Tallinn, Estonia, 2016-04-29 15:05 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
The results of the 1st quarter 2016 were in line with the expectations of the Company’s management. The Group’s consolidated revenue amounted to EUR 14.4 million, exceeding last year’s revenue by 2%. Year on year, EBITDA decreased 18% by EUR 0.3 million and amounted to EUR 1.2 million, but on par with the Company’s forecast. The net profit was EUR 0.3 million that is 44% less than a year ago, but 3% more than the forecast. The above figures include all our joint ventures (AS SL Õhtuleht, AS Ajakirjade Kirjastus and AS Express Post) consolidated 50% line-by-line. The decrease in EBITDA and net profit year on year was mainly attributable to the decision to deliberately increase the cost basis in the highly competitive media segment and the slow start of the Lithuanian advertising market at the start of the year. In the first quarter of 2015 there were elections in Estonia and Lithuania, therefore our expectations on revenue growth this quarter compared to previous period were smaller.
Revenue of the media segment increased 3% as a whole as compared to the year before, while revenue from digital and online channels was up by 8%. EBITDA decreased as compared to last year, totalling EUR 34 thousand. The weaker result of the media segment in the 1st quarter was mainly attributable to the slow start of Delfi Lithuania at the beginning of the year, where the result of first two months was below last year’s figure by about EUR 260 thousand. Since March, the business has picked up and in the final month of the quarter Delfi Lithuania exceeded last year’s result already by ca EUR 60 thousand. We believe that Delfi Lithuania is able to earn back the 1st quarter’s shortfall during the rest of the year. Because of last year’s growth in the cost basis, Delfi Latvia’s 1st quarter result was lower as compared to a year ago, but exceeded the Company’s own forecast. Nonetheless, we expect both companies to grow on a yearly basis. Ekspress Meedia has again achieved a good result both in revenue and profit growth, with online revenue increasing 7% even in comparison with last year’s very strong growth of between 20-30%. We can also be proud of the 3% growth of print advertising and 6% growth in subscriptions and single-copy sales.
The priority of the media segment is the same - innovation in developing different products and technical platforms. In all three countries, several new topical portals have been launched, several new multimedia projects have been carried out and e-commerce services have been developed. Of major developments, one should mention the digital edition of Maaleht that had a very successful initial offer. Starting from the new year, our advertising sales departments are offering in addition to online advertising in our own portals also the possibility to buy advertising in other local or international channels. Customers of Levira and Starman in Estonia can watch Delfi TV broadcasts and shows also from their TVs. In Lithuania, the functionality and user-friendliness of classified portal Alio was improved, allowing it to notably increase readership and ranking.
In addition to technical development, we also strongly focus on content production. We do it by producing longer and more analytical articles and exclusive text or image content. Our project “98 nations” won a lot of praise and was mentioned in the Anniversary Day speech of the President of Estonia. Delfi’s daily investigative journalism programme Sensor as well as audio broadcasts of Ekspress and Delfi have progressing well. We also surprised our readers and viewers with broadcasts from the competitions of Estonia’s new extreme sports superstar Kelly Sildaru in Aspen and Oslo. The high level of our editorial departments is shown also by several prominent awards. Eesti Päevaleht journalist Tuuli Jõesaar won the year’s top journalistic prize the Bonnier Award with her articles on parents who cure their ill children with toxic chlorine dioxide. Delfi Latvia’s project “#10 memories” won the award of the Latvian Association of Journalists for the best multimedia project. After the previous editor-in-chief of Eesti Ekspress left abroad, the weekly’s new editor-in-chief is Erik Moora, a politologist with long experience in media.
Strong content helped Delfi to become Latvia’s largest online site also by the new method of the Gemius survey. The gap with the direct competitor, news portal TVNet, increased.
Circulation revenue of Ekspress Meedia has been growing mainly because of subscriptions of print products. Although the book series has ended, Maaleht continues to surprise with its high subscription and single-copy sales. In March we launched our new book series “Timeless love stories” which this time is published together with LP, the weekend issue of Eesti Päevaleht. Although there has been a small decrease in the number of digital subscriptions because of the price increase, the successful launch of the digital version of Maaleht adds confidence that we are on the right track.
