PRISA Achieves Revenues of 690.9 Million euros and EBITDA of 100.4 Million euros

NEW YORK and MADRID, May 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PRISA today announced its financial and operational results for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2011. In the first quarter, the Group achieved revenue of 690.9 million euros and EBITDA of 100.4 million euros. These figures, adjusted for nonrecurring items, reflect 3.2% growth in revenue and 2.4% growth in EBITDA.

The Chairman of the Executive committee of the Board and CEO, Juan Luis Cebrian, declared: "The first quarter earnings reflect the excellent performance we have been attaining in Latin America in our Radio and Education segments, as well as solid growth in the circulation of El Pais and the number of Digital+ subscribers, all of this hampered, however, by the weak economic situation in Spain, and particularly its impact on advertising spending. It is also important to note that the reported earnings include certain extraordinary items. Therefore, for clarity, excluding those items, the growth in revenue was 3.2% and our EBITDA improved by 2.4%."

"PRISA's extensive portfolio of assets includes leading brands in several markets and segments, and we at the company are focused on realizing all its potential, both in Spain and in the international markets where we do business," observed Cebrian. "In line with our strategy of achieving these objectives, we remain committed to implementing the restructuring plan, while consolidating our business operations and financial position. Though there is still a lot of work to do, I am convinced that our current strategy is correct and will let us achieve sustainable profitability and growth in the future."

* Omniture site Catalyst

Main figures by business area:

• In the Audiovisual area, revenue totaled 313.7 million euros, and adjusted EBITDA totaled 36.6 million euros. Both items decreased slightly compared to the same quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA margins totaled 11.7%, remaining stable compared to the same quarter last year. At the end of the first quarter, the pay tv had 1.81 million subscribers, which means achieving positive net adds in the first quarter of 13,049 to DTH compared to -46,960 in the same period previous year and 15,664 positive net adds to wholesale distribution and DTT. Subscribers to iPlus and Multi+ value-added services rose by more than 20% in the quarter.
• Revenue in Santillana was 185.8 million euros, up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year, driven by impetus from the revenue in Brazil, which rose 28.3%. Adjusted EBITDA reached 63.6 million euros, a 17.1% improvement over the same quarter last year. The adjusted EBITDA margins improved 130 basis points compared to last year, to 34.3%.
• Revenue in the Radio area totaled 83.4 million euros, remaining stable compared to the same quarter last year. Earnings in Spain were negatively impacted by deterioration of Spain's advertising market, though this was offset by ongoing strong growth in Latin America, where revenue grew 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA totaled 16.9 million euros and the adjusted EBITDA margin 20.2%, both slightly better than the same quarter last year.
• Revenue in Press was 105.5 million euros, 9.3% higher than the same quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA totaled 12.9 million euros, a 73.2% improvement over the same quarter last year, mainly due to especially strong growth in the circulation of El Pais and Cinco Dias and good performance from promotions that offset weakness in the Spanish advertising market. Adjusted EBITDA margins improved 450 basis points compared to the same quarter a year earlier, to 12.2%.
• The Digital business achieved a monthly average of 69.5 million unique users in the first quarter, a 51.1% increase compared to the same quarter last year, thanks to strong, two-digit growth recorded by As.com, ElPais.com and CincoDias.com.
• Advertising revenue totaled 144 million euros, down 3% from the same period the previous year due to the negative impact of deterioration in Spain's advertising market.
• Market conditions remained stable in all of the business areas except advertising, which was still being affected by macroeconomic factors, especially in Spain and Portugal.

The comparison of first-quarter earnings is affected by the fact that Cuatro ceased to be part of the consolidation in 2011. The comparison is also impacted by extraordinary items recorded under revenue and expenses in the same period both in FY 2011 and FY 2010. Therefore, to conduct a homogeneous comparison, we are presenting a pro forma profit and loss account showing the 2010 earnings of Cuatro as a discontinuing operation and we adjust the extraordinary items:

About PRISA

PRISA is the world's leading Spanish and Portuguese-language media group in the fields of education, information and entertainment thanks to its multichannel offer of top quality products. Present in 22 countries, it reaches more than 50 million users through its global brands El Pais, 40 Principales, Santillana and Alfaguara. As the market and audience leader in general-interest press, free-to-view TV and pay TV, spoken-word and music radio, education and publishing, PRISA is one of the most profitable media groups in the world, with an extraordinarily broad range of assets.

Media Contact: Charles Palmer, FD, 44-20-7269-7180
Investor Contact: Mollie Hawkes, FD, 617-747-1791

SOURCE PRISA