Editorial by the Chairman of the Board of Directors

Dr Pietro Supino, Chairman & Publisher

Dear shareholders

Dear business partners of TX Group

Dear colleagues

From the perspective of the Group as a whole, business performance in the first half of 2023 was encouraging.

JobCloud (TX Group holds a 50% share) made the most important contribution to profit. The leading digital company in the Swiss recruitment market was able to maintain sales despite economic uncertainty and is investing in further business development. karriere.at in Austria (JobCloud holds a 49% share) was affected by the impact of high inflation on the labor market and suffered a loss in revenue, which in combination with investments in long-term business development led to a decline in profit. We at TX Group assess the prospects for Digital Recruiting as fundamentally good and are looking for opportunities to expand the business. Within this context, we are aware of the cyclical nature of the business and the associated volatility.

The profit contribution of the share in SMG Swiss Marketplace Group (TX holds a 30.74% share) will also be very relevant in perspective. Following the formation at the end of 2021 and the contribution of Homegate, Ricardo, tutti and car4you by TX Group, SMG was able to significantly increase its earnings in the first half of 2023. This confirms the great potential of the joint venture, which shall be realized in the next few years on the way to the aimed IPO.

The third positive development in the first half of the year concerns the acquisition of the business of Clear Channel Switzerland, which exceeded our expectations. This is even more important as Neo Advertising on its own was incurring losses in the strategically important area of outdoor advertising. Thanks to the merger and after implementation of the restructuring that has been initiated, the combined business promises to make a significant contribution to profits.

In addition to these three main positive drivers in the first half of the year, our largest company Tamedia was able to end the negative trend in its development. With almost stable revenues, the company posted a moderately positive result thanks to cost reductions that have been initiated. It is of crucial importance that investments are being made simultaneously in the quality of journalism and the renewal of existing and new offerings. For example, “Traffic Monitoring,” launched in mid-August, offers exclusive news, background reports and up-to-date research for a professional user base from the traffic and mobility industry.

Like Tamedia, our companies 20 Minuten and Goldbach face the dual challenge of further improving the offering and sustainably reducing the cost base. This is because in the digital transformation, traditional revenues from the advertising and user market are declining. We have to confront this reality in order to re-establish a healthy foundation for our historical businesses.

In this context, 20 Minuten and Goldbach are also successfully investing in improving their offerings. For example, thanks to a focus on editorial work, 20 Minuten has been able to expand its leading position on the social media channels that are significant for young target groups, as well as usage on its own platforms. With this and a digital revenue share of 75%, 20 Minuten is very well positioned.

Goldbach is also benefiting from this in its transformation into a digital advertising marketer. In addition to the growing digital inventory, technological solutions are required. A good example of this is the new booking platform, which made great progress in its development thanks to the acquisition of AdUnit and is particularly important for the promising segment of small and medium-sized companies. Added to this comes the positive development of the previously mentioned new pillar in the field of out-of-home advertising.

For the necessary adjustment of the cost base to the realities in the traditional media business, the Group’s central services must also continue to contribute together with Goldbach, Tamedia and 20 Minuten. In this way, and with an improvement in the offerings along the described development axes, all of the Group’s activities can once again contribute to the overall result in the foreseeable future and continue the positive trend in the first half of 2023.

With this confidence, I would like to thank our employees for their great commitment and our business partners and shareholders for their valued trust.

Dr Pietro Supino

Chairman & Publisher