B'mann hopes high
Profits up 12%; Woessner wants more
The world's third-largest entertainment group reported net profits of DM1.02 billion ($568 million), a 12.7% increase over the previous year. Revenues rose by 4.2%, to DM22.4 billion ($12.5 billion). Bertelsmann's book and magazine publishing businesses accounted for about half the company's sales.
Music subsid BMG Entertainment took in $4 billion in 1996-97. Film and television unit Ufa, which merged with Luxembourg broadcaster CLT at the beginning of the year, was not included in the total figures.
Chairman Mark Woessner told reporters that CLT-Ufa, Europe's largest TV and radio group, will have projected 1997 revenues of $2.5 billion.
Woessner said he expects Bertelsmann's sales to rise to $16.7 billion by 2000, and electronic media --- including music, film, TV and multimedia --- to make up 45% of the company's business at the turn of the century.
CLT-Ufa's revenues are expected to reach an estimated $3.3 billion in 1999. Woessner called Bertelsmann's recent agreement to cooperate with Leo Kirch in developing the German digital TV market by investing in pay TV web Premiere an "important decision for the future.
"There is only one alternative to the total blockade of this new technology in Germany, and that is the joint venture of CLT-Ufa and the Kirch Group in the area of pay TV."
Bertelsmann board member and BMG Entertainment CEO Michael Dornemann said that CLT-Ufa will invest an estimated $1.1 billion-$1.7 billion into building up Premiere over the next several years.
