Alma Media's Interim Report for January-September 2013: Growth in digital services slowed down revenue decline
Alma Media Corporation   Interim Report    October 25, 2013 at 9:00am (EEST)
Alma Media's Interim Report for January-September 2013:
GROWTH IN DIGITAL SERVICES SLOWED DOWN REVENUE DECLINE
Financial performance in July-September 2013:
- Revenue MEUR 71.1 (75.2), down 4.6%.
- Content revenue MEUR 29.2 (30.8), down 5.2%; advertising revenue MEUR 34.1
(36.1), down 5.5%; service revenue MEUR 8.5 (8.4), up 1.4%.
- EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation)
excluding non-recurring items MEUR 11.4 (12.0), down 5.2%.
- EBITDA MEUR 11.4 (11.3), up 0.6%.
- Operating profit excluding non-recurring items MEUR 7.8 (8.9), 10.8% (11.8%)
of revenue, down 12.6%.
- Operating profit MEUR 7.8 (8.1), 10.8% (10.8%) of revenue, down 4.7%.
- Profit for the period MEUR 5.9 (8.1), down 27.1%.
- Earnings per share EUR 0.07 (0.10).
Financial performance in January-September 2013:
- Revenue MEUR 223.0 (237.4), down 6.1%.
- Content revenue MEUR 86.6 (92.3), down 6.2%; advertising revenue MEUR 108.9
(118.6), down 8.1%; service revenue MEUR 27.5 (26.5), up 3.7%.
- EBITDA excluding non-recurring items MEUR 27.4 (34.5), down 20.4%.
- EBITDA MEUR 35.4 (29.8), up 18.5%.
- Operating profit excluding non-recurring items MEUR 17.8 (25.0), 8.0% (10.5%)
of revenue, down 28.8%.
- Operating profit MEUR 22.7 (18.9), 10.2% (8.0%) of revenue, down 19.7%.
- Profit for the period MEUR 17.9 (15.3), up 17.2%.
- Earnings per share EUR 0.23 (0.19).
KEY FIGURES 2013 2012 Change 2013 2012 Change 2012
MEUR Q3 Q3 Â % Q1-Q3 Q1-Q3 Â % Q1-Q4
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Revenue 71.7 75.2 -3.5 -4.6 223.0 237.4 -14.4 -6.1 320.1
Content revenue 29.2 30.8 -1.6 -5.2 86.6 92.3 -5.8 -6.2 122.3
Advertising revenue 34.1 36.1 -2.0 -5.5 108.9 118.6 -9.7 -8.1 160.8
Service revenue 8.5 8.4 0.1 1.4 27.5 26.5 1.0 3.7 37.1
Total expenses excluding
non-recurring items 64.1 66.4 -2.3 -3.5 205.6 212.6 -7.0 -3.3 287.0
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EBITDA excluding non-
recurring items 11.4 12.0 -0.6 -5.2 27.4 34.5 -7.0 -20.4 45.1
EBITDAÂ 11.4 11.3 0.1 0.6 35.4 29.8 5.5 18.5 39.5
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Operating profit excluding
non-recurring items 7.8 8.9 -1.1 -12.6 17.8 25.0 -7.2 -28.8 33.5
% of revenue 10.8 11.8 Â Â 8.0 10.5 Â Â 10.5
Operating profit 7.8 8.1 -0.4 -4.7 22.7 18.9 3.7 19.7 26.5
% of revenue 10.8 10.8 Â Â 10.2 8.0 Â Â 8.3
Profit for the period 5.9 8.1 -2.2 -27.1 17.9 15.3 2.6 17.2 17.4
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Earnings per share, EUR
(basic) 0.07 0.10 -0.03 -29.1 0.23 0.19 0.03 15.8 0.22
Earnings per share, EUR
(diluted) 0.07 0.10 -0.03 -28.9 0.23 0.19 0.03 16.0 0.22
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Outlook for 2013:
Economic growth in Europe, and in particular Finland, is expected to remain weak
also in the fourth quarter of 2013. The decline in media advertising and the
gradual shift of media consumption to digital channels will decrease the revenue
and profitability of print media. In this market situation, Alma Media's strong
growth in the sales of digital services does not yet fully offset the decline in
the sales of print media.
