European broadcaster RTL Group reported a sharp fall in second-quarter revenues, hurt by the slowdown in the advertising market during the coronavirus outbreak. Sales fell 28.3 percent year-on-year to EUR 1.186 billion. The company said it was able to offset around half the sales decline with lower costs. 

Over the first half of the year, revenue declined 16.4 percent to EUR 2.652 billion, and adjusted EBITA roughly halved year-on-year, to EUR 258 million. Net profit fell 64.8 percent to EUR 156 million, and profit for shareholders was down 76.1 percent to EUR 94 million. 

RTL withdrew its full-year outlook already in April and did not give new guidance, apart from saying it expects a significant fall in revenue and adjusted EBITDA this year. While the economic outlook remains uncertain, it expects the drop in the ad market to slow in Q3. RTL expects its own TV ad revenues to be down around 10 percent in Q3 compared to a year earlier, less than the 40 percent drop seen in Q2. The outlook for Q4 remains highly uncertain, the group said. 

The company said it continued to invest in its growth plans presented in March and maintained its target for 5-7 million streaming subscribers at TV Now in Germany and Videoland in the Netherlands by 2025. The number reached 1.77 million at the end of June, up 45.2 percent from a year earlier. The streaming services contributed EUR 80 million in revenues in the first half of the year, up 23.1 percent from a year earlier.