Mediaset back in black

3Q revs increase 32% to $565 mil

By CECILIA ZECCHINELLI

MILAN -- Mediaset, Italy's largest private broadcaster, returned to profit in the third quarter from a loss in the same period a year ago as ad revenues at its three Italian stations and Spanish station Telecinco rose.

Pretax profit was e11 million ($12.7 million) from a $29.5 million loss last year. Analysts had expected a $1.7 million pre-tax loss. Third-quarter revenues rose 32% to $565 million.

Pre-tax profit was up 35% to $515.5 million for the first nine months of the year, confirming earlier expectations.

The TV group, controlled by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, expects ad revs to rise by almost 4% for the full year. It forecasts full-year 2003 operating profit to be more than the $650 million reported last year. In the January-September period, Mediaset revenue rose 27% to $2.4 billion, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization increased 25% to $1.4 billion.

Mediaset stock fell 0.1% to $10 in Milan on Wednesday. The shares have risen 27% in the past 12 months, giving the company a market value of $11.8 billion.

(Bloomberg contributed to this report.)