Alma Media maintains its outlook given in the interim report published on 19
July 2013, according to which it expects the revenue and the operating profit
excluding non-recurring items for the second half of 2013 and the full year to
decline compared to the corresponding periods in 2012. Revenue for the second
half of 2012 was MEUR 157.9 and operating profit excluding non-recurring items
MEUR 17.4. Full-year revenue 2012 was MEUR 320.1 and operating profit excluding
non-recurring items was MEUR 33.5.
Kai Telanne, President and CEO:
Alma Media's performance in the third quarter of 2013 was in line with
expectations. The decline in revenue slowed down, and the company's digital
services, in particular, performed well. In Finland, the single-copy and
subscription sales of print newspapers continued to decline and media
advertising decreased by 6,1% in the third quarter, which had an effect on Alma
Media's profitability in the third quarter. In the third quarter, Alma Media's
digital products and services represented 28.1% of Group revenue.
Digital recruitment services, which made up 10.9% of Alma Media's revenue in the
third quarter, continued their strong performance, particularly in the Group's
units outside Finland. Among the Group's marketplace services in Finland,
Etuovi.com in particular has maintained a good level of profitability despite
the slow home sales market. Alma Media saw strong growth in performance-based
network advertising, which takes advantage of the Group's extensive online media
portfolio and reaches nearly 5 million consumers a week. The company continues
its active development of tools that facilitate easier purchasing of digital
advertising.
Alma Media's extensive development of online and mobile content allows it to
further improve its services to customers across the digital channels of its
newspapers. The increase in Kauppalehti's digital content sales exceeded the
fall in print media content sales in the third quarter. Kauppalehti's digital
content revenue increased by 22.1% in the third quarter, while online
advertising sales grew by 25.7% year-on-year.
Mobile services have grown in popularity across all Alma Media services. The
number of visitors to the Iltalehti mobile site has grown fourfold since the
beginning of the year. In response to the mobilisation of media, the company is
actively developing a variety of mobile advertising solutions and applications
for readers.
In the third quarter, the production reliability of Alma Media's new printing
facility was brought under control. An agreement confirming that the printing of
Hämeen Sanomat will be moved to the printing facility in Tampere from 1 January
2014 onwards was signed in September.
Alma Media will continue to focus on growing its digital services and digital
expertise to ensure its continued capacity to effectively respond to changes in
consumer behaviour and the ongoing transformational changes in the media
industry.
For more information, please contact:
Kai Telanne, President and CEO, telephone +358 10 665 3500
Juha Nuutinen, CFO, telephone +358 10Â 665 3873
Disclosure procedure
Alma Media Corporation follows the disclosure procedure enabled by Standard
5.2b published by the Finnish Financial Supervision Authority. This stock
exchange release is a summary of Alma Media Corporation's Interim Report January
- September 2013. The complete report is attached to this release in pdf format.
The Interim Report is also available on Alma Media's website at
www.almamedia.com/investors/.
Conference, webcast and conference call
A conference for Finnish media, investors and analysts will be held on Friday
25 October 2013 at 11.00-12.00 EEST in the Alma House (address: Alvar Aallon
katu 3 C, Helsinki). Alma Media's result will be presented by President & CEO
Kai Telanne and CFO Juha Nuutinen. Please note that the conference will be held
in Finnish. The presentation material will be available on
www.almamedia.com/press_room/downloads/presentations/ at 11.00 EEST.
To participate in the conference, kindly register beforehand by e-mail,
kutsut@almamedia.fi.
A conference call and audio webcast concerning the financial result of January-
September 2013 will begin at 13.00 EEST. The conference call and audio webcast
will be held in English. You can participate in the conference by calling
+44(0)20 3427 1909 (confirmation code: 1913710) or follow the direct
transmission at www.almamedia.com/press_room/downloads/presentations/.
ALMA MEDIA CORPORATION
Rauno Heinonen
Vice President, Corporate Communications and IR
Distribution: NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, main media
Alma Media in brief
Alma Media is a media company focusing on digital services and publishing. In
addition to news services, the company's products provide useful information
related to lifestyle, career and business development. The services of Alma
Media have expanded from Finland to the Nordic countries, the Baltics and
Central Europe. The company employs approximately 1,900 professionals (without
distributors), of which over 20% work outside Finland. Alma Media's revenue in
2012 totalled approximately MEUR 320. Alma Media's share is listed in the NASDAQ
OMX Helsinki. Read more at www.almamedia.com.
Alma Media's Interim Report Q3 2013:
http://hugin.info/3000/R/1737985/582936.pdf
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Source: Alma Media Oyj via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1737985]