Media giant Bertelsmann books big rise in profits

German publishing giant Bertelsmann reported Wednesday a profit rise for the first half of 2016 as it pushes on to become a "more digital and more international" media conglomerate.

Bertelsmann, which owns broadcasting group RTL and most of publisher Penguin Random House, said group profit rose 21.1 percent to 482 million euros ($537 million), on revenues of 8.0 billion euros.

The company said it generated more than a quarter of its revenues outside Europe, with the United States as its second-largest market.

"We have become more digital and more international –- we will continue on this path in the second half of the year," said chief executive Thomas Rabe in a statement.

"The best operating result in Bertelsmann's history, the high profitability of our businesses, and significantly improved group profit of nearly a half billion euros give us confidence for the full year," he went on.

Operating profit as measured by EBITDA, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, was up 4.6 percent on the same period last year to 1.1 billion euros in the first half of 2016.

In a statement, Bertelsmann said it "continued to invest in its transformation to digital", including e-books, online video, e-commerce and internet-based education services such as Relias Learning and Udacity.