Similarly to newspapers, the print advertising market of magazines is also presenting new challenges, especially in satisfying the need for smarter solutions. Despite everything, Ajakirjade Kirjastus increased the advertising revenue 4%. The increase in the cover price is offsetting the fall in circulation and enables also to raise circulation revenue. At the start of April, Ajakirjade Kirjastus signed a contract with OÜ Presshouse under which it acquired Naisteleht, Estonia’s largest weekly magazine targeted at women, as well as publishing rights for magazines Nipiraamat and Müstiline Ajalugu. As a result of the transaction, we hope to achieve significant synergy and increase the Company’s profit. As compared to the same period last year, the result of Ajakirjade Kirjastus was weaker, but in line with expectations.
Also SL Õhtuleht increased its revenue, mainly thanks to the growth in online advertising and circulation revenue. We launched new topical portals Lifestyle (Elustiil) and Special (Eriline), started video series of a fitness school and a money school, added two sports podcasts to the travel podcast, expanded the list of cooperation partners of the advertising network and upgraded the mobile version of Õhtuleht. As a result, also the time that the users stay on the mobile site has increased notably. In the 1st quarter, we set records in both monthly and weekly online readership. Product innovation and team building have increased costs which is why EBITDA fell in the 1st quarter in spite of revenue growth.
The printing segment has managed to stop last year’s decrease in revenue and profit, and its revenue and profit from the 1st quarter were comparable to the same period a year earlier. The segment continues to suffer under the negative impact of economic sanctions imposed on Russia which has reduced printing prices in Scandinavia. However, payment problems of several Scandinavian competitors and a related decrease in their production capacity are creating better recovery possibilities for others. Although Printall’s production volume is growing, the price pressure remains strong. The revenue from last year can be successfully maintained, but not yet increased. On the other hand, Printall has won several long-term contracts to offer printing service on customer’s paper that will have a positive impact on the growth of printing revenue and profit, but less on the total revenue.
The financial position of the Group is strong, the ratio of total debt and EBITDA is below 2.5 and the debt service coverage ratio is about 2.0. A strong financial position enables us to continue analyse new opportunities related to new media with the objective of finding new areas of activity and enterprises in the Group portfolio.
Our position for the next quarter and the full year is modest. We still hope for stable growth of the online and print media and faster recovery of the printing services segment. We expect better 2nd quarter compared to the start of the year with the revenue growth of our main business around 10% and EBITDA growth 1-2%.
Our mission remains to offer new and interesting experiences both on paper and in digital media, without ever compromising on news quality, choice of topics and journalistic objectivity.
The Group’s goal is to be a truly modern media group with a strong foothold in all markets where actively present, with a leading position in online media.
FINANCIAL INDICATORS AND RATIOS – joint ventures consolidated 50% line-by-line
In consolidated financial reports 50% joint ventures are recognised under the equity method, in compliance with international financial reporting standards (IFRS). In its monthly reports, the management monitors the Group’s performance on a basis of proportional consolidation of joint ventures and the syndicated loan contract also determines the calculation of some loan covenants by proportional consolidation. For the purpose of clarity, the management report shows two sets of indicators: one where joint ventures are consolidated line-by-line 50% and the other where joint ventures are recognised under the equity method and their net result is presented as financial income in one line.
