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ATRESMEDIA
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ANNUAL AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY REPORT 2014
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ATRESMEDIA
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37
Economic situation and outlook
In 2014, the growth of the Spanish stock market has been more moderate
than in the previous year. The
Ibex 35
rose 3.7%, closing the financial year
at
10,279.5 points
(in 2013 it grew by 21.42%). The rest of the European
markets have had a mixed performance, but without large increases or
decreases: the Paris CAC 40 fell 0.54% (closing at 4,272.75 points); the
German Dax reached 9,805.55, up 2.62% over the year; and the London
FTSE fell 2.71%, closing on 6,566.09 points. The Eurostoxx 50 index, which
includes the 50 most important companies in Europe, has remained prac-
tically unchanged, growing only 1.2% to close 2014 at 3,146.43 points.
In terms of the US market, the main indexes have performed better than
the European indexes in 2014. The Dow Jones has increased by 7.52%; the
S&P 500 by 11.39%; while the Nasdaq has increased its value by 17.94%.
In 2014 Spain experienced significant growth in its gross domestic prod-
uct. The economy as a whole grew by 2.4%, compared to its 1.2% contrac-
tion in 2013. The good outlook is also maintained for the coming years.
The latest panel of experts published by FUNCAS in January 2015 antici-
pated an acceleration in the economy during this financial year, the result,
among other things, of the reduction in interest rates by the ECB and the
fall in oil prices, which will increase the disposable income of households
and, therefore, consumption. To this we can add the favourable effect of
reducing personal income tax, which will leave more money available for
the public. Therefore, this panel estimates that GDP will grow by 2.4% in
2015.
In turn, household consumption, which for the aforementioned reasons
increased by 2.3% in 2014, will rise by up to 3% in 2015, according to the
same source.
Other organisations, such as the Government and the IMF, are also opti-
mistic and believe that 2015 will end with an over 2% increase in economic
activity in Spain.
The advertising market has experienced notable growth after three years
of decline, both in the media as a whole and in television. Analysts, quar-
ter by quarter, have been adjusting their estimates upwards for the whole
year as positive data has been confirmed.