Central European Media Enterprises (CME) saw strong growth in the third quarter, following on from the sale of its operations in Croatia and Slovenia.
Net revenues in Q3 amounted $119,431,000, or 11.1% more actual, 4.8% like-for-like, than in the same period in 2016. Meanwhile, OIBDA was $25,145,000 (+30.1% actual, 23.6% like-for-like). In its latest set of results, the company notes that its TV revenues increased by 10% at actual and 4% at constant rates in Q3.
At the same time, carriage fees and subscription revenues increased by 20% at actual and 15% at constant rates in the third quarter.
It also says that proceeds from the sale of its operations in Croatia and Slovenia, expected to close by the end of this year or in early 2018, will be used to repay debt and should decrease its current cost of borrowing by an additional 150 basis points to 4.5%.
Commenting on the results, Michael Del Nin, co- CEO, said: “Our strong momentum from the first half of 2017 continued through the third quarter, positioning us very well as we head into the final months of the year, and providing a very solid base as we look to grow further in 2018. As a result of strong gains in OIBDA and unlevered free cash flow, we are able to raise our guidance for the full year, and with our net leverage ratio now below 6x, we will see our average borrowing cost decline by 125 basis points to 6.0%, its lowest level in eight years.”
Christoph Mainusch, co-CEO, added: “Our operations posted very strong results through the summer, culminating in one of the most successful launches to our fall season and contributing to higher audience shares so far this year in three out of four territories. We are investing in content because audiences continue to demand high quality local productions, but have mostly offset that with other savings to improve profitability.”
CME is present in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria.
