Helsinki, Finland, 2014-10-23 07:30 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
TALENTUM OYJ INTERIM REPORT 23 October 2014 at 8.30 a.m.
Talentum Oyj’s Interim Report for January-September 2014:
OPERATING INCOME FOR THE THIRD QUARTER IMPROVED COMPARED TO LAST YEAR
July-September 2014 in brief
- Talentum Group's net sales totalled EUR 13.7 million (EUR 14.0 million)
- Operating income without non-recurring items was EUR -0.4 million (EUR -1.1 million) and operating income (EBIT) was EUR -0.3 million (EUR -1.0 million)
- Operating income from the Event Business and Books and Legal Training improved
- Operating income from Magazine Business Finland and Magazine Business Sweden was at the previous year's level
- On 20 August 2014, Talentum announced that it will start acquiring its own shares. A maximum of 350,000 shares will be acquired which corresponds to approximately 0,8% of all Talentum Oyj shares.
- Talentum Summa was published in Sweden on 20 August 2014
Net sales of business segments:
-Magazine Business Finland: EUR 4.8 million (EUR 5.1 million)
-Magazine Business Sweden: EUR 2.9 million (EUR 3.5 million)
-Event Business: EUR 2.0 million (EUR 2.1 million)
-Books and Legal Training: EUR 2.1 million (EUR 1.2 million)
-Direct Marketing: EUR 2.6 million (EUR 2.9 million)
January-September 2014 in brief
- Talentum Group's net sales totalled EUR 50.6 million (EUR 52.8 million)
- Operating income without non-recurring items was EUR 1.0 million (EUR -0.1 million) and operating income (EBIT) was EUR 0.2 million (EUR -0.3 million)
- Operating income from the Event Business and Books and Legal Training improved
- Operating income from Magazine Business Sweden was at the previous year's level
- Operating income from Magazine Business Finland decreased
Net sales of business segments:
-Magazine Business Finland: EUR 17.9 million (EUR 18.9 million)
-Magazine Business Sweden: EUR 12.8 million (EUR 14.2 million)
-Event Business: EUR 7.9 million (EUR 8.5 million)
-Books and Legal Training: EUR 6.2 million (EUR 4.9 million)
-Direct Marketing: EUR 8.3 million (EUR 8.8 million)
KEY FINANCIAL FIGURES
| EUR million | 7-9 2014 | 7-9 2013 | 1-9 2014 | 1-9 2013 | 1-12 2013 |
| Net sales | 13.7 | 14.0 | 50.6 | 52.8 | 74.5 |
| Operating income without non-recurring items | -0.4 | -1.1 | 1.0 | -0.1 | 3.1 |
| as % of net sales | -3.2 | -7.5 | 1.9 | -0.1 | 4.1 |
| Operating income | -0.3 | -1.0 | 0.2 | -0.3 | 1.4 |
| as % of net sales | -2.5 | -7.1 | 0.4 | -0.6 | 1.8 |
| Income before taxes | -0.5 | -1.2 | 0.3 | -0.4 | 1.6 |
| Net cash from operating activities | 0.8 | 0.1 | 3.3 | ||
| Total assets | 51.9 | 52.2 | 49.8 | ||
| Investments | 0.1 | 0.3 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 1.5 |
| as % of net sales | 0.5 | 2.1 | 7.6 | 2.3 | 2.0 |
| Return on invested capital % | 2.8 | -4.5 | 3.2 | ||
| Return on equity % | 1.3 | -1.6 | 6.0 | ||
| Equity ratio, % | 43.0 | 45.7 | 47.4 | ||
| Gearing ratio, % (net debt to equity) | 23.0 | 20.2 | 4.4 | ||
| Interest-bearing liabilities | 6.0 | 5.4 | 5.1 | ||
| Net interest-bearing liabilities | 3.9 | 3.6 | 0.8 | ||
| Personnel on average | 721 | 748 | 750 | ||
| Earnings per share, EUR | -0.01 | -0.02 | 0.01 | -0.01 | 0.03 |
| Cash flow from operating activities per share, EUR | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.08 | ||
| Equity per share, EUR | 0.38 | 0.41 | 0.43 |
Talentum’s business operations are divided into six segments: Magazine Business Finland, Magazine Business Sweden, Event Business, Books and Legal Training, Direct Marketing and Other Activities.
Chief Executive Officer Aarne Aktan:
”Consolidated operating income for the third quarter improved compared to last year and was at the level we expected.
The operations in the third quarter were hindered by the weakening of the operating environment – especially in Finland. In the third quarter, advertising sales in both Magazine Business Finland and Magazine Business Sweden segments were at significantly lower level compared to last year.
The development of Magazine Business Sweden's profitability in the third quarter was not as good as at the beginning of the year. On the other hand, we are satisfied with the improvement of the Event Business' and Books and Legal Training's profitability. Operating income from Magazine Business Finland and Direct Marketing was at the reference period's level.
The integration of the B2B business acquired from Sanoma Pro last April into the Books and Legal Training segment has proceeded as expected.
Summa – Talentum's digital service package – was published in Sweden in August and the service has been well received there by readers. At the same time, as part of Summa's publication in Sweden, we launched Digital Teknik – a new, fully digital content product – on the Swedish Market. We will continue to develop Summa in a goal-oriented way and we will add new features to the service during the last quarter of the year.
In the third quarter, digital sales amounted to EUR 2.1 million, of which EUR 1.5 million accumulated from Finland and EUR 0.7 million from Sweden.”
Talentum prospects for 2014
Talentum specified in the interim report of 17 July 2014 its prospects for 2014 to read as follows: “Talentum estimates that its net sales for 2014 including the B2B business acquired from Sanoma Pro will remain approximately at the same level as in 2013. Comparable operating income without non-recurring items will be higher than in 2013.”
Prospects in this interim report are as stated above.
The impact of the B2B business acquired from Sanoma Pro on net sales for 2014 will be EUR 2 - 3 million.
General statement
The forecasts and estimates presented here are based on the management’s current view of economic development, and the actual results may differ substantially from what is now expected of the company.
Financial information 2015
Talentum is planning to publish the results in 2015 as follows:
Full-year result 2014 12 February 2015
January-March result 29 April 2015
January-June result 17 July 2015
January-September result 22 October 2015
Briefing
A briefing will be held for analysts and the media on 23 October 2014 at 11.00 a.m. in Sokos Hotel Vaakuna, Asema-aukio 2, 00100, Helsinki, Finland.
TALENTUM OYJ
Board of Directors
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
CEO Aarne Aktan, tel. +358 40 342 4440 and CFO Niclas Köhler, tel. +358 40 342 4420
DISTRIBUTION
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
Principal media
www.talentum.com
