As one of Latin America’s major communication groups, Grupo Abril provides information, education and entertainment to most public segments and integrates with many forms of media.

Abril was founded in 1950 and employs a staff of 7,000. It is comprised of Editora Abril (publications), Abril Digital (Abril.com and Abril cell phones), MTV (Segmented TV), and Abril Educação (Ática and Scipione publishing houses, Anglo and SER Learning System, Anglo preparatory course for University entrance examination, pH course and school, ETB schools and technical Learning System, and Siga preparatory course for public service entrance examinations). Abril has the largest printing facility in

Latin America, efficient database marketing, and subscriptions and distribution services.

Abril published more than 300 titles in 2008 and leads in 22 of the 25 segments it operates in. Over the year, circulation of Abril’s publications reached 179.2 million copies with 28 million readers and 4 million subscribers. Abril publishes seven of Brazil’s ten most read magazines, including Veja, the largest weekly news magazine in the world outside the United States.

Grupo Abril is also a leader in domestic textbook publishing. Abril Educação has published over 3,000 titles and holds a 29% market share. In 2008, Abril Educação produced 37 million books.

Fundação Victor Civita was created in 1985 to improve basic education in the country, and began Grupo Abril's series of social responsibility projects. With Nova Escola magazine, the Foundation reaches 3.3 million teachers and administers in most of the country’s schools each month.

The Civita family, founder of Grupo Abril, has shown their commitment to the education sector since 1960 when they produced the first educational materials for use in the so-called Movimento Brasileiro de Alfabetização, a government literacy program for young people and adults.

Key Company Developments 2012

Financial:

Consolidated net revenues in 2012 had risen to 883.5 million BRL (from 772.1 million BRL in 2011), and EBIDTA was up at 274 million BRL (from 218.2 million BRL in 2011).

In 2011, revenues grew by 51% against 2010, and EBIDTA was up 113%, showing a margin of 28% in 2011. Publishing imprints Ática und Scipione contributed 506,3 million BRL to the overall result, while 163,9 million BRL came from Anglo Group (Learning System and Preparatory Courses.

The strong development continued in the first quarter of 2012, with revenues up 13% and income up 26%.
Abril Educação diversified its revenue base by incorporating the Anglo companies in 2010 and the pH and ETB Groups in 2011. This offset Ática and Scipione’s revenue seasonality, which are concentrated in the first and fourth quarter due to the sale of textbooks to private and public schools, respectively.

Ownership, mergers & acquisition, internal organization:

In July 2011, Abril Educação went public on the BMF&BOVESPA, raising 371,1 million BRL.

In February 2012, the company acquired 51% of Escola Satélite for 6.2 million BRL. As a result, Abril Educação will offer content for college test preparation, public examination, language courses, etc., to more than 1,600 client schools.

International:

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Digital:

“There is a growing trend in Brazil of adopting high-quality materials and services from recognized brands that have proven effective in primary, secondary and pre-university education. This market has high growth potential because the public school market in Brazil remains largely unexplored in terms of use of third party learning systems. Also, the number of private schools in Brazil adopting learning systems continues to grow, and we represent an efficient, customizable solution for offering quality educational services in a market with a scarcity of well-trained teachers.” (Company statement)

Bestselling Authors & Titles

The publishing houses Ática and Scipione delivered a record 50.4 million textbooks to the federal government’s National Textbook Program (PNLD), which buys and distributes books to all of Brazil’s public primary and secondary schools. Textbooks reached roughly 30 million students in 126,000 schools.

The Brazilian textbook market (with some 150 million copies sold per year) has expanded by 15% from 2010 to 2011 alone.

The foreign language education market (with English leading over Spanish, was estimated at 4.9 billion BRL in 2010, with significant growth potential.

Key Points for Analysis & Conclusions:

Brazil will be the guest of honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2013. The country hosts one of the world’s most dynamic publishing markets, reflecting the country’s ambition as one of the leading emerging economies.

Earlier developments:

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