Highlight Communications : Annual Report 202

KEY FIGURES

CONSOLIDATEDBALANCE SHEETCONSOLIDATED INCOMESTATEMENT

W Film

Balance sheet total

Film assets

Cash and cash equivalents

Financial liabilities

Equity

Equity ratio

Sales

W Sports- and Event-Marketing W Sports

Profit from operations (EBIT)

W Film

W Sports- and Event-Marketing W Sports

Net profit (Highlight shareholders) Earnings per share (CHF) Earnings per share (EUR)

in TCHF	2021	2020
688,171	661,291
127,066	161,975
48,345	48,178
190,647	172,735
209,764	207,025
30.48 %	31.31 %
508,161	414,567
331,483	261,358
68,354	61,463
108,324	92,245
28,567	25,573
15,863	13,262
27,273	27,241
-7,723	-9,036
14,800	12,179
0.26	0.21
0.25	0.2

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTOF CASH FLOWSPERSONNEL

Cash flow from operating activities	59,336	71,211
Cash flow for investing activities	-71,490	-48,501
thereof payments for film assets	-71,006	-41,036
Cash flow for/from financing activities	13,798	-26,961
thereof dividend payments	-1,116	-1,176
Cash flow for/from the reporting period	1,644	-4,251
Average number of employees	1,541	1,440

Preliminary information unaudited

CONTENTS

EVENTS IN 2020 02

-

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 84

FOREWORD BY THE CHAIRMAN 04

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 06

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 07

REMUNERATION REPORT 15

REPORT OF THE STATUTORY AUDITOR 23

HIGHLIGHT STOCK 24

REPORT ON THE HIGHLIGHT GROUP'S SITUATION 30

- Basic information on the Group 32

- Economic report 36

- Consolidated balance sheet 86

- Consolidated income statement 88

- Consolidated statement of comprehensive income/loss 89

- Consolidated statement of changes in equity 90

- Consolidated statement of cash flows 92

- Notes to the consolidated financial statements 94

REPORT OF THE STATUTORY AUDITOR 161

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 169

- Balance sheet 170

- Income statement 172

- Notes to the financial statements 173 - Proposal for the appropriation of retained earnings

and the legal reserves from capital contribution 176

• - Report on business performance and the situation in the segments:

  W FILM 38

  W SPORTS- AND EVENT-MARKETING 44

  W SPORTS 50

• - Results of operations, net assets and

  financial situation of the Highlight Group 56

- Personnel report 61

- Report on risks and opportunities 61

- Forecast 77

REPORT OF THE STATUTORY AUDITOR 177

EVENTS 2021

back inside cover

Contents

EVENTS IN 2021

Q1

JANUARY

At the start of 2021, movie theaters are still closed due to measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Constantin TV production "Ferdinand von Schirach: Feinde" achieves a market share of 21.8 % with the version "Gegen die Zeit" and a market share of 19.5 % with the version "Recht oder Gerechtigkeit?" on ARD. The criminal case was filmed from two different perspectives and broadcast simultaneously.

SPORT1 enters into cooperation agreements for the distribution of the two German-language pay TV channels SPORT1+ and eSPORTS1 on Joyn and eSPORTS1 on Amazon Prime Video Channels.

Bavarian Film Award: "Tides"

World premiere at the Berlinale: "Tides"

FEBRUARY

On February 8, "Der CHECK24 Doppelpass" brought SPORT1 a new record in the current season, underscoring its role as the Number 1 soccer talk show in Germany. At its peak, the number of viewers watching the talk show hosted by Thomas Helmer and Laura Papendick reached a million.

"Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo" is released on Amazon Prime Video on February 19. The modern interpretation of the international bestseller is released in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Over the course of the year, the series is broadcast in 19 countries.

Bavarian Film Award: "Contra"

Modern adaptation:

"Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo" on Amazon Prime

MARCH

The 71st Berlinale is held from March 1 to 5. The Constantin Film produc-tion "Tides" from director Tim Fehlbaums celebrates its world premiere there. The science fiction thriller is presented in the "Spotlight" category for outstanding productions in the current year.

The thriller "Jackpot", produced by Constantin Television, throws Rosalie Thomass, Thomas Loibl, and Friedrich Mücke into a suspense-packed fight to fulfill their lifelong dreams. ARD shows the movie from award-winning director Emily Atef on March 24.

Bavarian Film Award: "Leberkäsjunkie"

Suspense-packed thriller on ARD: "Jackpot"

Q2

APRIL

A prestigious award for Jonas Nohe - and another success for the SPORT1 editorial team: The 30-year-old impresses the jury of the Association of German Sports Journalists (Verband Deutscher Sportjournalisten, VDS), who award him the top prize in the "Major Online Award" category.

The sixth Eberhofer adaptation "Leberkäs-junkie" is recognized at the 2021 Bavarian Film Awards on April 28. The movie wins in the "Audience Film of the Decade" category. Nilam Farooq also wins the Bavarian Film Award for her role as Naima in "Contra."

