTMENT OF THREE NEW DIRECTORS

A Shareholders’ Meeting, held prior to the board of directors meeting, approved the enlargement of the board from 11 to 14 members, appointing as directors Roberto Briglia, as an executive director given his role as Group Editorial Director, and Angelo Renoldi, professor of economics and business administration at the University of Bergamo and Carlo Sangalli, chairman of Confcommercio (the Italian association of retailers) as independent non-executive directors.

The board of directors verified the requisites of independence, foreseen by the Code of Conduct for listed companies, of both Renoldi and Sangalli. The other independent non-executive directors already in office are Martina Mondadori, Marco Spadacini, Mario Resca and Umberto Veronesi.

The appointments, approved by the Shareholders, therefore will result in the enlargement of the independent component of the board, in line with the progressive reinforcement of the role of the same, as defined, in particular, by soon to be introduced Consob regulations regarding operations with related parties. These appointments will also further consolidate and support respect for the functions and activities of the board of directors’ internal committees.

The board of directors itself has consequently redefined the composition of the Internal Control Committee and the Remuneration Committee. In particular, the Internal Control Committee is entirely made up of independent non-executive directors, Marco Spadacini, Angelo Renoldi and Mario Resca; and the Remuneration Committee by the independent directors Marco Spadacini and Carlo Sangalli and the non-executive director Bruno Ermolli.

§

The executive responsible for the preparation of the company’s accounts, Carlo Maria Vismara, declares that, as per art. 2, 154 bis of the Single Finance Text, the accounting information contained in this release corresponds to that contained in the company’s formal accounts.

§

The report for the period to 30 September 2010 is made available, as per current legislation, at the company’s corporate headquarters, Borsa Italiana S.p.A. and on the web site www.gruppomondadori.it

The Board of Directors of Arnoldo Mondadori S.p.A. met today, under the chairmanship of Marina Berlusconi, to examine and approve the interim report for the first nine months of the year to 30th September 2009, as presented by the Group’s Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive, Maurizio Costa.

THE MARKET SCENARIO

Market indicators show that also the third quarter on 2009 was negative, both at a national and international level and only in September were there some signs of confidence which had a positive impact on financial markets and real consumer spending.

In the Mondadori Group’s markets of reference, advertising investments were sharply down both in Italy and France, albeit to a lesser extent, with no clear indications about future trends.

In the magazine sector the fall in circulation was slightly less than in previous months, particularly in Italy (-7.7% in terms of volume in August); in France the greater weight of subscriptions contributed to a higher level of stability (-5.7% in terms of value in August).

In line with the first months of 2009, there was a continuation of the generalised decline in add-on sales (around -25%), an area which in Italy has seen a dramatic slump compared with recent years.

The book market recorded growth in terms of volume of 1.9%, and stability in terms of volume, with a previous year that was characterised by a greater number of bestsellers.

GROUP PERFORMANCE IN THE PERIOD TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2009

Also in the third quarter of 2009, the results of the Mondadori Group were strongly conditioned by a marked reduction in advertising revenues, the impact of which was mitigated by the increasing effects of activities aimed at containing management costs.

During the quarter the conditions were also put in place for forthcoming organisational restructuring activities, through agreements with trade unions regarding both editorial and journalistic staff.

On a like-for-like basis, excluding non-recurring elements and development and restructuring costs, profit for the third quarter amounted to €46 million, a 26.9% fall on the same period of 2008.

Consolidated revenues to 30 September 2009 came to €1,114.3 million, a fall of 18.6% on the €1,368.1 million in 2008 (-11.4% on a like-for-like basis, excluding the activities of Mondadori Printing).

Consolidated gross operating profit amounted to €68.2 million, a 59.6% fall compared with the €168.8 million of the previous year, corresponding to 6.1% as a proportion of revenues (12.3% in 2008).

Excluding the contribution of the activities of Mondadori Printing the difference in operating profit shows a fall of 55.1%: this is essentially due to a lower level of profit from the business (-€57 million, of which -€8.6 million from add-on sales); higher investments for business development (-€7.8 million); and changes from non-recurring items (extraordinary items, restructuring charges) of -€19.1 million.

Consolidated operating profit came to €50 million, a fall of 63.6% compared with the €137.5 million of the same period of 2008, with amortizations and depreciations of tangible and intangible assets for a total of €18.2 million (€31.3 million to 30 September 2008); as a proportion of revenues, a fall from the 10.1% of 2008 to 4.5% this time.

