Bertelsmann, the international media group, reports a year-on-year increase in revenues and group profit after the first nine months of the 2012 fiscal year.

Group revenues from continuing operations increased by 5.7 percent to EUR11.4 billion during the reporting period (previous year: EUR 10.8 billion). Organic growth, adjusted for portfolio and currency effects, was 4.0 percent. Operating EBIT increased by 5.8 percent to EUR1,095 million (previous year: EUR 1,035 million). Return on sales was 9.6 percent (previous year: 9.6 percent). Group profit increased significantly to EUR 528 million (previous year: EUR377 million) during the reporting period, thanks to lower special items.

Bertelsmann Chairman & CEO Thomas Rabe comments: "We are satisfied with our business performance during the first nine months of the year. Bertelsmann is growing organically, profitability remains high, and we are making good progress on reshaping the group. We continue to expect moderate revenue growth and a continued high Operating EBIT for the full year. Group profit will be impacted in particular by special items from the print business and several direct-to-customer businesses as well as from our operations in southern Europe. Also, the subdued economic outlook and the Euro crisis make it difficult to predict our future performance at this point."