Hürriyet to grow online, chairwoman says

Hürriyet Gazetecilik, one of Turkey’s leading media groups, aims to increase the share of revenues from Internet advertising in total consolidated revenues from 8 to 30 percent in the coming five years, according to the group’s chairwoman.

The Internet advertising sector would grow more rapidly than expected, particularly in countries like Turkey and Russia, Vuslat Doğan Sabancı told Reuters in a written interview.

Hürriyet also expects the Internet revenues from Trader Media East (TME), the company’s subsidiary and leading classified advertisement publisher in Russia, to increase their share in TME’s total revenues from 18 to 50 percent, Sabancı said.

“Written press in Turkey has recorded double-digit growth rates in recent years. Hürriyet’s advertisement revenues thus also increase parallel to the market. We expect growth to continue parallel to the economic progress [of the country],” she said.

On the other hand, growth pace in Internet advertising is also soaring all over the world, the chairwoman said, adding that the company expected the share of revenues from this sector in consolidated income to increase.

Advertising accounted for 65 percent of Hürriyet’s income, Sabancı said: “The share of internet advertising income in total revenues has increased from 2 percent to 12 percent since 2006. The rapid growth in the past four years is obvious.”

Hürriyet Gazetecilik’s Internet revenues have increased by about 10 percent to 419 million Turkish Liras in the year’s first nine months, said Sabancı. “We expect a similar growth [until the end of the year],” she said, adding that Hürriyet’s Internet advertising revenues had increased 30 percent and that TME’s Internet revenues had risen by 53 percent over the same period.

Hürriyet’s Internet revenues totaled 19 million liras while TME’s amounted to 31 million liras over the past nine months.

TME is a market leader in nine different countries and operates in about 100 different cities in Russia, according to data provided by Sabancı. Services provided differ from city to city, with TME offering more than 160 services. TME’s Iz Ruk v Ruki has 98 percent brand recognition and is leader in the Russian market with both its classified advertisements in printed press and through the irr.ru website, Sabancı said.

TME generated 28 percent of Hürriyet’s consolidated revenues in the first nine months of 2011, Sabancı said. “We do not expect any change in this ratio for the medium term.”