Guetersloh - Bertelsmann, Europe`s biggest media concern, said yesterday its net profit rose 2,6 percent to DM910 million in its latest fiscal year.
Siegfried Luther, the chief financial officer, said a further rise was expected in fiscal 2000.
Including its 50 percent stake in television group CLT-UFA, Bertelsmann`s sales totalled DM29 billion in 1998-99, up 12,8 percent from a year earlier, Luther said.
The US was the group`s biggest market for the first time, accounting for nearly 35 percent of 1998-99 sales. Germany and other European countries each accounted for nearly 30 percent of Bertelsmann`s sales.
Bertelsmann`s record investment of DM4,7 billion during the period included the purchase of US publisher Random House and book store chain Barnes and Noble. No major acquisitions are planned in fiscal 2000.