TX Group: Savings program for Tamedia and at Group level continues

Cost management is a high priority for the Zurich-based TX Group. The media company is therefore reaffirming the savings targets for the Tamedia division and at Group level until the end of the current year 2023.

For example, paid media is expected to further reduce costs by 70 million by the end of 2023. By the end of 2022, around 65 percent of this will have been achieved, as was already the case at mid-year, as CFO Wolf-Gerrit Benkendorff and Chief Communications & Sustainability Officer Ursula Nötzli explained to the AWP news agency on Thursday. This excludes the cost increase due to higher paper prices.

In connection with what has already been achieved, Benkendorff referred to the reduction in Tamedia's workforce by 80 full-time positions, or just under 6 percent, in the course of 2022. Those responsible were confident that the savings target would be met on time. However, Nötzli made it clear that the cost situation would remain an important issue even beyond the 70 million in savings.

At Group level, further savings of 20 million are targeted by the end of the current year. Looking at the year as a whole, Benkendorff made it clear that he was not satisfied with the financial performance of the publishing units. By contrast, those responsible were very satisfied in particular with the development of the job platforms at Jobcloud and karriere.at. And the operating performance of the newly formed Swiss Marketplace Group in its first year was also very pleasing, he said. However, as a result of various write-downs and value adjustments, SMG closed the year 2022 with a loss.

The significant decline in TX Group's earnings has an impact on the ordinary dividend. This will be significantly reduced for 2022. With the proposed 30 centimes, however, the company is at the lower end of its self-imposed dividend range, said Benkendorff, commenting on the dividend proposal. (sda)