Assets and financial position

The balance sheet total increased slightly by 0.4 million euros to 65.3 million euros (previous year: 64.9 million euros). On the assets side, intangible assets and property, plant and equipment increased slightly. Capital expenditure (excluding financial assets) amounted to 3.3 million euros, only a slight increase compared to the previous year and exceeding the depreciation and amortisation of 2.6 million euros. As in the previous year, capital expenditures focused on purchased software and software licenses, as well as on replacement investments in equipment and building fixtures.

Financial assets declined slightly due to disposals of securities investments and amounted to 24.8 million euros as of the reporting date (previous year: 26.5 million euros).

Current assets increased by a net total of 0.7 million euros to 17.4 million euros. A 1.6 million euro increase in trade receivables was offset by decreases in cash and deposits at banks (–0.3 million euros), other assets (–0.3 million euros), and receivables from affiliated companies (–0.2 million euros). The increase in receivables is attributable to individual customers as of the reporting date.

On the liabilities side, the main factors were an increase in equity, driven by the net profit for the year of 1.6 million euros, and the sale of shares to new shareholders for 0.3 million euros. The equity ratio increased as of the reporting day to 76.0% (previous year: 73.5%).

Provisions and liabilities have decreased slightly overall.

With liquid assets of 4.2 million euros (previous year: 4.5 million euros), the company continues to have a solid financial basis. Long-term fixed assets are fully covered by equity.

For the 2025 financial year, cash flow from operating activities (including income from profit transfers and investments) amounted to 0.7 million euros (previous year: 3.0 million euros).

Overall, the executive board considers the company’s economic situation to be good.

4. Financial performance indicators

The internal management system has been aligned with our corporate strategy and appropriate performance indicators have been defined. The aim is to achieve a sustainable increase in profitability and, as a result, an increase in the value of the company. The most important performance indicators derived from this are the turnover and net profit for the year.

1. Forecast report

For the 2026 financial year, given the ongoing decline in circulation and the resulting stagnation in revenue in our core market, we expect only a slight increase in revenue of around 1.2% driven by organic growth. The revenue growth of 1.3 million euros shown in the forecast, stems primarily from the newer products segment and relates, amongst other things, to Custom Content, dpa-Video and AI-driven technology services.

Due to rising expenses as a result of revenue-driven cost items and upcoming wage adjustments, as well as an overall slight decline in profit contributions from the subsidiaries, we expect to achieve a net profit of approximately 1.0 to 1.2 million euros for the year.

With regard to personnel costs, it should be noted that, as is customary in years when major sporting events take place, no special allocation to the provident fund is planned for 2026, apart from the annual basic allocation.

Given the continuing gloomy economic outlook, it remains to be seen to what extent the actual increase in revenue achievable in the market will ultimately reflect the revenue growth forecast in the budget and thus influence dpa’s annual results.

However, we also expect total revenue to increase slightly in 2027 and anticipate a net profit similar to that expected in 2026. The extent to which we can maintain this forecast will depend on the further developments in the economic situation and, not least, on the outcome of the upcoming negotiations with our collective bargaining partners. It is not yet possible to assess definitively what impact the war in Iran, which began in early 2026, will have on the economic situation and, consequently, on the forecast.

2. Risks and opportunities report

In what was, on the whole, a challenging market environment, the dpa group continued to focus on transformation and change in 2025 in order to respond to the wide-ranging shifts in technology and society. The Trump administration’s dissociation from partnership and trust with EU member states and other long-standing allies is placing a heavy strain on relations with the United States. Similarly, Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, combined with suspected Russian attacks on infrastructure in Germany, is causing destabilisation. The need for independent, non-partisan and fact-based news has therefore never been greater than it is today.

During the reporting year, dpa made progress on key aspects of its medium-term strategy “Adapt to Grow,” which was launched in 2024. These include the areas of AI and video, where concrete milestones were achieved and commercial successes were recorded. The closer integration of the sales teams within the business divisions of dpa, news aktuell and Picture Alliance was also a key focus of the strategy. Last but not least, the development of dpa into an adaptive organisation was also driven forward. In workshops and information sessions, dpa developed guiding principles for this and rolled them out across the company. In addition to the expansion of innovative business areas, this strategy therefore also focuses on the group’s adaptability against the backdrop of the above-mentioned changes. This pres­­ents an opportunity to adapt products and services quickly and effectively to changing en­vi­ron­mental influences and customer needs through forward-looking action.

One of the main causes of social tension and the loss of trust in traditional media is the deliberate spread of disinformation in the digital sphere. dpa continues to see it as its duty to curb and expose misinformation. The agency’s fact-checking team makes a contribution here that goes beyond the scope of the media business.

Although our customer Meta has discontinued fact-checking in the United States, dpa has continued to work for the American platform provider throughout 2025 and has flagged false claims. There remains a risk that Meta will cease its activities in Germany and other European countries, which would result in a loss of revenue for dpa. At the same time, dpa has further expanded its own fact-checking activities. Among other things, the German-Austrian Digital Media Observatory (GADMO) – the largest association of fact-checking teams and research institutions in the German-speaking world – has been continued. Similarly, comprehensive training for journalists in verification tools and techniques has been continued. To date, more than 3,000 media professionals have benefited from dpa’s services. In doing so, dpa has succeeded in demonstrating the agency’s expertise in this field to its customers, thereby increasing customer loyalty. The workshops also strengthen the dpa brand, which stands for reliability and factual accuracy.

Other industry initiatives from dpa also support publishers and media companies in their transformation efforts. These include the initiatives run by UseTheNews gGmbH. The news literacy initiative, which dpa runs in collaboration with other media brands, teaches young audiences about the importance of journalism and develops new media formats for adolescents and young people. The “Your News, Your Future” news camp took place at the central editorial office in Berlin. The focus was on how young people can debunk fake news and verify sources. The newly-established Competence Center Young Audiences (CCYA), a collaboration between UseTheNews and the community radio station TIDE, aims at help­ing to bridge the gap between traditional media and the generation shaped by the use of social media. The CCYA’s programme includes pilot projects between media partners and school classes, as well as exchange formats within the context of journalism training and academic research.

All of these dpa initiatives and projects contribute to the preservation of media diversity and pluralism of opinion in Germany. As a joint venture of the German media, dpa sees it as its mission to strengthen and defend the achievements of a free and democratic society. This provides an opportunity to reinforce the brand’s core values.

The publication of the third sustainability report provides another opportunity to strengthen the brand’s core values. Overall, the reporting has been further expanded and profession­alised. Compared to the previous year, the report shows a larger carbon footprint – largely due to necessary travel in connection with the Olympic Games and the European Football Championship. dpa is focusing on the long-term trend in emissions and is working contin­uously to reduce them.

In the upcoming collective bargaining negotiations, there is a risk that the final wage se­t­tlement will be significantly higher than the salary increases originally budgeted for, which would have a noticeable impact on dpa’s annual results. To offset these salary increases, specific structural and cost-saving measures have already been introduced; these will be further tightened, depending on the scale of the final wage settlement.

Hacker attacks and other digital attacks could also pose a serious risk to dpa and its employees. The agency’s reporting could be restricted or made considerably more difficult. Therefore, dpa continues to work intensively to maintain and improve the protection against possible attacks. Among other things, a cyber insurance policy was taken out to protect dpa against the relevant risks. Over the course of the year, further crisis drills were held, information security training was provided for the group’s employees and internal procedures were further refined and specified overall.

There are currently no identifiable risks likely to occur that could jeopardise the continued existence of the company.