Axel Springer cuts revenue guidance as it announces restructuring plan
German media giant Axel Springer has warned it expects a decline in full-year revenue and profit, as it unveiled plans to restructure its news media division.
The firm, which owns a string of news brands including Business Insider, said revenue will decline in the low to mid single-digit range, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation will decline in the mid-teens percentage range.
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Axel Springer also said it plans to carry out “extensive” restructuring measures for News Media National, which publishes Bild and Die Welt, in a bid to save €50m (£44m).
“Continuously declining business areas will face cost savings and a reduction of staff numbers,” the company said in a statement.
As part of the restructuring, the editorial offices of Bild and Bild am Sonntag – its Sunday edition – will be merged. The move mirrors similar efforts made by the Times and the Sunday Times to pool resources.
However, Axel Springer also vowed to invest more than €100m over the next three years as it overhauls the structure of its flagship German titles.
The firm said it will start to develop a live video strategy for Bild, while it will establish a new contributor model for Die Welt. Both brands are hoping to expand their digital subscription base, the company added.
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It comes weeks after US private equity firm KKR become Axel Springer’s largest shareholder, paying €2.9bn for a 44 per cent stake in the group.
KKR is planning to take the company private by the end of the year or in the first quarter of 2020.
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