The daily Releaseneeds 15 million euros to cover its losses over the next three years before reaching profitability in 2026, Denis Olivennes, its managing director and co-manager, told AFP on Thursday, confirming information from The letterHAS. Two years after its sale to the “Endowment Fund for an Independent Press” by the Altice group of businessman Patrick Drahi, Release needs cash despite its business growth.
“We do not regret all these investments”
At the time, “we drew up a business plan which provided for a return to equilibrium in 2023 and assumed a contribution of funds” of around twenty million euros, explained boss Denis Olivennes. But this plan did not follow its trajectory, in particular due to a slower than expected development of advertising, aggravated by the pandemic, and “a higher level of departures under the transfer clause than expected”, a- he added.
Factors to which were added the investments necessary for the growth of the daily newspaper such as the 10% increase in the workforce and the financing of a software platform allowing the number of subscriptions to be increased. “We do not regret these investments because, in fact, Release experienced last year the strongest increase in paid circulation in France of all the national daily press”, of the order of more than 18%, and in this first half of the year is still “on the first steps of the podium”, according to the manager.
The fund will retain control of Release
“All these elements mentioned delay the point of equilibrium by two and a half to three years and therefore lengthen the need for coverage of operating losses which have been estimated at around fifteen million euros”, nevertheless argued. the chairman of the holding company Release. Two options therefore remain, according to him: “Either the endowment fund recommits money to Release but, for that, it is necessary that the first donor, Patrick Drahi, gives money; however, he has already invested 100 million euros in Release since he came back” in 2014.
Either you have to find an investor who believes “in our model and who finances (us), by lending us money or by investing alongside the fund” but “the only thing that is certain is that the fund will keep the control of Release“, warned Denis Olivennes. In 2021, turnover reached 31.5 million euros, up 10% and operating losses were reduced to 7.9 million compared to 12.3 million in 2020. .