| Performance indicators - joint ventures consolidated 50% (EUR thousand) | Q1 2016 | Q1 2015 | Change % | Q1 2014 |
Q1 2013 |
Q1 2012 |
| For the period | ||||||
| Sales | 14 402 | 14 180 | 2% | 14 766 | 13 809 | 14 219 |
| EBITDA | 1 242 | 1 517 | -18% | 1 454 | 1 503 | 1 615 |
| EBITDA margin (%) | 8.6% | 10.7% | 9.8% | 10.9% | 11.4% | |
| Operating profit | 477 | 762 | -37% | 691 | 840 | 756 |
| Operating margin (%) | 3.3% | 5.4% | 4.7% | 6.1% | 5.3% | |
| Interest expenses | (135) | (174) | 23% | (176) | (197) | (488) |
| Net profit /(loss) for the period | 312 | 556 | -44% | 503 | 638 | 179 |
| Net margin (%) | 2.2% | 3.9% | 3.4% | 4.6% | 1.3% | |
| Return on assets ROA (%) | 0.4% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.2% | |
| Return on equity ROE (%) | 0.6% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 0.5% | |
| Earnings per share (EPS) | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.01 |
|
Balance sheet– joint ventures consolidated 50% (EUR thousand) |
31.03.2016 | 31.12.2015 | Change % | |
| As of the end of the period | ||||
| Current assets | 15 502 | 15 553 | 0% | |
| Non-current assets | 61 045 | 61 588 | -1% | |
| Total assets | 76 547 | 77 141 | -1% | |
| incl. cash and bank | 4 714 | 4 666 | 1% | |
| incl. goodwill | 38 232 | 38 232 | 0% | |
| Current liabilities | 12 176 | 12 539 | -3% | |
| Non-current liabilities | 15 380 | 15 928 | -3% | |
| Total liabilities | 27 556 | 28 467 | -3% | |
| incl. borrowings | 18 160 | 18 787 | -3% | |
| Equity | 48 991 | 48 674 | 1% | |
| Financial ratios (%) – joint ventures consolidated 50% | 31.03.2016 | 31.12.2015 |
| Equity ratio (%) | 64% | 63% |
| Debt to equity ratio (%) | 37% | 39% |
| Debt to capital ratio (%) | 22% | 22% |
| Total debt /EBITDA ratio | 2.39 | 2.39 |
| Debt service coverage ratio | 1.91 | 1.79 |
| Liquidity ratio | 1.27 | 1.24 |
FINANCIAL INDICATORS AND RATIOS – joint ventures recognised under the equity method
| Performance indicators – joint ventures under the equity method (EUR thousand) | Q1 2016 |
Q1 2015 |
Change % |
Q1 2014 |
Q1 2013 |
Q1 2012 |
| For the period | ||||||
| Sales (only subsidiaries) | 12 255 | 12 093 | 1% | 12 734 | 11 812 | 12 177 |
| EBITDA (only subsidiaries) | 1 025 | 1 238 | -17% | 1 330 | 1 417 | 1 548 |
| EBITDA margin (%) | 8.4% | 10.2% | 10.4% | 12.0% | 12.7% | |
| Operating profit (only subsidiaries) | 324 | 543 | -40% | 593 | 777 | 720 |
| Operating margin (%) | 2.6% | 4.5% | 4.7% | 6.6% | 5.9% | |
| Interest expenses (only subsidiaries) | (120) | (155) | 22% | (176) | (197) | (489) |
| Profit of joint ventures by equity method | 132 | 194 | -32% | 98 | 63 | 40 |
| Net profit for the period | 312 | 556 | -44% | 503 | 638 | 179 |
| Net margin (%) | 2.5% | 4.6% | 3.9% | 5.4% | 1.5% | |
| Return on assets ROA (%) | 0.4% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.2% | |
| Return on equity ROE (%) | 0.6% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 0.5% | |
| Earnings per share (EPS) | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.01 |
| Balance sheet– joint ventures under equity method (EUR thousand) | 31.03.2016 | 31.12.2015 | Change % |
| As of the end of the period | |||
| Current assets | 12 591 | 12 386 | 2% |
| Non-current assets | 60 420 | 60 794 | -1% |
| Total assets | 73 011 | 73 180 | 0% |
| incl. cash and bank | 3 075 | 2 927 | 5% |
| incl. goodwill | 36 953 | 36 953 | 0% |
| Current liabilities | 9 093 | 9 033 | 1% |
| Non-current liabilities | 14 927 | 15 473 | -4% |
| Total liabilities | 24 020 | 24 506 | -2% |
| incl. borrowings | 17 135 | 17 687 | -3% |
| Equity | 48 991 | 48 674 | 1% |
| Financial ratios (%) – joint ventures by equity method | 31.03.2016 | 31.12.2015 |
| Equity ratio (%) | 67% | 67% |
| Debt to equity ratio (%) | 35% | 36% |
| Debt to capital ratio (%) | 22% | 23% |
| Total debt /EBITDA ratio | 2.65 | 2.65 |
| Debt service coverage ratio | 1.81 | 1.67 |
| Liquidity ratio | 1.38 | 1.37 |
Cyclicality
All operating areas of the Group are characterised by cyclicality and fluctuation, related to the changes in the overall economic conditions and consumer confidence. The Group’s revenue can be adversely affected by an economic slowdown or recession in home and export markets. It can appear in lower advertising costs in retail, preference of other advertising channels (e.g. preference of internet rather than print media) and changes in consumption habits of retail consumers (following current news in news portals versus reading printed newspapers, preference of the younger generation to use mobile devices and other communication channels, etc.).