Richard S. Wright is appointed as the new Senior Vice President of Physical Production at Constantin Film, Los

Angeles.

Movie theater premiere: "Breaking News in Yuba County"

Movie theater premiere in July: "Monster Hunter"

MAY

To cater to the growing market for outstanding and innovative documen-taries, Constantin Film establishes its own documentary label with the name Constantin Dokumentation.

The successful collabora-tion between Constantin Television and Netflix is continued. Constantin Television and MOOVIE produce the feature film "Der Parfumeur," directed by Nils Willbrandt.

JUNE

The UEFA European Football Championships begin on June 11. The "EM-Doppelpass" show analyzes the tournament with numerous experts.

Back to movie theaters at last: The comedy "Breaking News in Yuba County" starring Allison Janney is released on June 24.

The Annual General Meeting of Highlight Communications AG is held on June 29. Bernhard Burgener is re-elected as President of the Board of Directors for another term of office, while Martin Hellstern, Peter von Büren, and Alexander Studhalter are also re-elected as members of the Board of Directors for another year.

On July 1, the fantasy action thriller "Monster Hunter" starring Milla Jovovich and Tony Jaa is released in German theaters, after the release date had to be postponed several times due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The German Netflix Original "Blood Red Sky" from director Peter Thorwarth is released exclusively and worldwide on Netflix for a national and international audience on July 23. The title is called up more than 50 million times worldwide, making it the most internationally successful German film on Netflix.

AUGUST

Since its release on August 5, "Kaiser-schmarrndrama" has been storming the German box office charts. The seventh film in the Eberhofer series attracts more than a million movie-goers by the end of the year. With more than 230,000 viewers on its opening weekend already, "Kaiserschmarrndrama" recorded the most successful start in the Eberhofer movie series.

"Tides" celebrates its public premiere at Filmfest München and can be seen in theaters starting from August 26.

SPORT1 launches the new podcast "Fussball-Kult. Der 2. Liga-Talk mit Peter Neururer und Hartwig Thöne". From now on, the iconic coach and the SPORT1 presenter will discuss current topics each month.

Great cinema: Constantin Film and RTL Deutschland further expand their successful collaboration. The two companies agree a multi-year framework contract for the licensing of exclusive free TV and subscription video-on-de-mand rights to all theatrical productions in Germany.

SPORT1 launches "SPORT1 Extra", a new multisport streaming platform in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Constantin announces the new six-part family comedy series "Wendehammer". The Constantin Film subsidiary MOOVIE produc-es the series for ZDF.

Movie theater premiere in August: "Kaiserschmarrndrama"

Q4

OCTOBER

A major success for the German high-end production "Ferdinand von Schirach - The Allega-tion": CANNESERIES presents the series with the "Best Script" award and the "Dior Grand Prize" for its outstanding innovative storytelling.

Matt Brodlie and Jonathan Kier establish Upgrade Productions together with Constantin Film. This production company develops and produces high-quality, non-English-language content for a global audience.

While "Kaiserschmarrn-drama" continues to entertain viewers in the movie theaters, filming for the next installment, "Gugelhupfgeschwader", is completed on October 20. The eighth Eberhofer adaptation will be released in August 2022.

The Constantin Film production "Contra" starring Nilam Farooq and Christoph Maria Herbst is released in German theaters on October 28.

SPORT1 tops the two-million mark with the DFB Cup match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Ingolstadt, which is watched by 2.06 million viewers at its peak.

NOVEMBER

"Die Heiland" is back! A total of 4.43 million viewers tune in for the start to the third season on ARD, representing a market share of 15.4 %.

Susen Schadwinkel becomes a producer at Constantin Entertainment. Constantin Entertainment thus succeeds in getting one of Germany's best showrunners on board.

"Eiffel in Love" has already won the hearts of audiences and the press in France - as of November 18, the monumental love story can finally also be seen on the big screen in

Germany.

Golden Lola 2021: "Tides"

Award-winner at CANNESERIES: "Ferdinand von Schirach - The Allegation"

DECEMBER

HIGH END PRODUCTIONS announces the production of a series together with the internationally renowned novelist and screenwriter William Boyd (e. g. "Spy City") about the tragic life of Emperor Max-imilian of Mexico and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium. Filming for the four-part miniseries "Maximilian and Carlota" will begin in late summer 2022.

It is the TV event of 2021: With "Eldorado KaDeWe - Jetzt ist unsere Zeit", the multi-award-winning director Julia von Heinz has created an extraordi-nary epic series. All six episodes will be broadcast consecutively on ARD on December 27.

Due to the latest develop-ments in the Covid-19 pandemic, movie theater capacity is limited again, meaning that planned theatrical releases including "Caveman", "Der Nachname", and "Liebesdings" have to be postponed by Constantin Film.

TV event in 2021:

"Eldorado KaDeWe - Jetzt ist unsere Zeit" on ARD

Events 2021