Il Sole 24 ORE S.p.A.: the Board of Directors approves the Half-Yearly Financial Report as at 30 June 2022

Press Release

Pursuant to Consob resolution 11971/99 as amended

Il Sole 24 ORE S.p.A.: the Board of Directors approves the

Half-Yearly Financial Report as at 30 June 2022

Improved results compared to H1 2021 thanks to the revenue growth linked to the good performance of advertising sales, the development of products in the Professional Services area and the improvement in the pandemic context, allowing for the resumption of the exhibitions organized by 24 ORE Cultura

Key consolidated figures of the 24 ORE Group:

• EBITDA positive at Euro 10.4 million (positive Euro 7.3 million as at 30 June 2021)
• EBIT positive at Euro 2.3 million (negative Euro 1.1 million as at 30 June 2021)
• Net loss of Euro 0.4 million (loss of Euro 3.3 million as at 30 June 2021)

Key consolidated figures of the 24 ORE Group net of non-recurring income and expenses:

• EBITDA positive at Euro 10.0 million (positive Euro 6.6 million as at 30 June 2021)
• EBIT positive at Euro 1.8 million (negative Euro 1.1 million as at 30 June 2021)
• Net loss of Euro 0.8 million (loss of Euro 3.4 million as at 30 June 2021)

Negative net financial position of Euro 49.5 million, an improvement of Euro 14.3 million compared to a negative Euro 63.8 million as at 31 December 2021, mainly due to the performance of net working capital included in cash flows from operating activities

Consolidated shareholders' equity of Euro 15.2 million compared to Euro 13.9 million as at 31 December 2021

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Milan, 28 July 2022 - The Board of Directors of Il Sole 24 ORE S.p.A. met today under the chairmanship of Edoardo Garrone and approved the Half-yearlyfinancial report as at 30 June 2022 of the 24 ORE Group.

Key summary figures of the 24 ORE Group

The 24 ORE Group closed H1 2022 with a positive EBITDA of Euro 10.4 million, a positive EBIT of Euro 2.3 million and a net loss of Euro 0.4 million. Equity amounted to Euro 15.2 million, an increase of Euro 1.3 million compared to equity in the consolidated financial statements at 31 December 2021, which amounted to Euro 13.9 million.

The following are the Group's key financial figures at 30 June 2022 deriving from the condensed half-yearly consolidated financial statements:

KEY CONSOLIDATED FIGURES OF THE 24 ORE GROUP

Euro millions	H1 2022	H1 2021
Revenues	104.6	96.8
Gross operating margin (EBITDA)	10.4	7.3
Operating profit (loss) (EBIT)	2.3	(1.1)
Profit (loss) before taxes	0.4	(2.5)
Net profit (loss)	(0.4)	(3.3)
	30.06.2022	31.12.2021
Non-current assets	127.2	131.1
Current assets	131.8	117.0
Total assets	259.1	248.1
Group equity	15.2	13.9
Minority interests	-	-
Total equity	15.2	13.9
Non-current liabilities	113.6	121.3
Current liabilities	130.3	112.9
Total liabilities	243.9	234.3
Total equity and liabilities	259.1	248.1

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Market context

The market is conditioned by a number of factors, such as: the health emergency linked to the spread of the Covid-19 virus, which has not yet been completely overcome, economic and geopolitical instability due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, rising commodity and energy costs and the resurgence of inflation. Furthermore, the expected GDP growth rate assumed in the last quarter of 2021 was reduced.

ADS data for major national newspapers indicate a decline in total circulation of print copies added to digital copies of 7.1% for the period January-May 2022 compared to the same period of 2021, with a decline in circulation of the print version of 11.0% offset in part by an increase in digital circulation of 2.2% (Source: ADS data processing January - May 2022).

The most recent listening figures for radio refer H1 2022 and recorded a total of 33,646,000 listeners on the average day, up 1.3% from H1 2021 (Source: RadioTER 2021-2022).

In the January-May 2022 period, the System reference market recorded growth of 0.8% (net of local newspaper advertising): newspapers closed at +1.2% (net local), magazines at -4.3%, radio at +3.6% and Internet at +0.9% (Source: Nielsen January/May 2022 vs 2021).

For 2022, the forecasts from the end of the previous year (2021) for the professional publishing sector indicated a recovery in the sector's overall turnover thanks to the expected reforms, the new boost to digitalization involving professionals and companies, the investments established in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan for companies and Public Administration and indirectly for professionals in their role as consultants. These forecasts did not reflect the possible repercussions of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

In terms of media, current trends do not seem to change in 2022: overall, electronic publishing is expected to grow by 7.6% and management software by 6%, which will see an increase in the integration of digital publishing content (Source: "Rapporto Databank Editoria Professionale"- Cerved S.p.A, December 2021).

