Fremantle eyes small, medium-sized prodco acquisitions to reach delayed $3.25bn yearly revenue target
European production group Fremantle’s ambition to make €3bin (US€3.25bn) in yearly revenue has been pushed back again, parent company RTL Group’s financial results for 2024 have shown.
London-based Fremantle’s revenues for the full financial year stood at €2.25bn (2023: €2.26bn), down 8% organically year-on-year.
That incremental loss was due to factors such as the impact of the US strikes, a soft advertising market and budget cuts at the streamers, said RTL.
Fremantle, which produces unscripted brands such as The X Factor and Family Feud, set the ambitious target of hitting €3bn by 2025 around six years ago.
RTL wanted to double the outfit’s revenue as it looked to TV and movie production to drive the company’s growth strategy.
However, last year RTL pushed back that deadline by another year, citing “increased headwinds” in the global TV sector.
Now, according to Luxembourg-headquartered RTL’s latest financials, the target has once again been moved back to a time period it defines only as “in the mid-term.”
RTL Group said this will be done through the acquisition of small and medium-sized production companies and partnerships with creative talent.
Overall, RTL Group’s revenue is stable at €6.3bn, down 1.5% organically compared to 2023, “mainly due to Fremantle” revealed the report.
Total group profits stand at €555m, with the group reporting streaming revenue growth of more than 40% from VoD platforms in Germany, Hungary and France.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation stand at €721m with a margin of 11.5%. It has proposed a dividend of €2.50 per share.
RTL also says that it expects to obtain regulatory approval to sell RTL Netherlands to DPG Media for €1.1bn in the second quarter of this year. This comes after the sale, agreed in late 2023, has been held up by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets due to concerns over media plurality.
The group said that Fremantle’s growth has been boosted by the 2024 acquisitions of Singapore-based prodco Beach House Pictures and France’s Asacha Media Group.
Thomas Rabe, CEO, RTL Group, said: “RTL Group once again demonstrated resilience in 2024. Despite challenging market conditions in the second half of the year, our results were in line with the guidance we provided at the beginning of 2024.
“We have continued to strengthen our global content business, Fremantle. Thanks to a significant reduction of overheads and the contribution from Asacha Media Group, Fremantle reached a record result and significantly improved its Adjusted EBITA margin. We plan to increase Fremantle’s margin to 9 per cent by 2026.”
