The strong growth of the VG Sisters is going well

The media group posted solid results in the third quarter, with operating profit before amortization and write-downs of NOK 865 million, compared to NOK 836 million forecast, according to estimates by TDN Direkt.

VG achieved a solid quarter with a profit of NOK 94 million, compared to NOK 87 million in 2017. Revenues also increased from NOK 428 million to NOK 443 million the year before.

"The good result comes, among other things, from a good growth in digital advertising revenues and the number of VG + subscribers," Schibsted wrote to the media in a press release.

VG + exceeded 160,000 subscribers during the quarter.

swedish autumn

Two Swedish results show negative results: VG's twin newspaper, Aftonbladet, increases from NOK 67 million in 2017 to NOK 22 million in 2018.

"The main reason is a loss of print revenue, which digital development does not compensate, in part because our advertising revenue was worse than expected in July and August," writes Schibsted.

For Swedish stocks, with Blocket in the lead, income and earnings are down.

The turnover in Sweden rose from 262 million NOK to 250 million NOK. Operating profit rose from 157 million Swedish crowns to 141 million Swedish kronor.

"Sweden remains weak," said Rolv Erik Ryssdal, chairman and CEO in a statement.

Falling result for the media

Schibsted Media's profit amounted to NOK 297 million, down 13.7% compared to last year.

The Schibsted Publishing newspapers generated NOK 186 million, down from the previous year – while the company's profit was NOK 218 million.

"We have lower revenues in publishing, it's not a surprise and we all know the reason: printing.While the evolution of printed volume is a little better than expected, the curve continues to decline. And this will continue for many more years, "said Raoul Grünthal, head of media at Schibsted.

Subscription newspapers – Aftenposten, Bergens Tidende, Stavanger Aftenblad and Fædrelandsvennen and Svenska Dagbladet – also provide reliable figures. Company sales decreased slightly from NOK 837 million to NOK 825 million, but the result increased by 21% to NOK 75 million.

New company listed in April

The turnover reached 4 358 million Swedish krona during the quarter, against 4 161 million Norwegian kroner the previous year. However, it was below analysts' expectations, which amounted to NOK 4,456 million.

The media group is currently in a process where the company's international titles, such as the French Leboncoin gold calf, will be subdivided into a new company, currently called MPI. Schibsted will nevertheless keep shares in MPI, at least initially.

In a stock market announcement, Schibsted announced that MPI would be listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in April 2019.

The company expects a 60% stake in MPI after selling up to 5% of the market.

Get a new boss

MPI companies account for just over a quarter of the total business volume of the Schibsted Group.

At the same time that Schibsted published this news, it appeared that the company had been hired by Kristin Skogen Lund, director of NHO, as CEO, while Rolv Erik Ryssdal would be CEO of MPI. However, Ryssdal also holds the acting CEO position at Schibsted until the split is finalized.

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