Evening, this is the conference operator. Welcome, and thank you for joining the TF1's first quarter 2025 results conference call and webcast. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Should anyone need assistance during the conference call, they may signal an operator by pressing star and zero on their telephone. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Pierre-Alain Gerard, Executive VP, Finance, Strategy, and Procurement. Please go ahead, sir.
Thank you. Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our Q1 results presentation. First of all, we would like to share with you the key highlights of the first quarter. Audience first. In Q1, the group maintained its leadership among women below 50, with a share of 33%, and among 25 to 49 years old, with 30%. The TF1 channel continued to increase its audience share in the 4+ target, reaching almost 19%. On digital, TF1+ attracted 35 million streamers per month on average in Q1, higher than its 2024 average figure of 33 million. Second, financial performance. The group's consolidated revenue amounted to EUR 520 million in Q1, up 1.6% year- on -year. The group's advertising revenue was stable at EUR 363 million. Advertising revenue generated by TF1+ maintained its strong growth momentum, rising by 37% year- on- year to EUR 40 million.
COPA amounted to EUR 43 million, up EUR 6 million, and margin increased by one point to 8.3%. The group also maintained a strong financial position with net cash of EUR 559 million at the end of March, up EUR 53 million versus end December 2024, and almost unchanged year- on- year. The group confirms its objectives for 2025 in an advertising market with very limited visibility. On today's agenda, we will first give you an update on our business activities. We will then provide the details on our financial results and our outlook, and we will close with a Q&A session. For those of you who are joining us by phone, note that we are broadcasting this presentation as a webcast. You can also find it on our corporate website. Let's start with a quick update for our linear streaming and studio businesses. On page six, our linear activities.
In Q1, the group maintained an arrival reach covering 53% of the French people every day, well above any other media business such as YouTube or SVOD services. The group also maintained its leadership across commercial targets, and the TF1 channel retained a significant lead over its main commercial competitor, ahead by 9.6% points in the women under 50 target, with an audience share of 22.7%, ahead by 8% points among individuals aged 25- 49, with an audience share of 20.3%. The TF1 channel recorded the best Q1 ratings in French drama, news, entertainment, and movies. Let's now turn to our streaming activity results on page seven. Our strategy is to leverage the group's solid lineup to efficiently address both linear and non-linear exploitations. It translates into a non-linear consumption among 25- 49 years old for the TF1 channel, reaching 20% of total viewing.
This share is even higher on our strong franchises, reaching, for example, close to 50% for Plus Belle la Vie. Now, looking at the right-hand side of the page, let me give you an update on some of the platform building blocks. On consumption, TF1+ attracted 35 million streamers per month on average, higher than its 2024 average figure of 33 million. Overall, streamers watched 272 million hours of content on TF1+ in Q1, according to Mediametry, representing 1.3x the one achieved by the second-ranked platform. In terms of its site-centric figures, which cover all streaming usage not captured by Mediametry, such as specific AVOD and aggregated content, as well as consumption out of France, streamed hours rose by 12% year- on- year. On ad inventory, ad load reached five minutes per hour on average in Q1 2025, a 19% increase versus last year.
It is important to note that this is an average, as you know, and that the ad pressure is already higher for some user segments. On the value front, the CPM reached EUR 12 per hour, a 3% increase versus Q1 2024. As a result, advertising revenue generated by TF1+ rose by 37%, reaching EUR 40 million in Q1. Now, turning to page eight, here is an update on Studio TF1. Its revenue totaled EUR 59 million in Q1, which is stable year- on- year. Highlights for the quarter included the production of the Flemish version of Dancing with the Stars for the Belgian channel VTM, the delivery of the documentary series From Rockstar to Killer on Netflix, the theatrical release of the film Jouer avec le Feu, The Quiet Son.
Another notable event was the start of the shooting of the new daily series Tout pour la lumière in early March, that we spoke about earlier, which will be available on TF1, TF1+, and Netflix. Let's move now to a more detailed breakdown of our financial results for Q1 2025. You will find additional information in our consolidated financial statements and their notes, as well as our management report, all of which are available on our website. First, a word on revenue on page 10. TF1 Group's consolidated revenue amounted to EUR 520 million in Q1, a year-on-year increase of 2%. Revenue from the media segment increased by 2%. Advertising revenue was stable year- on- year, outperforming the market according to our estimates. It reached EUR 363 million in line with the company compiled consensus. Advertising revenue generated by TF1+ reached EUR 40 million.
It maintained its strong growth momentum as it rose by 37% year- on- year, close to the 39% increase in full year 2024. Again, we only disclose advertising revenue here and not broader streaming revenue, which would be much higher. Non-advertising revenue in the media segment was close to EUR 100 million, up 10% year- on- year, driven by the good performance of interactivity and the music and live shows business unit. Studio TF1's revenue totaled EUR 59 million in Q1, stable year- on- year. That figure includes a EUR 9 million contribution from JPG, the acquisition that we closed in August last year, and less significant deliveries than in 2024. The year is likely to be back-end loaded as it was in 2024. It is notably driven by the activity of Studio TF1 America, JPG plus Reel One, and by the distribution businesses. On page 11, COPA.
