German media giant Bertlesmann had a surprisingly good year. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Bertelsmann, which controls leading European commercial TV broadcaster RTL Group, production giant Fremantle, music label BMG, and book publisher Penguin Random House, boosted its annual profit by 34 percent to $1.77 billion (€1.5 billion) last year, the highest level since 2006, with operating (EBITDA) profit hitting a new high of $3.65 billion (€3.1 billion).
Overall revenue slipped to $20.37 billion (€17.29 billion) from $21.2 billion (€18 billion) a year earlier, with the company's advertising-financed businesses particularly hard hit.