MANAGEMENT REPORT
I. THE FUNDAMENTALS OF THE COMPANY
The purpose of the company is the collection, processing and distribution of news, archival and image material of any kind. For this purpose, a global network of editors and reporters provides their own reporting, which is impartial and independent of any ideologies, economic and financial groups or governments. This is stipulated in the articles of association of the dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Employees and management alike feel bound by this.
All types of media are supplied with this material: newspapers, magazines and radio stations as well as online and mobile service providers. Parliaments, associations, foundations and companies are dpa customers and represent, alongside the media, increasingly important sources of revenue.
With its news products, the company operates mainly in Germany. The 170 shareholders of dpa are also drawn from its circle of domestic customers. However, dpa services are now also offered and distributed abroad in more than a hundred countries, in German as well as in Arabic, English and Spanish. As a result, dpa helps to spread German issues and the German perspective abroad and to promote the important values of press freedom and independence.
1. Overall Economic and Sector-specific Conditions
Economic development in Germany in 2021 was again dominated by the pandemic. Nevertheless, the economy recovered noticeably compared to the previous year although it was unable to reach pre-crisis levels. According to data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the adjusted gross domestic product will be 2.7 % higher in 2021 than in the previous year (-4.6 %). Compared to 2020, which showed massive declines in production in some cases, economic output in 2021 has increased in almost all economic sectors. The Federal Statistical Office reports increases in exports (+9.4 %) and imports (+8.6 %). Employment figures remained at a roughly constant level in 2021.
Despite declining circulation figures in the print sector in many areas, the core market of the Deutsche Presse-Agentur remains largely stable. The positive development of many digital offerings can be seen as an encouraging signal for the future of the industry. The Corona pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation in many places.
According to the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Media-Analyse (agma), German newspapers reached only about half of the population in 2021 with 50.4 % (2020: 52 %). The total reach of the papers was 35.6 million readers aged 14 and over and thus again below the previous year (36.8 million). With 29 million readers (compared to 29.9 million in the previous year), regional subscription newspapers remained the medium with the highest reach. The figures for newsstand newspapers also declined in 2021. The papers were read daily by 8.7 million people (2020: 8.9 million). National subscription newspapers remained at a similar level as in the previous year. In 2021, 3.6 million people accessed this media genre daily (2020: 3.7 million).
The German Audit Bureau of Circulation (IVW) confirms the trend of the past years: While print circulations continued to decline in 2021, e-papers and paid-content offerings again enjoyed growing popularity last year. Thus, sales of electronic dailies increased by 11.62 % year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2021 (2021: 2.06 million copies, 2020: 1.84 million copies). Likewise, a noticeable increase can be seen in the sale of e-paper editions of weekly newspapers. With 0.29 million copies (2020: 0.23 million copies) in the final quarter of 2021, around a quarter more issues went to readers. Printed daily newspapers continue to face a decline in circulation. However, this was somewhat less than in the previous year and amounted to 3.72 % in the fourth quarter of 2021. In the same quarter of the previous year, it was 5.57 %. In addition, the German newspaper industry continues to struggle with a decline in circulation. The final quarter of 2021 saw a drop of 5.52 % in total sales.
Overall, the indicators clearly point in the direction of digitisation. For example, a study by the Federal Association of Digital Publishers and Newspaper Publishers (BDZV) entitled “E-Paper Qualities 2021” reports that a quarter of German citizens would now willingly read the electronic version of a newspaper. Young and educated target groups in particular would appreciate the e-paper. Overall, it is seen as being easier to read digital editions when and wherever one wishes to (78 %). E-papers are also easier to use overall (63 %).