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Consolidated results as at 30 June 2022

Key summary figures of the 24 ORE Group net of non-recurring income and expenses

Below are the Group's key profit and loss (net of non-recurring income and expenses), financial position and cash flow figures for H1 2022:

KEY CONSOLIDATED FIGURES NET OF NON-RECURRING INCOME AND EXPENSES

Euro millions	H1 2022	H1 2021
Revenues	104.6	96.8
EBITDA net of non-recurring income and expenses	10.0	6.6
EBIT net of non-recurring income and expenses	1.8	(1.1)
Profit (loss) before taxes net of non-recurring income and expenses	(0.0)	(2.5)
Net profit (loss) net of non-recurring income and expenses	(0.8)	(3.4)
	30.06.2022	31.12.2021
Equity	15.2	13.9
Net financial position	(49.5)	(63.8)

Revenue trend

The current market context is characterized by the following factors: the health emergency linked to the spread of the Covid-19 virus, which has not yet been completely overcome, economic and geopolitical instability due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, rising commodity and energy costs and the resurgence of inflation. Against this backdrop, the 24 ORE Group is recording signs of growth thanks to both the improvement in the pandemic context, which has allowed for the resumption of exhibitions organized by 24 ORE Cultura S.r.l. (Mudec's activities were completely closed until the end of April 2021), and authoritativeness, high quality content, good advertising sales performance and product development in the Professional Services area, as well as effective commercial policies across all areas. In H1 2022, the 24 ORE Group reported consolidated revenues of Euro 104.6 million (Euro 96.8 million in H1 2021), up 8.1% or Euro +7.8 million compared to the same period of 2021.

Specifically, in H1 2022, advertising revenues increased by Euro 4.5 million (+11.3% compared to the same period of the previous year) and amounted to Euro 44.2 million, publishing revenues decreased by Euro 1.7 million (-3.3% from Euro 51.4 to Euro 49.7 million) mainly due to the decrease in revenues generated by the sale of the print newspaper, and other revenues increased by Euro 5.0 million (from Euro 5.7 million to Euro 10.7 million), mainly due to higher revenue in the Culture area and more innovative products in the Professional Services area.

In H1 2022, the portal www.ilsole24ore.com recorded a daily average of 1.2 million unique browsers, down 20.4% compared to the average of the same period of 2021 (Source: Webtrekk). A positive result for the video component, with the average views per month in H1 2022 up 4.9% compared to the 2021 figure. Indicators were up on social media, in particular

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LinkedIn +13.7%, confirming over 1 million followers, Instagram +13%, Twitter +10.2% and Facebook +2.4% compared to 30 June 2021.

The main dynamics that characterized consolidated revenues are:

• circulation revenues of the newspaper (print + digital) amounted to Euro 21.2 million, down by Euro 1.6 million (-7.1%) compared to H1 2021. Circulation revenues of the print newspaper amounted to Euro 10.9 million, down by Euro 1.6 million (-12.6%) compared to the same period of 2021. Circulation revenues of the digital newspaper amounted to Euro 10.2 million, down by Euro 0.1 million (-0.5%) compared to H1 2021;
• the Group's advertising revenues of Euro 44.2 million were up by 11.3% on H1 2021. The concessionaire is maintaining its position and consolidating its market share thanks to the development of special initiatives, increasingly recognized by companies as an effective vehicle of values and a means of building loyalty with their audience. The Group's advertising revenues outperformed the reference market, up by 0.8% (Source: Nielsen - January/May 2022) but will now have to face a new uncertain environment linked to the consequences of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
  The high quality of the digital formats, set up in 2020 in response to the suspension of physical events due to the pandemic, was recognized and rewarded from the outset by users in terms of high attendance, interaction and high average connection times, as well as by the market in terms of partner membership and sponsorship. Revenues in H1 2022 amounted to Euro 3.5 million (Euro 2.5 million in the corresponding period of 2021), thanks also to the contribution of the 17th edition of the 'Trento Festival of Economics', held from 2 to 5 June 2022, for the first time co-managed by Il Sole 24 ORE and the Province of Trento, with the collaboration of the Municipality and University of Trento;
• revenues from electronic publishing in the Professional Services area amounted to Euro 21.8 million, up by Euro 0.3 million (+1.6%) vs. H1 2021 by virtue of the renewal of the product portfolio and the sales network launched in previous years;
• revenues from the Culture Area, amounting to Euro 6.0 million, rose by Euro 4.9 million compared to H1 2021, which was heavily penalized by the Covid-19 emergency, which led to the compulsory closure of all museums and exhibition venues during the lockdown period.

Circulation (paper + digital) of the daily newspaper Il Sole 24 ORE from January to May 2022 was 139,310 average copies per day (-5.3% compared to January - May 2021). Specifically, the average daily print circulation reported to ADS for the period January - May 2022 is 53,210 copies (-10.1% compared to the same period of 2021). Digital circulation reported to ADS was 86,099 average copies per day (-2.1% compared to the period January - May 2021). News-stand sales for the period January - May 2022 (Source: ADS, Individual print sales) were down 26.2% compared to the same period of the previous year with the market contracting in the same channel by 12.4%.

The Group also asked an independent third-party company to express an opinion on the effective application of the appropriate procedures adopted for the calculation of the Total Paid For Circulation ("TPFC", i.e. the total number of daily paid sales of Il Sole 24 ORE in all markets through print and digital channels) at 30 June 2022; on conclusion of its checks, the

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