Music and service business drove Bertelsmann to record profits

The geopolitical uncertainties and the impending recession hardly affect Bertelsmann.

The German media, services and education group achieved record profits in the first half of the year. “We are very satisfied with the business development in the first half of 2022,” said CEO Thomas Rabe on Wednesday. “We will continue to pursue our ambitious Boost plans and invest five to seven billion euros by 2025 to bring Bertelsmann to a higher level of revenue and earnings,” Rabe continued. Group sales increased by 6.9 percent to EUR 9.3 billion within a year, with organic growth amounting to 3.8 percent.

Profit (operating Ebitda) climbed to 1.429 (half-year 2021: 1.417) billion euros “despite a challenging market environment and higher streaming investments”. In particular, the television subsidiary RTL Group, the music company BMG and the service provider Arvato contributed to the positive development.