COPA amounted to EUR 43 million in Q1 2025, up EUR 6 million year- on- year, and above the company compiled consensus. Margin from activities rose by one point to 8.3%. The media segment reported COPA of EUR 45 million, up EUR 8 million with broadly stable programming costs. As a reminder, Q1 2024 COPA included specific costs related to the launch of TF1+, such as marketing and tax expenses. In Q1 2025, Studio TF1 made a COPA of EUR -1 million. This represents a year-on-year decrease of EUR 2 million, notably reflecting the cost of setting up the new ERP system fully recognized in the first quarter of this year. Regarding the income statement on page 12, I have already commented on the consolidated revenue and COPA. Looking further down, operating profit totaled EUR 36 million, which is stable year- on- year.
That figure includes around EUR 6 million in amortization charges relating to intangible assets arising from a JPG acquisition. This is the PPA, and around EUR 2 million in non-recurring expense related to the group's plan to accelerate its digital development. Net profit attributable to the group, excluding exceptional tax surcharge, was EUR 26 million, close to the level of last year. The EUR 4 million change was mainly related to the year-on-year decrease in financial income due to lower market interest rates. Income tax expense for the first quarter included an exceptional contribution levied on French companies under the 2025 finance bill. This exceptional EUR 11 million tax for the period comprises EUR 10 million based on 2024 taxable profits and EUR 1 million as a portion of the 2025 estimated exceptional tax.
As mentioned during our annual results conference call, the exceptional tax impact for the full year is expected to be between EUR 20 million and EUR 25 million. Moving on to net cash on page 13. At the end of March 2025, the TF1 Group had a solid financial position with a net cash of EUR 555 million, almost unchanged year- on- year. The group's net cash position increased by EUR 53 million compared to end December 2024, reflecting the free cash flow before working cap of EUR 27 million and the free cash flow after working capital requirements of EUR 50 million in the first quarter. Let's now have a look at our perspective and targets for the rest of the year. On the lineup side, we will continue to offer in the second quarter of 2025 the best array of free, family-oriented, and serialized entertainment.
Highlights will include the return of some major franchises, including the final season of the French drama HPI and the entertainment show Masked Singer. The group will also broadcast the main sport events of the year, the final four games of the Nations League, the UEFA Women's Euro 2025, and the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025. The new daily series Tout pour la lumière, which began shooting in early March, will be broadcasting from the summer onwards. Another highlight of the year will be the implementation of the new DTT channel numbering, with LCI available on channel 15 starting from the 6th of June. On digital, the group intends to further accelerate its development and establish TF1+ as the premium alternative to YouTube for both viewers and advertisers. The group will continue to extend its distribution among French speakers worldwide.
The next phase is the expansion in French-speaking Africa in 2025 to reach more than 150 million people. The group's ad sales house will continue to launch innovative advertising formats to support brands across their entire digital strategy after the launch of Cover+ in March, an exclusive embedding on our TF1+ homepage. The ad sales house will also work on the simplification of the ad campaign purchasing experience, notably by automating key features for advertisers in order to boost the attractiveness of the platform. To conclude on page 16, a reminder of our guidance. In an advertising market with very limited visibility, the group confirms its objective for 2025, which is strong double-digit revenue growth in digital, broadly stable margin from activities compared with 2024, and aiming for a growing dividend policy in the coming years. Many thanks for your attention, and now we're ready for your questions.
This is the conference operator. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touch-tone telephone. To remove yourself from the question queue, please press star and two. Please pick up the receiver when asking questions. Anyone who has a question may press star and one at this time. First question is from Christophe Cherblanc, Bernstein. Please go ahead.
Yes, good evening. Thanks for taking my question. I had three questions, please. The first one is on ad revenues growth. The 37% from TF1+ is impressive. It seems to suggest the linear revenues went down by 3%. Is that - 3% a fair proxy for what we should expect for the rest of the year? That is the first question. The second question is on TF1+.
You show on slide seven the breakdown between consumption, ad load, and prices. It seems to be driven by ad load in quite a fair proportion in Q1. Is it fair to expect less impact from ad load for the rest of the year? The third one is its housekeeping. Apologies, but can you give us the contribution of Johnson Production Group to the COPA and, by default, the ERP costs that were charged to Studio COPA in Q1? Thank you.
Okay. Hi, Christophe. On the ad revenue growth of 37%, this is indeed very dynamic, and this is a dynamic that we intend to keep for the rest of the year. As mentioned during the full year results, it is too soon to give any proxy on the mix between linear and digital.