Consolidated profit before taxation amounted to €50 million, a fall of 52.2% on the €104.5 million of the first nine months of 2008, with net financial charges for 2009 at zero, compared with €33 million in the previous year; this improvement was also due to extraordinary income, as well as lower indebtedness and a fall in the cost of borrowing.

Consolidated net profit came to €27.1 million, a 53.9% reduction on the €58.8 million of the same period of last year.

Gross cash flow in the first nine months of 2009 amounted to €45.3 million, compared with €90.1 million in 2008.

The Group’s net financial position at 30 September 2009 showed a deficit of €416.9 million, an improvement on the -€490.3 million at the end of 2008.

On 30 September 2009 the personnel employed by the companies of the Group totalled 3,853 (3,925 on 31 December 2008). Compared with the first nine months of last year, on a like-for-like basis – i.e. excluding Mondadori Printing – the reduction totalled 145, essentially thanks to efficiency gains and a block on turnover.

On 24 September 2009 a meeting was held at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy in Rome where an agreement was signed with trade unions to proceed with requests for early retirement for a maximum of 181 employees of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. and Mondadori Pubblicità S.p.A. with printing/editorial contracts. A similar agreement is currently being defined for journalists in the Magazine Division of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A..

Labour costs of €217.9 million (€271.5 million to 30 September 2008) were down by 19.7%; on a comparable basis (excluding Mondadori Printing and restructuring costs) the reduction was of 7.7%.

In Italy company has put in place an important restructuring plan essentially based on the use of a range of instruments made possible by the definition of new organisational models. The plan will also benefit from the application of Law N° 416/81 concerning early retirement for all those who have matured, or will mature, in the period 2009-2011, the necessary requirements. This plan will, on a like-for-like basis, lead to a fall in the payroll at the end of 2011 of 21%.

In France the results in terms of reorganisation have been achieved both through management actions and the sale/closure of titles. Such rationalisation activities will continue in line with agreements that are currently being defined.

RESULTS OF THE BUSINESS AREAS[1]

· Books
In the first nine months of 2009, in the context of an economic recession and general slump in consumer spending, the publishing houses of the Mondadori Group recorded revenues of €306 million, a fall of 3.3% on the €316.5 million of the same period of 2008. During the period the Division confirmed its clear leadership with a market share of 28% (excluding large-scale retail).

Concerning the individual publishing houses, Edizioni Mondadori in the first nine months of 2009 recorded revenues €88.4 million, a fall of 5.5% compared with the previous year.

Significant titles published during the period included, Venuto al mondo by Margaret Mazzantini which in early September won the 47th Campiello Literary Prize (450,000 copies). There was also great success for La bellezza e l’inferno (350,000 copies) by Roberto Saviano, Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (300,000 copies), the latest legal thriller by John Grisham, Il ricatto (200,000 copies).

During the period Einaudi generated revenues of €34.5 million, a fall of 6.8% compared with the same period of 2008. In particular the bookstore channel and large-scale retail saw a fall of 5.2%, due above all to a lower level of re-orders and higher levels of returns. Part-works were down by 14.9%; and the sale of rights for add-on sales was down by 19.2%.

In terms of new titles, Einaudi saw excellent results from the winner of the last Strega Prize, Stabat Mater by Tiziano Scarpa (more than 130,000 copies), and Un luogo incerto by Fred Vargas (115,000 copies).

Sperling & Kupfer recorded revenues of €19.1 million (+13% on the same period of the previous year). Significant new titles during the period included Il gioco delle verità by Sveva Casati Modignani (180,000 copies), top of the Nielsen bestsellers list for Italian fiction for five weeks.

In the first nine months of 2009 Piemme generated net revenues of €33.7 million, a fall of 9.9% on the same period of the previous year, characterised by the presence of the bestsellers by Khaled Hosseini; the first nine months of 2009 were compensated by the good performance of some new titles, including the thriller by Michael Connelly, Il cerchio del lupo (85,000 copies), and the launch in paperback of Il cacciatore di aquiloni by Hosseini (145,000 copies).

Mondadori Electa recorded revenues of €29.6 million, a slight increase (+1.4%) compared with the first 9 months of 2008. The company has felt the impact of the downturn in some of the market segments in which it operates, including the bookstore channel and add-on sales, compensated by activities in the cultural heritage sector and contract publishing.