Seasonality
The revenue from the Group’s advertising sales as well as in the printing services segment is impacted by major seasonal fluctuations. The level of both types of revenue is the highest in the 2nd and 4th quarter of each year and the lowest in the 3rd quarter. Revenue is higher in the 4th quarter because of higher consumer spending during the Christmas season, accompanied by the increase in advertising expenditure. Advertising expenditure is usually the lowest during the summer months, as well as during the first months of the year following Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. Book sales are the strongest in the last quarter of the year. Subscriptions and retail sales of periodicals do not fluctuate as much as advertising revenue. However the summer period is always more quiet and at the beginning of the school year in September there is an increase in subscriptions and retail sale which usually continues until next summer holiday period.
| Formulas used to calculate the financial ratios | |
| EBITDA | Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA does not include any impairment losses recognized during the period or result from restructuring. |
| EBITDA margin (%) | EBITDA/sales x 100 |
| Operating margin* (%) | Operating profit*/sales x100 |
| Net margin (%) | Net profit /sales x100 |
| Earnings per share | Net profit / average number of shares |
| Equity ratio (%) | Equity/ (liabilities + equity) x100 |
| Debt to equity ratio (%) | Interest bearing liabilities /equity x 100 |
| Debt to capital ratio (%) | Interest bearing liabilities – cash and cash equivalents (net debt) /(net debt +equity) x 100 |
| Total debt/EBITDA ratio | Interest bearing borrowings /EBITDA |
| Debt service coverage ratio | EBITDA/loan and interest payments for the period |
| Liquidity ratio | Current assets / current liabilities |
| Return on assets ROA (%) | Net profit /average assets x 100 |
| Return on equity ROE (%) | Net profit /average equity x 100 |
SEGMENT OVERVIEW
The Group’s activities are divided into two large segments - media segment and printing services segment. Last year, there was also an entertainment segment.
The segments’ EBITDA does not include intragroup management fees, impairment of goodwill and trademarks. Volume-based and other fees payable to advertising agencies have not been deducted from the advertising sales of segments, because the management monitors gross advertising sales. Discounts and rebates are reduced from the Group’s sales and are included in the combined line of eliminations.