The only thing I can tell you, and this is part of our guidance that we maintain, is that we intend to keep a very strong momentum on the digital side. Regarding the ad load, bear in mind that all these numbers are broad averages, that the consumption is coming from many levels. You have, as you know the equation by heart, you have the reach, but also part of the equation is driven by the frequency of people watching each month TF1+ and the duration of the sessions. All of these parameters are moving, but this is something that we track. What I can tell you is that what we witnessed in Q1 is very much in line or above our plan. Regarding the contribution of JPG, it's around EUR 5 million for the COPA. The ERP, it's slightly above EUR 1 million, between one and two.
EUR 5 million COPA on EUR 9 million revenues?
Yes. Bear in mind that there is a specific deal—I am not sure we mentioned it—on music, a one-off for the year, which occurred at the beginning of the year.
Okay. And that gain was included in the 30% margin level that was mentioned at the time of the acquisition, right?
I would like the profitability to be a normative. It is not the case.
Okay. Okay. Thanks.
Next question is from Conor O'Shea, Kepler Cheuvreux. Please go ahead.
Yes. Good evening. A few questions from my side as well. Just the first question, just in terms of your operating profits, which grew, I think, EUR 6 million year- on- year. Just trying to understand, I guess, maybe this is a JPG effect, but just to be sure there is nothing else moving around.
Given your programming costs are up EUR 4 million, that increase in media operating profit is quite high. Is there anything else driving that cost savings or any other anything to call out there? Second question, just in terms of advertising, did you see any change in pattern towards the end of the first quarter from any sectors or others or into the start of the second quarter? Any change in behavior there to call out at this stage? The third question, just in terms of what you're seeing in terms of audience and advertising market share impact from the closure of C8 and NRJ 12. Would a couple of months, one month or more further down the line, is there any pattern emerging there as to how much of that money is coming back into the market and to you specifically? Thank you.
Hi, Conor.
Thank you for your question. On the COPA side, it increased year- on- year. You have the JPG effect, but also bear in mind that last year we had one-off expenses in tech and marketing that we mentioned, I think, in Q1 2024 that you have to take into account when you compare the two. Is there a change of pattern? You are referring to the Liberation Day consequences?
Yes.
Look, you see that at this stage, it is very hard to put in equation all the parameters that are moving every day. If you read the The FT today, you might have noticed that there is some easing in perspective compared to the first numbers that we could read in terms of tariffs. The main consequence is some kind of standby mode, and everybody is trying to figure out how to work in the conditions.
The start of the Q2 is rather softer than what we expected, but apart from that, there is nothing really concrete, and this is why we reiterate our guidance for the year. We had the same situation at the end of 2022, if you remember, for November and December, and the situation eased along the way. We'd see how things play out, but at this stage, the only concrete things that we have is a softer beginning of Q2.
Okay.
Sorry, and the last question.
Yes.
On C8, NRJ 12, in terms of audience, it's fairly spread out across the various players, so nothing really significant to report here. In terms of advertising revenue, I think we've done the math in the past. We're talking about around EUR 100 million of advertising revenue combined. We have new entrants in the DTT environment.
They're going to take a share of that, and then the remaining will be probably spread out according to the market share. We are talking about a couple million euros to grab. This is pretty much it for C8, NRJ 12. No real pattern there.
Okay. Okay. Very clear. Thank you.
Next question is from Eric Ravary, CIC. Please go ahead.
Yes. Good evening, Pierre-Alain. Two questions from my side. First one on Studio TF1. Excluding JPG, revenues were down 15% on Q1. Could you give us an indication of what are your expectations for full year, excluding JPG, on revenues? Second question is on the non-advertising revenues in media. Growth was strong in Q1. It was + 10%. What are your expectations for Q2 and beyond for this specific business? Thank you.
Hi, Eric. Thank you for the questions.
Regarding Newen, you know that we don't guide for a full-year activity. What you can expect is a significant contribution for JPG. As we mentioned during the call, back-end loaded activity for the rest of Studio TF1. The second question. Sorry?
Was it non-advertising revenues?
The non-advertising revenue grew by 10% year- on- year. It was driven by interactivity, which is quite dynamic and driven by several shows like Les 12 Coups de Midi. This is something that we are working on and stimulating because it's an important stream of business. Also, Star Academy being one of the main providers of interactivity. There was also the music segment with Play Two, and also driven by Indochine, Dadju, and Tayc, which reported important growth this quarter. We don't guide on a full-year non-advertising revenue.
Okay. Thank you, Pierre.
For any further question, please press star one. We have no more questions registered at this time.
Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you for listening. Just as a way to conclude this call, we had a solid quarter, and we reiterate our guidance for full year 2025 in an advertising market with, as we mentioned during the call, a very limited visibility, but a solid quarter in Q1 2025. Thank you very much. Bye.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining. The conference is now over. You may disconnect your telephones.