In the first nine months of 2009 Mondadori Education generated revenues of €68 million, a fall of 4.1% on the same period of the previous year, and confirmed its position as the second player in terms of market share in the market for textbook adoptions.

· Magazines Italy

The third quarter saw a continuation of the difficulties affecting Italian and international publishing that began in the second half of 2008, albeit at a slightly reduced level. In particular, Mondadori saw an improvement in circulation in the summer months and even advertising was able to contain the downward trend thanks to a series of special initiatives.

Revenues generated by the Division in the period amounted to €368.6 million, a fall of 16.4% on the €441 million of the same period of the previous year 2008. In particular, the decline in the third quarter was of 6.7%.

The decline over the first nine months was the result of:

– a fall in circulation (-4.7%), in line with the market of reference; with a more reassuring performance in the third quarter (-2.5%);

– an ongoing downsizing of revenues from add-on sales (-26.3%), albeit less marked than for other magazine publishers and with better results in the summer period (-1.8%) compared with the same quarter of 2008.

– Continuing slump in advertising revenues (-26.9%, with a fall of 16.1% in Q3), characterised by both a reduction in volumes and a decrease in tariffs.

In terms of the circulation of its titles, Mondadori maintained both its market share and leadership: of note were the summer performances of Chi, TV Sorrisi e Canzoni and TV guides in general (Guida TV and Telepiù), Donna Moderna, Grazia; while Tu Style, relaunched at the beginning of the year, continued to grow.

On the add-on sales front, Mondadori, that covers the sector mainly with operations linked with TV Sorrisi e Canzoni, Panorama, Donna Moderna and collectable products, reported results in line with expectations, with initiatives aimed at families and younger targets, a home video series, music and, finally, a number of purely collectable operations.

There was a marked increase in revenues from Mondadori web sites compared with the previous year (+12.2%), thanks to the performance of Donnamoderna.com (+34%), which was markedly ahead of the market (+5.2%, Source: Nielsen to September), reaching, at the end of the period, 1.5 million unique users and 20 million page views (Source: Nielsen Netview).

International activities

In the first nine months of the year licensing revenues for Mondadori titles continued to grow, recording and increase of 15.1%, despite a crisis that also at an international level has had an impact on the revenues of the individual editions and relative royalties.

In October the ‘Grazia International Network’ saw the launch of a new edition of Grazia in Thailand, which will be followed up by the end of the year with a new edition in Indonesia, which will be the fifteenth edition around the world. To the success of Grazia should be added the good performance of the licences for Casaviva, Sale&Pepe, Interni and Flair, which since October is also present in The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary, as well as Austria.

During the period the subsidiary Attica was affected in Greece and the Balkan countries by the reduction of advertising budgets, while managing to react to the substantial fall in revenues (around -30% compared with the previous year) with a detailed policy for containing costs.

· Magazines France

The Magazine Division in France generated total revenues in the first nine months of 2009 of €254.8 million, a fall of 10.4% on the €284.5 million of the same period of the previous year. On a like-for-like basis, in other words net of the titles sold in 2008, the fall was of 7.4%.

At the end of August Mondadori launched Grazia France, which, from the first issues, performed well ahead of expectations, both in terms of circulation and advertising.

After the excellent results obtained by the magazine in the launch phase, Grazia confirmed an excellent newsstand performance also in the subsequent period, with an average sale of more than 180,000 per issue for the first 11 issues. There was an average of 30 advertising pages, thanks to adhesion of a range of important up-market advertisers, not only French.

On the circulation front, in France newsstand sales saw a fall of 5.7% (Source: NMPP/TP, to the end of August). In this context the newsstand circulations of Mondadori France, which account for around 70% of the total, recorded a fall of 4.8%, almost one point better than the market; on a comparable basis the fall was of 2.4%.

Subscriptions, meanwhile, were up, confirming their role as a stable and important source of revenues.

On the advertising front, the magazine market in France remained at the negative levels recorded in the previous months, with a slight improvement in the summer (-14% in terms of volume in the first eight months; Source: TNS_MI). The advertising revenues of Mondadori France came to €59.3 million, a 20.9% fall; on a like-for-like basis the figure was 15.9%.

In an extremely difficult market, Mondadori France continued to pursue efficiencies in its industrial activities (paper and printing) and to reduce marketing, distribution and general costs. The introduction in 2009 of a number of projects, including the launch of Grazia, the reorganisation of the business and the ongoing review of the titles, are an extremely important process for Mondadori France that will enable the company to emerge from the current economic crisis with better prospects for the future.