Key financial data of the segments Q1 2012-2016
| (EUR thousand) | Sales | Sales | ||||
|
Q1 2016 |
Q1 2015 |
Change % |
Q1 2014 |
Q1 2013 |
Q1 2012 |
|
| media segment (by equity method) | 6 771 | 6 581 | 3% | 6 414 | 5 923 | 5 633 |
| incl. revenue from all digital and online channels | 3 558 | 3 350 | 6% | 2 787 | 2 470 | 2 232 |
| printing services segment | 6 341 | 6 318 | 0% | 7 062 | 6 617 | 7 376 |
| entertainment segment | - | 61 | - | - | - | - |
| corporate functions | 539 | 471 | 14% | 421 | 355 | 139 |
| intersegment eliminations | (1 395) | (1 338) | -4% | (1 163) | (1 084) | (971) |
| TOTAL GROUP by equity method | 12 255 | 12 093 | 1% | 12 734 | 11 812 | 12 177 |
| media segment by proportional consolidation | 9 197 | 8 963 | 3% | 8 637 | 8 106 | 7 869 |
| incl. revenue from all digital and online channels | 3 839 | 3 566 | 8% | 2 987 | 2 599 | 2 370 |
| printing services segment | 6 341 | 6 318 | 0% | 7 062 | 6 617 | 7 376 |
| entertainment segment | - | 61 | - | - | - | - |
| corporate functions | 539 | 471 | 14% | 421 | 355 | 139 |
| intersegment eliminations | (1 675) | (1 633) | (1 354) | (1 269) | (1 165) | |
| TOTAL GROUP by proportional consolidation | 14 402 | 14 180 | 2% | 14 766 | 13 809 | 14 219 |
| (EUR thousand) | EBITDA | EBITDA | ||||
|
Q1 2016 |
Q1 2015 |
Change % |
Q1 2014 |
Q1 2013 |
Q1 2012 |
|
| media segment by equity method | 34 | 279 | -88% | 338 | 207 | 192 |
| media segment by proportional consolidation | 251 | 558 | -55% | 466 | 294 | 259 |
| printing services segment | 1 182 | 1 161 | 2% | 1 459 | 1 414 | 1 529 |
| entertainment segment | (2) | 24 | -106% | - | - | - |
| corporate functions | (189) | (226) | 16% | (467) | (206) | (174) |
| intersegment eliminations | (0) | (0) | 100% | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| TOTAL GROUP by equity method | 1 025 | 1 238 | -17% | 1 330 | 1 417 | 1 548 |
| TOTAL GROUP by proportional consolidation | 1 242 | 1 517 | -18% | 1 454 | 1 503 | 1 615 |
| EBITDA margin |
Q1 2016 |
Q1 2015 |
Q1 2014 |
Q1 2013 |
Q1 2012 |
| media segment by equity method | 1% | 4% | 5% | 3% | 3% |
| media segment by proportional consolidation | 3% | 6% | 5% | 4% | 3% |
| printing services segment | 19% | 18% | 21% | 21% | 21% |
| TOTAL GROUP by equity method | 8% | 10% | 10% | 12% | 13% |
| TOTAL GROUP by proportional consolidation | 9% | 11% | 10% | 11% | 11% |
MEDIA SEGMENT
The media segment includes Delfi operations in wholly-owned subsidiaries in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, publishing of Estonian newspapers Maaleht, Eesti Ekspress and Eesti Päevaleht, book publishing in Estonia, magazine publishing in Lithuania, activities of the retail offer portal Zave and holding company Delfi Holding. This segment also includes 50% joint ventures AS SL Õhtuleht (publisher of Õhtuleht and Linnaleht), magazine publisher AS Ajakirjade Kirjastus and home delivery company AS Express Post.
The entities’ EBITDA is presented before the trademark royalty fees that were paid to the direct parent company Delfi Holding until April 2015. In May 2015, Delfi group was restructured in order to reflect the actual management structure changed over the years and as a consequence of which Delfi’s local companies are now directly owned by AS Ekspress Grupp.
In July 2015 AS Delfi and newspaper publisher AS Eesti Ajalehed were merged in Estonia. New company continues to operate under name AS Ekspress Meedia. In 2014, Delfi UAB and magazine publisher Ekspress Leidyba UAB were merged in Lithuania.
