The Planeta group has exceeded its pre-pandemic business volume, with revenues of 1,800 million euros in the last financial year, 6% more than the previous year and above the 1,782 million in 2019. The president of the publishing holding and media, José Creuheras, highlighted the “economic solidity” of Planeta, reflected in an increase in gross profit (ebitda) of 15%, up to 350 million euros, and a debt that remains at 250 million but that they have managed to diversify .
The death of Maribel Lara this summer, with 24% of the group’s capital, has not altered Planeta’s shareholding balance, said the manager. “It doesn’t affect the company,” he explained. Creuheras himself represented this daughter of the founder, who died without issue, in the company’s governing bodies.
This year, the company controlled by the Lara family has carried out a private debt issue for one hundred million euros, an operation carried out with the American Prudential, which has served to improve its financing. The remaining 150 million continue as bank debt.
Of the group’s three main business lines, training is the one that is growing the most. Its turnover now represents 23% of the total, one point more than in 2021, and it has 120,000 students and 6,000 teachers in eight countries. Planeta’s intention is to enter new markets and expand existing ones, with special interest in Latin America, Creuheras highlighted this Saturday in a meeting with journalists prior to the Planeta award gala, which will take place on Sunday.
The weight of the publishing sector, the company’s origin, remains at 26%, while the media sector, with Atresmedia at the helm, contributes 49% – the rest is distributed among smaller business divisions. The president of the group stated that they continue to evaluate the market in case investment opportunities arise, although he assured that there are no mature ones on the table. This January they acquired 60% of the Valencian publishing house Bromera, capital that they will maintain for now.
Regarding its network of stores, Planeta has added three new establishments, to which one will be added before the end of the year in Alicante. With the three openings planned in 2024, the company will now reach its goal of 60 stores. “One in every five books sold in Spain are sold in La Casa del Libro,” said Creuheras.
