Press releases and newsletter

1. It reelected Emmanuel Hoog for a second 3-year term to head up the Agency.

“Video, multimedia and sports are, more than ever, the drivers of growth for sales in France and internationally for the coming years,” he said. This offensive strategy is part of a five-year development plan that I will present in the fall. This plan should enable us to permanently strengthen our positive operating margin.”

2. The Board of Directors approved the Agency’s financial statements for the year 2012, showing that operating profit increased, but that the Agency broke even in terms of net profit and loss. Sales came to 289.6 M€, in line with the budget and up by 4.2 M€ compared with 2011.

With operating costs coming to 277.3 M€ (+6.7 M€ by comparison with 2011), the operating margin stands at 12.2 M€.

The Group posted an operating profit of 1.8 M€ (+1.3 M€ compared to 2011), while net income was 0.1 M€. These results reflect the combination of commercial prospecting efforts and strict management during financial year 2012, on a very intensive national and international news scene and in a sluggish global economic context.

The year 2012 also made it possible to continue the application of the Agency’s strategy, particularly with the development of video (sales up by 28.6%), sports (+7.6%) and the photo business (+3.8%), while the Agency continued to upgrade its traditional offerings, particularly for French clientele.

Geographically speaking, the largest increases came in Latin America (+7%), Germany (+4%) and France (+1.3%).

At the same time, the Agency continued its investment program with two strategic focuses: further development of the “IRIS” project for a revamp of the editorial and delivery systems (5.7 M€ committed in 2012), development of which began in 2012, and the work at the head office on Place de la Bourse in Paris (5.8 M€ in 2012). Those projects will be completed in 2014.

3. At the same meeting, the Board of Directors welcomed a new State representative, designated by the Minister of Economics and Finance: Mr Christophe Beaux, 46, a senior civil servant and President and Managing Director of the Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint).

About AFP

AFP is a global news agency delivering fast, accurate, in-depth coverage of the events shaping our world from conflicts to politics, sports, entertainment and the latest breakthroughs in health, science and technology. With 2,260 journalists spread across almost every country, AFP covers the world 24 hours a day in six languages. AFP delivers the news in video, text, photos, multimedia and graphics to a wide range of customers including newspapers and magazines, radio and TV channels, web sites and portals, mobile operators, corporate clients as well as public institutions.