News portals owned by the Group
| Owner | Portal | Owner | Portal |
| Ekspress Meedia | www.delfi.ee | Ekspress Meedia | www.ekspress.ee |
| rus.delfi.ee | www.maaleht.ee | ||
| Delfi Latvia | www.delfi.lv | www.epl.ee | |
| rus.delfi.lv | |||
| Delfi Lithuania | www.delfi.lt | AS SL Õhtuleht | www.ohtuleht.ee |
| ru.delfi.lt |
www.vecherka.ee |
| (EUR thousand) | Sales | ||
| Q1 2016 | Q1 2015 | Change % | |
| Ekspress Meedia AS (Delfi Est + Eesti Ajalehed) | 4 212 | 4 110 | 2% |
| incl. Delfi Estonia online revenue | 1 436 | 1 345 | 7% |
| Delfi Latvia | 734 | 676 | 9% |
| Delfi Lithuania (incl. former Ekspress Leidyba) | 1 720 | 1 739 | -1% |
| incl. Delfi Lithuania online revenue | 1 242 | 1 208 | 3% |
| OÜ Hea Lugu | 104 | 117 | -11% |
| OÜ Zave Media | 1 | 0 | - |
| Intersegment eliminations | 0 | (61) | 100% |
| TOTAL subsidiaries | 6 771 | 6 581 | 3% |
| AS SL Õhtuleht* | 1 027 | 1 014 | 1% |
| AS Ajakirjade Kirjastus* | 1 041 | 1 018 | 2% |
| AS Express Post* | 641 | 638 | 0% |
| Intersegment eliminations | (284) | (289) | 2% |
| TOTAL joint ventures | 2 426 | 2 381 | 2% |
| TOTAL segment by proportional consolidation | 9 197 | 8 963 | 3% |
| (EUR thousand) | EBITDA | ||
| Q1 2016 | Q1 2015 | Change % | |
| Ekspress Meedia AS (Delfi Est + Eesti Ajalehed) | 199 | 116 | 72% |
| Delfi Latvia | (4) | 43 | -109% |
| Delfi Lithuania (incl. former Ekspress Leidyba) | (103) | 116 | -189% |
| OÜ Hea Lugu | (8) | 5 | -260% |
| OÜ Zave Media | (50) | 0 | - |
| Delfi Holding | 0 | (1) | 100% |
| Intersegment eliminations | (0) | (0) | - |
| TOTAL subsidiaries | 34 | 279 | -88% |
| AS SL Õhtuleht* | 97 | 118 | -18% |
| AS Ajakirjade Kirjastus* | 47 | 73 | -36% |
| AS Express Post* | 73 | 88 | -17% |
| Intersegment eliminations | 0 | (0) | 222% |
| TOTAL joint ventures | 217 | 279 | -22% |
| TOTAL segment by proportional consolidation | 251 | 558 | -55% |
*Proportional share of joint ventures
DELFI and related products
As a market leader Delfi continues to invest into new technologies and IT solutions to improve user experience of its readers and advertisers. Last year, new Delfi mobile applications for both IOS and Android devices were launched, enabling to use more creative solutions in the mobile environment. Programmatic advertising sales will be further developed in all three countries. In addition to online advertising, from this year our advertising sales departments will provide an opportunity to buy advertising space in other local or international channels. Delfi TV platforms will continue to be developed. The clients of Levira and Starman in Estonia are now able to watch Delfi TV broadcasts and programmes on their television screens. The launch of digital newspaper of Maaleht was one of the main developments in Estonia. Within the first week there were extraordinary six thousand downloads.
We continue to expand the range of vertical products. In the 1st quarter Delfi Estonia launched www.filmiveeb.ee that is dedicated to the film art. Delfi Latvia launched the esoterics portal www.orakuls.lv. Lithuania launched www.busiumama.lt, a portal targeted at expecting mothers, and in cooperation with the Lithuanian basketball federation, Delfi FIT, a sub-section that supports healthy lifestyle.
Delfi Lithuania continues to develop further the classified portal www.alio.lt which has become 12th among all portals in Lithuania.
In all countries there is a focus on writing more long-read analytical articles in order to increase Delfi’s position in all qualitative indexes like “trust”, “usability”, “originality” and etc. In Estonia this has been provided in co-operation with editorial teams of our daily and weekly newspapers Eesti Päevaleht, Eesti Ekspress and Maaleht.
We continue to focus on socially responsible behaviour, supporting different charitable projects, culture, sports, social and business events. In the 1st quarter in Latvia we supported several concerts and conferences and hold our own presentations. Delfi Lithuania organised pan-Baltic tennis tournament with more than 250 participants.
