Financial results 2022: dpa group remains on a growth path (FOTO)
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Annual Report 2022
https://ots.de/RQJDra
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Hamburg (ots) - The dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur group of companies has again
presented positive financial results at its 74th shareholders' meeting in
Hamburg. The group annual turnover increased to 165.5 million euros (previous
year: 156.8 million euros). At 103.2 million euros (2021: 101 million euros),
revenues of the core company dpa GmbH also grew, resulting in a solid net profit
of 1.2 million euros (2021: 2 million euros). In 2022, dpa made great progress
in its focus on digital markets. The concept of the new newsroom in Berlin and
the associated journalistic offerings and work processes are a visible sign of
the advancement of the agency's digital transformation.
"Once again, dpa has demonstrated its economic and journalistic strength," says
dpa CEO Peter Kropsch. "The 2022 fiscal year was marked by ongoing
transformation in a market environment characterized by uncertainty. The dpa
group initiated numerous pioneering innovation and change projects. Our
employees' willingness to change, along with a healthy economic basis, are
crucial. This is the only way we can continue to deliver independent, reliable,
multimedia content to customers and shareholders in the coming few years, which
are expected to be more difficult."
"In addition to the introduction of the Rubix multimedia production system in
several editorial departments, dpa's rapid pace of innovation is particularly
evident in the new newsroom in Berlin," says dpa Editor-in-Chief Sven Gösmann.
"With the new premises for the central editorial office, we have created a space
that our employees enjoy using to exchange ideas in person, to be creative, and
to learn from each other."
While 2022 was mainly dominated by design and construction measures, the move to
the new newsroom was able to take place during the current year. Since mid-May,
the central editorial office of Germany's largest news agency has been based at
Rudi-Dutschke-Straße. The new studios for audio and video represent the
multimedia future of the agency.
Once again, the excellent results of the subsidiaries and affiliates were of
decisive importance for the good economic performance of the dpa group. In
particular, news aktuell GmbH, with its distribution services and media
database, was able to contribute to the overall success. The same applies to
dpa-infocom GmbH, which succeeded in setting records through innovations in the
field of data products and fact checking. In 2022, dpa Picture-Alliance GmbH
once again succeeded in achieving a year-on-year increase in revenues in the
highly competitive photo market.
The implementation of the current medium-term strategy "Magic Marketplace"
achieved the planned results in 2022. This refers to the concept of an
overarching and networked digital platform on which the agency's services and
those of external partners can be accessed with a dpa ID. Around 30,000 media
professionals and communications experts now have a dpa ID, further
strengthening the platform concept of Germany's largest news agency.
Another driver for securing long-term value-added services for dpa customers is
the switch to the new pricing model for customers, agreed upon by the
Supervisory Board in 2019, which is almost complete. In the meantime, all
customers from the area of daily newspaper publishers receive services on the
basis of an integrated print and online coverage. In the area of private radio
stations, the new pricing model is also already being used by a large proportion
of customers (94 %).
As a service provider and joint venture of the German media, dpa continued in
2022 to increase the agency's value proposition to its customers. To help
attract more digital subscribers, dpa-Themenwelten (Theme Worlds) was launched.
Based on insights from the DRIVE (Digital Revenue Initiative) project, in which
around 20 publishing houses share usage data with each other, dpa provides
special content that both helps increase digital subscriptions and encourages
people to remain loyal to their subscription.
A major driver for innovation, expertise, and growth is coming from the
market-wide dynamic in the deployment of artificial intelligence. dpa has
formulated five guidelines that set out the company's overarching framework for
engaging with artificial intelligence. The agency has resolved to embrace the
new technology with an open mind and a positive attitude, but also to be aware
of the inherent risks. dpa has also stipulated that human autonomy always takes
precedence and that only AI tools that comply with applicable law will be used.
Together with partners from the media industry and civil society, dpa has
continued to promote news literacy among young people. The #UseTheNews project,
which has established itself in the three years since its launch, now operates
as a non-profit limited liability company. The goal of the new dpa subsidiary is
to work with journalists from participating media companies to develop offerings
for young people that meet the needs of this target group. Studies, workshops,
and communities complete #UseTheNews' field of activity.
To consolidate and further develop the company's good economic position, dpa has
launched a detailed sustainability strategy. The foundations for this were laid
during the past fiscal year. Against the background of a reporting obligation
starting in 2025, the agency will publish its first sustainability report based
on the international standard GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) for the parent
company dpa GmbH in the course of 2023. In addition to carbon footprint and
mobility, topics such as new work, continuing education, and responsible
business conduct are among the agency's key sustainability areas.
In parallel with the newsroom move, dpa has continued to develop its Rubix
modular and multimedia production system. The children's news and sports desks
are already using the versatile software in live operations, providing valuable
insights for further rollout. Rubix already proved its worth at the World Cup in
Qatar - a major event that demanded the highest levels of stability and speed.
Rubix combines simple and intuitive use with open interfaces to internal and
external production systems as well as to AI-supported assistance programmes.
Further extensive Rubix roll-outs are planned for the fall.
The fact-checking area of dpa is also showing excellent development. With the
help of various projects and initiatives, the agency has once again intensified
its fight against disinformation - including on WhatsApp, for example. In
addition, dpa is committed to the cross-national EU project GADMO
(German-Austrian Digital Media Observatory), which links fact-checking
organisations from Germany and Austria with academia. In addition, dpa has
implemented the training programme Faktencheck22 - with the support of the
Google News Initiative. Together with the APA Austria Presse Agentur and the
Swiss Keystone-SDA, dpa trains editors from media companies in the three
countries on various fact-checking topics. Last but not least, dpa is driving
European networking in this area. Fact-checking organisations from more than 30
countries have agreed on a code that defines standards for methodology, ethics,
and transparency.
This year's dpa annual report, "People, Planet, Prosperity", focuses on the
agency's key sustainability topics. In addition to the contribution that dpa can
make to the climate and employees, it also focuses on the economic opportunities
that arise from the sustainability process.
About dpa:
The German Press Agency (dpa) was founded in 1949 and is one of the world's
leading independent news agencies. dpa supplies media outlets, businesses and
other organizations with editorial content, including text, photos, videos,
graphics, audio and other formats. As an international agency, dpa reports in
seven languages. The company has around 1,000 journalists at some 140 locations
in Germany and abroad. Its shareholders are about 170 German media companies.
Staff work according to the principles outlined in the dpa statute:
independently from ideologies, businesses and governments. The central editing
desk, under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief Sven Gösmann, is located in
Berlin. The management team, headed by President & CEO Peter Kropsch, is based
in Hamburg. The Chairman of the Board is David Brandstätter (Main-Post GmbH,
Würzburg).
Internet: http://www.dpa.com (German, English, Spanish, Arabic)
Social media: http://www.dpa.com/de/social-media
Pressekontakt:
German Press Agency dpa
Jens Petersen
Head of Corporate Communications
phone: +49 40 4113 32843
mailto:pressestelle@dpa.com
Weiteres Material: http://presseportal.de/pm/8218/5545556
OTS: dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
