MEDIA , ECONOMY – The classified market has strengthened the Schibsted result

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Schibsted announces the best ebitda results for the second quarter, mainly due to the growth of the classifieds market. However, the media industry is under pressure.

– The positive development of Schibsted continued in the second quarter, with the best ebitda record of the time. At the same time, we reduced our capital investments and increased our cash flow, "says Rolv Erik Ryssdal, Managing Director.

If we look at the big numbers, operating income increased from NOK 275 million to NOK 4.6 billion in the second quarter of this year, compared with the same period the year before. last year. At the same time, operating profit rose from NOK 1.8 billion to NOK 623 million. Profit before tax is high at $ 593 million, compared with just over $ 1.7 billion last year. The reason for the significant decline is one-off effects last year.

The company's profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and impairment – the result of ebitda – increased by 29% to 895 million NOK. Marketplaces growth was 16% and the EBITDA margin (profitability) of this segment is now 35%, an increase of 5 percentage points compared to the same quarter of last year. In France, Spain, Norway and Brazil, developments were strong in the second quarter.

Loss of printed income

At the same time, CEO Raoul Grünthal of Schibsted Media says that the media industry is experiencing difficult times, but that the company continues to supply.

– Many media groups in Europe are fighting for their independence and survival. In these difficult times, we are able to grow, achieve strong results and be an indisputable challenger for global platforms, which currently challenge the media industry, says Raoul. Grünthal, CEO of Schibsted Media.

Grünthal claims that the Media Division's revenues are increasing due to the increase in its growth business – a portfolio of online growth companies such as Lendo, Price Hunt, Service Finder, My Tender and Let's Deal – and steady income in the Publishing division. and Sweden. At the same time, Schibsted Media's "ebitda" result is reduced by 5% to 285 million NOK.

While the growth companies recorded a total growth of 12% in their turnover to 455 million Norwegian kroner, publishing revenues averaged just under 2.1 billion dollars. dollars.

– We are increasing our digital revenues, but this is not enough to cover the loss of revenue on printing and investments related to the development of digital products and technologies in publishing and distribution. Such investments depend on sustainability, and this will continue for many years to come. This naturally affects the result. Even though print revenues are down, we are losing less than expected, says Grünthal.

VG Digital Growth

For VG, for example, sales increased by 5% to 459 million Norwegian Kroner. Revenues from digital subscriptions increased 18 percent to 255 million, while revenue from print dropped 9 percent over the period to 204 million. In total, VG Plus had 154,000 subscriptions at the end of the second quarter. Digital growth is mainly due to strong advertising sales and strong growth in traffic during the World Cup.

The Swedish Aftonbladet had weaker results in the second quarter, with a 15 percent drop in the print is not offset by the marginal increase of 1 percent digital revenues.

(© NTB)