Estonian online readership 2015-2016
In the 1st quarter 2016, Postimees added Eesti Meedia owned classifieds portals kv.ee and osta.ee under the postimees.ee domain. As a result the usership number for postimees.ee grew by 17%. The growth in readership is increasing mainly among mobile users which is why larger online portals have been investing in this particular segment, including both marketing and product development.
During 2016, the methodology of the online readership survey in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will change, as a result of which the readership of mobile devices and tablet PCs will be added to the above readership of computer users.
Delfi Latvia
Latvian online readership 2015-2016
Starting from the beginning of 2016, the method of the Gemius online survey has changed. Because of that, the online readership figure decreased. This figure shows only the online readership of PC users. Inbox.lv remains Latvia’s largest portal among PC users. Delfi.lv has increased its lead over tvnet.lv. The local social network draugiem.lv continues to lose users to Facebook. As in other Baltic countries, the main competition in Latvia is for mobile users.
Delfi Lithuania
Lithuanian online readership 2015-2016
Delfi.lt remains Lithuania’s largest online portal. In the 1st quarter 2016, there were no major changes in the preferences of online users in Lithuania. As in other markets, development and marketing activities in Lithuania were focused on increasing the number of mobile users. In this segment Delfi has notably increased its readership.
Print media in Estonia
Estonian newspaper circulation 2015-2016
Circulations of newspapers in Estonia have been falling moderately in the long run. In this respect, 2015 was a pleasant exception since newspaper circulations stabilized. Circulations of some periodicals have also been growing slightly for the first time in several years. In 2016 we expect to see similar trends – the year’s first quarter has been encouraging and it forecasts a stable year in the newspaper segment.
One also needs to add to the above readership the number of subscribers of digital newspapers. At the end of the 1st quarter 2016, our Group’s publication Eesti Päevaleht had ca 12 thousand subscribers, Eesti Ekspress ca 10 thousand and Maaleht ca 7 thousand.
Estonian newspaper readership 2015-2016
Similarly with the circulation of newspapers, the readership of publications also remained relatively stable at the beginning of 2016. As compared to the 1st quarter 2015, readership of Maaleht, Eesti Ekspress and Eesti Päevaleht increased. As this survey does not cover the readership of digital newspapers, it does not represent the complete readership. The number of digital subscriptions of periodicals of the Ekspress Group amounts ca 30 thousand. Increasing the readership of digital newspapers remains the main task for the Group’s publications.
PRINTING SERVICES SEGMENT
All printing services of the Group are provided by AS Printall which is one of the largest printing companies in Estonia. We are able to print high-quality magazines, newspapers, advertising materials, product and service catalogues, paperback books and other publications in our printing plant. The new sheet-fed machine installed in 2015 has enabled us to further expand the range of printed products.
| (EUR thousand) | Sales | ||
|
Q1 2016 |
Q1 2015 |
Change % |
|
| AS Printall | 6 341 | 6 318 | 0% |
| (EUR thousand) | EBITDA | ||
|
Q1 2016 |
Q1 2015 |
Change % | |
| AS Printall | 1 182 | 1 161 | 2% |
The printing services segment continues to be negatively impacted by to the economic sanctions imposed on Russia. Although the production volume of Printall increased, the price pressure is still strong due to the more intense competition in Scandinavia and continuously appreciating paper prices. Despite that, the sales of printing services increased by 3% in the 1st quarter.
Printing services and the environment
In addition to its very strong financial position, Printall also focuses on environmentally conscious production. Printall has been granted ISO 9001 management and ISO 14001 environmental certificates.
The Minister of the Environment of the Republic of Estonia and the waste managing company AS Ragn-Sells awarded Printall with the title of the Top Recycler of the Year, because the company recycles 95% of its waste.
The Nordic Council of Ministers has awarded Printall with the environmental label “The Nordic Ecolabel”, used to acknowledge the companies in the Nordic countries that use environmentally efficient production. Printall also has FSC and PEFC Chain of Custody (COC) certificates, which the company uses to promote a green way of thinking in the printing industry. Both of those certificates indicate compliance with monitoring and product production process requirements which are issued to businesses that comply with the requirements established by the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and the PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification). A business that is issued these certificates helps to support the environmentally friendly, socially fair and economically viable management of the world’s forests.