· Advertising

Mondadori Pubblicità ended the first nine months of the year with revenues of €181.6 million, a fall of 25.8% on the €244.7 million of the previous year, thanks to a significant capacity to react more effectively than the market; the overall fall in sales in the third quarter was held at around 17%, partially closing the gap opened up in the first half, which ended down by 29.1%.

Thanks to a number of initiatives launched by Mondadori Pubblicità, the radio stations and magazines in the portfolio generated results that made it possible to contain the decline compared with its competitors. Among the weeklies, special mention should be given to the performance, in terms of pages, of Tu Style, Panorama and Grazia, a result that was obtained in a market that continues to suffer from downturns in key sectors for Mondadori (fashion, interiors, cosmetics and FMCGs).

During the first months of the year a series of projects were also developed aimed at reinforcing the company’s presence and valorising the assets in the portfolio. These included:

– the creation of a Development Network, with the precise objective of acquiring new clients;

– the incorporation of Mediamond, a new sales company for online advertising, jointly owned by Mondadori Pubblicità and Publitalia ’80, as previous announced on the last 22th July.

• Direct Marketing

In the first nine months of 2009 the Direct Marketing sector in Italy recorded a fall of 17.9% (Nielsen data to September) in line with the trend in the first half of the year.

During the period Cemit generated revenues of €13.8 million, a fall of 13.2%, which was lower than the market, compared with the €15.9 million of the same period of the previous year.

The fall was mainly due to the slowdown in investments by industry, especially the automotive sector, the impact of which was contained by careful management of costs

• Retail

The Retail Division felt the effects in the first nine months of the year of the generalised decline in consumer spending, while in the third quarter there was substantial stability compared with 2008. This allowed Mondadori to end the period with revenues for the division of €126.4 million, a slight fall of 1.7% on the €128.6 million of last year.

Mondadori Retail generated revenues of €76.9 million, down by 8.9% on the €84.4 million of the same period of last year. Despite this shortfall in revenues, profitability was improved thanks to a marked reduction in overall costs, also achieved through the renegotiation of rental contracts on 40 directly controlled sales outlets.

Mondadori Franchising recorded revenues of €49.5 million, an increase of 12% on the €44.2 million of the first nine months of 2008, thanks to the ongoing development of the chain which has become, in terms of the number of outlets, Italy’s most extensive network for the sale of editorial products with 239 bookshops (212 on 30 September 2008) and 191 Edicolè outlets (157 on 30 September 2008).

• Radio

During the first nine months of the year the radio advertising market showed an improvement, compared with the first six months of 2009 (-14% to September; -17.5% to July; Source: Nielsen), with the first tentative signs of recovery in the month of September. In this context R101 generated revenues of €9.7 million, (-12.6%) compared with the €11.1 million of the corresponding period of 2008.

In terms of ratings, R101 confirmed in the 4th two-month period of 2009 its position as the 5th national commercial network (Source: Audiradio, listeners over 28 days).

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE FULL YEAR

During the third quarter there were no significant changes to the trends in the markets of reference for the Mondadori Group. Furthermore, there are no reasons to believe that there will be any short-term turnaround in such trends, especially as far as the advertising market, the decline in which is expected to continue at a marked level until the end of the year.

The results achieved in terms of cost reductions, thanks to action taken on processes and structures, have allowed the Mondadori Group to maintain a good level of profitability in its core business and to continue to invest in development.

Of special relevance was the launch, at the end of August, of Grazia France, which, while involving significant investments, has proved rewarding in terms of results, with both circulation and advertising revenues ahead of expectations.

The final quarter of the year will also see the Group engaged in the implementation of an ambitious restructuring plan, made possible by recent agreements reached with trade unions, that will involve the editorial and journalistic structures and will lead to significant savings already in the coming year.

The effects of the decline in revenues, in particular in advertising, the area with greatest impact on profitability, ongoing investments in development and the commitment to cost reductions, involving reserves for the restructuring process, will lead to a significant reduction operating profit compared with last year.

§

The executive responsible for the preparation of the company’s accounts, Carlo Maria Vismara, declares that, as per art. 2, 154 bis of the Single Finance Text, the accounting information contained in this release corresponds to that contained in the company’s formal accounts.

