Paris (AFP)

Agence France-Presse (AFP) announced on Wednesday that it had very slightly increased its commercial revenues and generated a "historic" profit in 2020, thanks to the double effect of its transformation plan and a reduction in its costs caused by the pandemic .

Commercial revenues reached 166.4 million euros last year, up 0.5% at comparable exchange rates.

A notable increase in this period of crisis, which can be explained by the dynamism of "digital investigation" activities (fact-checking) and, to a lesser extent, of video, which compensates for the decline in revenues linked to written press.

On the other hand, the compensation by the State of the costs linked to missions of general interest decreased as planned by 9 million euros, to 115.5 million.

At the same time, the news agency managed to reduce its operating expenses by 9.2 million.

This is because of the impact of a spending reduction plan launched two years ago, which includes voluntary departures, and "one-time savings linked to the pandemic" - this has reduced costs. international travel and expenses related to major sporting events.

These elements allow AFP to post an operating profit of 8.9 million euros (+ 8% at comparable exchange rates) and a net profit of 5.3 million euros, a "historical level" for the agency which has long struggled to balance its accounts.

In 2019, it returned to profit for the first time since 2013, with a surplus of 0.4 million.

Regarding the current year, its start looks like 2020, with increased commercial income and cost control which continues "under the joint effect of the transformation plan and the pandemic," said the press release.

"AFP is getting back on track on a virtuous trajectory, and we see that the indicators are gradually turning green," commented CEO Fabrice Fries.

The 2020 profit will be used to accelerate AFP's deleveraging, he added.

The agency's long-term debt, which reached 50 million euros in 2017, could thus be reduced to 26 million in 2023. If this projection is confirmed, "we will have almost halved the debt over six years" , he argues.

All without ceasing to invest: AFP has just launched a project to reconfigure its historic headquarters in Paris.

A large-scale operation that will bring together the Parisian editorial staff, so far spread over two sites, while generating savings.

© 2021 AFP