By Bernadette Hogg and Alexander Hübner
(Reuters) -Media group ProSiebenSat.1 trimmed its 2025 core profit guidance on Thursday but forecast advertising revenue in the German-speaking region would recover in the second half, helped by expected growth in the German economy.
“We are confident that we will benefit quickly and directly from a possible economic recovery in the second half of the year,” financial chief Martin Mildner said in a statement.
The broadcasting and media group said it now expected adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to be in the bottom half of its target range of 470 million to 570 million euros ($538-652 million).
The company, whose shows include “The Voice of Germany” and “Germany’s Next Topmodel – by Heidi Klum”, is the target of rival takeover bids by its two biggest shareholders, Italy’s MFE-MediaForEurope and Czech investment group PPF.
MFE, the TV group controlled by the Berlusconi family, improved its bid on Monday in response to the counter-offer from PPF.
CEO Bert Habets told a media call that ProSieben would respond to MFE’s offer early next week, and declined to speculate on whether PPF might raise its offer.
On Wednesday, MFE entered share agreements to buy an additional 2.79% of Bavaria-based ProSieben, lifting its stake to 33%.
Government ministers have said any takeover must not undermine journalistic and economic independence in Germany.
Bavarian state minister for media Florian Herrmann told Reuters on Tuesday that the decision would ultimately be an economic one subject to the supervision of the Bavarian State Center for New Media.
ProSieben said its second-quarter revenue dropped 7% year-on-year to 840 million euros, hit by weak advertising sales and the impact of the sale of comparison website Verivox.
That missed analysts’ average forecast of 855 million euros in an LSEG poll.
The company confirmed its full-year revenue guidance of 3.7 billion to 4 billion euros.
($1 = 0.8738 euros)
(Reporting by Alexander Hübner, Bernadette Hogg and Elvira Pollina. Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Mark Potter)