§

The report for the period to 30 September 2009 is made available, as per current legislation, at the company’s corporate headquarters, Borsa Italiana S.p.A. and on the web site www.gruppomondadori.it

[1] 1 It should be noted that on 1 January 2009 IFRS principle 8 came into force, replacing IAS 14, concerning the communication of figures for each significant business in which the Group operates. The application of this new principle has led to the publication of figures pertaining to activities managed by the Mondadori France subsidiary separately from those of the Magazine Division as a whole, even though it is a part. Consequently, in order to make like-for-like comparisons, it has been necessary to re-publish also the figures for the third quarter of 2008.

Moreover, following the sale of 80% of Mondadori Printing, in November 2008, the section that included the figures relative to the Group’s printing activities is no longer significant in the terms of IFRS 8 and, as a result, such figures have been aggregated with those booked under Other business. The same classification has been applied for the figures for 2008.

The Board of Directors of Arnoldo Mondadori S.p.A. met today, under the chairmanship of Marina Berlusconi, to examine and approve the interim report for the first nine months of the year to 30th September 2008, as presented by the Group’s Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive, Maurizio Costa.

THE MARKET SCENARIO

From the beginning of the second half of 2008, as feared, the effects on the real economy of the financial and macroeconomic problems that hade emerged in the preceding period began to be felt and had an immediate and somewhat violent impact on consumer spending. A period of recession is now almost certain, and it is difficult to forecast either the quantitative impact or duration.

In Italy that characterising element of the general situation in the market of reference for the Mondadori Group has been a further marked decline in advertising investments, while there has been a continuation, without particular variations, in the slowdown in circulation and add-on sales. The growth recorded by books in the first months of the year has also come to a halt.

In France, magazine circulation has fallen, but also here it is advertising that has been most affected by the situation of uncertainty about prospects in the short term.

GROUP PERFORMANCE IN THE PERIOD TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2008

Despite such a difficult context, the Mondadori Group confirmed its capacity on the revenue front, recording a gross operating profit – net of add-on sales – that was higher than that of the corresponding nine-month period of the previous year, notwithstanding ongoing investments in business development.

This has been made possible by paying close attention to operating costs and efficiencies in all areas of the company that has enabled the Group, also in the third quarter, despite a fall in revenues due to the economic situation, to increase its margins compared with the same period of the previous year.

Consolidated revenues for the first nine months of 2008 came to €1,368.1 million, a fall of 5.1% compared with the €1,441.7 million in the first nine months of 2007 (-1.5% net of add-on sales).

Consolidated gross operating profit at 30 September 2008 came to €168.8 million, a fall on 9.8% on the €187.1 million of the same period of the previous year (+1.8% net of add-on sales). As a proportion of revenues, a fall to 12.3% from the 13% of the same period of 2007.

Net of the impact of add-on sales (-€20.8 million) and non-recurring factors (increased capital gains: +€3 million; personnel: -€1.5 million due to the application of new regulations on leaving entitlements in 2007 and extraordinary charges), operating margin would have grown by €1 million due to improved business results (+€7.2 million) and increased investments in development activities (-€6.2 million).

Consolidated operating profit at 30 September 2008 came to €137.5 million, a fall of 11% on the €154.5 million of the same period of 2007, with amortizations and depreciations of tangible and intangible assets for a total of €31.3 million (€32.6 million in 2007); as a proportion of revenues, a fall from the 10.7% of 2007 to 10.1% this time.

Consolidated profit before taxation amounted to €104.5 million, a fall of 19.8% on the €130.3 million of the first nine months of 2007, with an increase of €8.8 million in net financial charges, essentially due to the increased cost of borrowing (around €4.7 million) and lower returns from financial investments (around €3.1 million) and the IAS regulations regarding leaving entitlements (€1 million).

Consolidated net profit at 30 September 2008 came to €58.8 million, a fall of 16.1% on the €70.1 million for the same period of the previous year.

Gross cash flow in the first nine months of 2008 amounted to €90.1 million, compared with €102.7 million in the first nine months of 2007.

The Group’s net financial position at 30 September 2008 showed a deficit of €644.5 million, compared to a deficit of €535.3 million at the end of 2007. During the period income taxes of €65.5 million and dividends of €83.8 million were paid out.

