Letter from the Chairman
Atresmedia had a historic year and was strengthened due to its accurate strategy and placed itself in a magnificent position to address 2014, which we hope will be the turning point towardsgrowth.
We ended the 2013 financial year with the satisfaction of having done a good job and surpassed our most optimistic expectations in a year which was marked by a market in crisis. In this complicated context, Atresmedia had a historic year and was strengthened due to its accurate strategy and placed itself in a magnificent position to address 2014, which we hope will be the turning point towards growth.
Atresmedia is the most profitable audio-visual group in our country, and in 2013 it was consolidated in all the markets where it operates: television, radio, advertising, internet and cinema. Its offer, which is based on plurality, quality, talent, creativity and support to the industry has won the respect of the market, the advertisers, the public and the audio-visual sector, which has meant not only the improvement in our earnings andaudiences, but also the revaluation of the Company on the Stock Market.
I trust that the worst has passed and that the 2014 financial year will enable us to establish the bases to address 2015 brimming with new opportunities.
2013 was also marked by the merger with laSexta, a challenge we overcame successfully in record time, and which made us bigger and consolidated Atresmedia as the referential communications group in our country. We directly manage seven television channels, three radio stations. We produce successful cinema, we lead the advertising market and are pioneers in the new digital communication. All our divisions grew throughout2013 and all of them amply surpassed the objectives we had planned.
2013 was the grand year of Atresmedia Televisión which registered an average historic audience of 28.8%, three points more than those obtained in 2012, which made it co-leaders in audience. Antena 3 ended 2013 with 13.4% audience share, its best result in four years. laSexta was strengthened in the first year of the merger, it obtained the best result in the lastthree financial years and surpassed Cuatro for the first time.
2013 was also marked by the merger with laSexta, a challenge we overcame successfully in record time, and which made us bigger and consolidated Atresmedia as the referentialcommunications group in our country.The merger suited Atresmedia Televisión very well, as well as Atresmedia Publicidad which again grew above the market level one more year, investing in innovation and new advertising formulas which increased the efficacy of its campaigns and made it the company with the highest evaluation among the advertisers.
Atresmedia Radio again confirmed its strength by achieving an audience of almost five million listeners. It should be pointed out that a new brand was created: Melodía FM. There were also positive results for Onda Cero, which maintained its efficacy with the best profitability rate per listener and is the only generalist radio which grew as compared to the previous year. Europa FM again surpassed two million followers and climbed positions until it situated itself as the third musical station in Spain.
Atresmedia Cine again demonstrated that it is possible to make quality cinema which is also profitable. During 2013, we released seven of the ten biggest box office hits with takings amounting to more than 40 million euros.
Atresmedia Digital continues to be at the forefront and was again a pioneer with the launch of Atresplayer, an audio-visual platform which, for the first time, offered all the video and audio content of the Group on all the devices possible, thus adapting to the demands of the consumers.
As regards Corporate Responsibility, Atresmedia maintains the policy put into practice some years ago. Much was achieved in the 2013 financial year. Outstanding among these was our joining the Corporate Social Responsibility Forum, composed of large international communication companies.
Moreover, all the media of the Company actively participated in the three social campaigns undertaken together with the Red Cross, Aldeas Infantiles (Children’s Villages) and the Banco de Alimentos (Food Bank). In total, more than €2,060,000 were collected which will make it possible to help more than 8,000 families, more than 4,000 children to have their basic needs covered and more than 1.5 million persons to avail themselves of the food distributed by the Food Banks.
Five years after its launch, the initiative Ponle Freno (Put the Brake On It) continued with its achievements. Outstanding among these was the start-up of the Ponle Freno-AXA Study Centre for Road Safety, dedicated to research for the prevention of accidents. Furthermore, El Estirón (The Growth Spurt) and Hazte Eco (Pass It On) continued their social awareness work regarding the importance of instilling healthy life habits in children and care for the environment, respectively.
In 2013, the Fundación Atresmedia chose education as the axis of its activities. As an example, mention should be made of the execution of projects focused on the improvement of the educational environment and the recognition of the teacher, with the Premios iniciativas que educan (Initiatives which Educate Awards) and the event Gracias, profes (Thanks, Teachers).
2013 was a historic year. We are eager to discover the new opportunities which will arrive and whether we were able to give our best when we had to head into the wind. The promising future which awaits us is beyond my imagination.
