ProSiebenSat.1 Media said second-quarter operating profit rose 6% to 140.4 million euros ($189.54 million) as it cut costs but revenues remained flat.
Revenues were 510 million euros, unchanged from last year but in-line with the company's expectations as World Cup-linked advertising revenues in the second-quarter of 2006 were above average.
Overall costs were slightly lower, down 0.4% to 407.1 million euros, due to reduced cost of sales.
Net profit grew 4.6% to 87.2 million euros while EBITDA gained 2.6% to 158.8 million euros.
The company said market expectations for TV advertising investment in Germany are between 2% and 3% in the current year with a weak third quarter and a stronger fourth quarter. It said the first consolidation of SBS Broadcasting Group, which it acquired in the first-half of this year, will be in July and will significantly increase revenues and profits of the whole of ProSiebenSat.1.
Over the medium term, the ProSiebenSat.1 Group has set itself the goal of increasing its EBITDA margin to between 25% and 30%, a figure it said is consistent with the margins of Europe's top 5 media groups.
The synergies in costs and revenues expected from the integration of SBS will contribute to profit improvements, which are expected to reach 80-90 mln by 2010.