28.06.2023 – 13:09

Financial results 2022: dpa group remains on a growth path

Annual Report 2022

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: www.dpa.com (German, English, Spanish, Arabic)

Social media: https://www.dpa.com/de/kontakt#social-media

Pressekontakt:

German Press Agency dpa
Jens Petersen
Head of Corporate Communications
phone: +49 40 4113 32843
pressestelle@dpa.com

Original content of: dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH, transmitted by news aktuell