RESULTS OF THE BUSINESS AREAS

• Libri

In the first nine months of 2008 the Book Division generated revenues of €316.5 million, a fall of 3% on the €326.4 million of the same period of 2007 (-1.8% net of the contribution of the sale of rights for add-on sales initiatives).

During the period the Group confirmed its leadership in the trade segment with a marked advantage over its main competitors, despite a period of recession and a general decline in consumer spending. Particularly positive results were recorded by Edizioni Mondadori, that saw its market share increase by a full percentage point, and Einaudi, which confirmed its position as Italy’s second-largest publisher. In the first nine months of the year, the Turin-based publisher generated net revenues of €37 million, an increase of 5.4% on the same period of 2007.

Among the important events during the period was the exceptional success of La solitudine dei numeri primi, the first novel by a new writer, Paolo Giordano, which also won the 2008 Premio Strega, and has sold more than 800,000 copies; among the long sellers, of special note was Gomorra by Roberto Saviano, which reached one and a half million copies.

• Magazines

The Magazine Division generated revenues of €725.5 million in the period, a fall of 8.4% on the €791.8 million at 30 September 2007, largely due to the fall in add-on sales (net of add-on sales, the fall in the Division’s total revenues would be of just 3%).

Italy

Revenues generated in Italy in the first nine months of 2008 amounted to €440.9 million, a fall of 12.5% compared with the €504 million of the same period of 2007.

The shortfall in revenues is attributable to the following factors:

– weakness in circulation revenues (-5.2%) in line with the reference market, marked by a decline in all segments of the business;

– as already indicated, a marked fall (-29.9%) in revenues from add-on sales, in line with the main competitors. The on-going decline in this type of activity has necessitated a stricter selection of the initiatives in order to maintain significant margins while reducing the risks of failure.

– a downturn in magazine advertising (-2.1%) which, after an encouraging start in the first quarter, saw an abrupt slowdown, above all from the summer period.

On the circulation side, Mondadori consolidated its market share, maintaining its position of absolute leadership. The best performances were recorded in the news segment with Panorama, in women’s weeklies with Donna Moderna and in the up-market segment by Grazia and Flair, which also performed well on the advertising front.

France

In the first nine months of the year Mondadori France generated revenues of €284.6 million, essentially in line (-1.1%) with the €287.8 million of the same period of 2007.

Over the same period, the company continued its efforts to reduce costs, generating important savings on both the production and distribution fronts.

The circulation revenues of Mondadori France remained at the levels of the previous year (+0.1%). In particular Closer and Biba recorded excellent performances; Modes & Travaux and Top Santé held up well, as did Le Chasseur Français and Télé Star Jeux, following their re-launches, while difficulties continued in the TV guides segment. Overall, also subscription revenues remained at the levels of the previous year, thanks to marked increases for Closer and Auto Plus.

On the advertising side, France saw a continuation in the third quarter of the marked slowdown in advertising sales.

Mondadori France, while safeguarding its market share, was particularly penalised by a downturn in sales in the Femme Grand Public, TV and auto segments; while results were positive in the people and up-market segments, driven by strong growth in the circulation of Closer and Biba.

In this context, Mondadori France in the first nine months of the year recorded advertising revenues of €75 million, an 8.4% fall on the €81.9 million of the same period of the previous year.

International activities

During the period there was a continuation in the rise in revenues from the international editions of Mondadori titles. The network, which as of 30 September had reached 15 units, either licensing agreements or joint-ventures, expanded further in October with the launch of Sale&Pepe in Romania, Grazia Casa in Croatia and Casaviva in Bulgaria, followed in November by the launch of a Serbian edition.

• Advertising

Mondadori Pubblicità recorded revenues for the period of €244.7 million, a fall of 1.6% on the €248.8 million of the first nine months of the previous year.

After a positive first half, the third quarter saw a reflection, albeit to a lesser degree, of the worrying downturn in the market as a whole in the period.

As regards individual titles, there was expansion for the Grazia “system” (+9%) and a positive trend for Flair as well as TV Sorrisi e Canzoni and Panorama, despite a critical moment for the segments typically characterised as “male”. In other media, there was further consolidation in radio with a substantial (+33.3%) increase for R101, while in the Internet area, in line with the market, there was an excellent performance by the web site www.donnamoderna.com.

• Printing

The situation at 30 September 2008 saw a significant fall in revenues compared with the same period of the previous year, due to a general decline in the market.

During the third quarter there was a further marked reduction in pages due to the sudden arrest in advertising compared with the first half, and there was a confirmation of the slowdown in the market for newspaper and magazine supplements.

In the first nine months of the year the Printing Division recorded total revenues of €281.2 million, in fall of 15.6% on the €333.3 million of the same period of the previous year, mainly due to the absence of activities for Mondadori Education, that were present in 2007.

As for other areas, the market for catalogues and commercial products was stable and in line with expectations; illustrated books showed signs of recovery in the volume of printing in Europe, compared to the Far East, and interesting printing contracts for the American market.

There was a slight increase in the cost of paper in the period, in particular for the paper used in the printing of magazines. Utilisation of plant capacity was lower than the budget, despite a significant reduction in outsourcing.

• Direct marketing

In the first nine months of the year Cemit operated in an increasingly difficult market, characterised by reductions in communication investments. During the period the company recorded revenues of €15.9 million, a fall of around 7% on the €17.1 million of the same period of the previous year, while maintaining a good level of profitability thanks to an improvement in the mix, which was more focused of higher value added activities and the ongoing control of costs.

• Retail

Total revenues from the Retail Division in the first nine months of 2008 came to €128.6 million, an increase of 7.3% compared with the €119.9 million of the same period of the previous year.

Mondadori Franchising recorded revenues of €44.2 million, an increase of 13.3% on the €39 million of the same period of 2007, thanks above all to new affiliations. The company’s expansion programme continued during the period raising the number of its outlets to a total of 369, making it Italy’s largest network of outlets for the sale of editorial products, of which 212 are bookshops (205 on 30 September 2007) and 157 Edicolè newsstands (117 at the same point of 2007).

Mondadori Retail revenues in the first nine months of the year came to €84.4 million, an increase of 4.3% on the €80.9 million of the same period of 2007. During the period the number of directly controlled outlets rose to 30.

• Radio

The net revenues of R101 in the first nine months of the year amounted to €11.1 million, a 50% increase on the €7.4 million of the same period of 2007, and corresponding to gross advertising revenues of €16 million (€12 million at 30 September 2007).

The good audience ratings for the station were confirmed in the period, reaching an average daily audience of 2.1 million (+4.85% in the 5th Audiradio cycle compared to the same period of the previous year), in a slightly falling market.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS AFTER THE CLOSE OF THE PERIOD

Sale of 80% of Mondadori Printing S.p.A.

As previously communicated on 14 October, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore signed a preliminary contract for the sale of 80% of the subsidiary Mondadori Printing S.p.A. to the Gruppo Pozzoni. The value of the transaction was defined on the basis of an enterprise value for 100% of Mondadori Printing of €145 million. The impact of the operation on the consolidated net financial position of the Mondadori Group will be of €123 million.

The operation should be seen in the context of a general trend toward consolidation and concentration among the qualified players that characterises the printing sector at an international level in response to new competitive pressures, overcapacity and a fall in demand.

The agreement gives to the Gruppo Pozzoni an option to buy the remaining 20% of Mondadori Printing, that may be exercised from December 2011, at a cost determined by the fair market value of the company on the date of the operation. Mondadori will retain an option to sell the same 20%, from January 2017, at a price to be determined by the abovementioned criteria.

The agreement also includes an 8-year printing contract – renewable on terms in line with the best market benchmarks – guaranteeing Mondadori an improvement in terms of costs and the maintenance of high standards of quality.

The terms of the operation and the signing of the preliminary contract are subject to the approval of the Italian Competition Authority.

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE FULL YEAR

The current economic and financial situation is marked by exceptional factors and consequent uncertainties that cannot be compared to the past. Both the scale and, above all, the timing with which critical factors become evident, make it difficult to make forecasts about both the medium and the short term.

What is clear is that, even in these recent difficult months, the Mondadori Group has been able to face the inevitable downturn in business with results that are in line with the best expectations, and even better than the previous year, if the add-sales are excluded. At the same time, the company has created the conditions for further improvements in efficiency through an industrial partnership in printing.

As a result, it is possible to confirm, in line with the projections made at the time of the report on the first half of the year to 30 June, that, the management results for the core business, excluding add-on sales activities, at the end of 2008 are in line with those of the previous year.

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The executive responsible for the preparation of the company’s accounts, Carlo Maria Vismara, declares that, as per art. 2, 154 bis of the Single Finance Text, the accounting information contained in this release corresponds to that contained in the company’s formal accounts.