Printall cares about the environment and uses green energy. The POWERED BY GREEN certificate is a proof that the company buys electricity, 70% of which has been generated by renewable sources of energy.
Consolidated balance sheet (unaudited)
| (EUR thousand) | 31.03.2016 | 31.12.2015 |
| ASSETS | ||
| Current assets | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 3 061 | 2 927 |
| Term deposit | 14 | 0 |
| Trade and other receivables | 6 709 | 6 741 |
| Corporate income tax prepayment | 35 | 0 |
| Inventories | 2 772 | 2 718 |
| Total current assets | 12 591 | 12 386 |
| Non-current assets | ||
| Trade and other receivables | 1 153 | 1 149 |
| Deferred tax asset | 42 | 42 |
| Investments in joint ventures | 1 139 | 1 007 |
| Investments in associates | 205 | 215 |
| Property, plant and equipment | 13 427 | 13 791 |
| Intangible assets | 44 454 | 44 590 |
| Total non-current assets | 60 420 | 60 794 |
| TOTAL ASSETS | 73 011 | 73 180 |
| LIABILITIES | ||
| Current liabilities | ||
| Borrowings | 2 234 | 2 240 |
| Trade and other payables | 6 737 | 6 679 |
| Corporate income tax payable | 122 | 114 |
| Total current liabilities | 9 093 | 9 033 |
| Non-current liabilities | ||
| Long-term borrowings | 14 901 | 15 447 |
| Deferred tax liability | 26 | 26 |
| Total non-current liabilities | 14 927 | 15 473 |
| TOTAL LIABILITIES | 24 020 | 24 506 |
| EQUITY | ||
| Share capital | 17 878 | 17 878 |
| Share premium | 14 277 | 14 277 |
| Treasury shares | (205) | (176) |
| Reserves | 1 821 | 1 787 |
| Retained earnings | 15 220 | 14 908 |
| TOTAL EQUITY | 48 991 | 48 674 |
| TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY | 73 011 | 73 180 |
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income (unaudited)
| (EUR thousand) | Q1 2016 | Q1 2015 |
| Sales revenue | 12 255 | 12 093 |
| Cost of sales | (10 199) | (9 795) |
| Gross profit | 2 056 | 2 298 |
| Other income | 113 | 107 |
| Marketing expenses | (517) | (553) |
| Administrative expenses | (1 309) | (1 288) |
| Other expenses | (19) | (21) |
| Operating profit | 324 | 543 |
| Interest income | 10 | 11 |
| Interest expense | (120) | (155) |
| Other finance costs | (16) | (16) |
| Net finance cost | (126) | (160) |
| Profit (loss) on shares of joint ventures | 132 | 194 |
| Profit (loss) from shares of associates | (18) | (15) |
| Profit before income tax | 312 | 562 |
| Income tax expense | 0 | (6) |
| Net profit for the reporting period | 312 | 556 |
| Net profit for the reporting period attributable to: | ||
| Equity holders of the parent company | 312 | 556 |
| Other comprehensive income (expense) that may be subsequently reclassified to profit or loss | ||
| Currency translation differences | 0 | 0 |
| Total other comprehensive income (expense) | 0 | 0 |
| Comprehensive income (expense) for the reporting period | 312 | 556 |
| Attributable to equity holders of the parent company | 312 | 556 |
| Basic and diluted earnings per share | 0.01 | 0.02 |
Consolidated cash flow statement (unaudited)
| (EUR thousand) | Q1 2016 | Q1 2015 |
| Cash flows from operating activities | ||
| Operating profit for the reporting year | 324 | 543 |
| Adjustments for: | ||
| Depreciation, amortisation and impairment | 700 | 695 |
| (Gain)/loss on sale and write-down of property, plant and equipment | (5) | 0 |
| Change in value of share option | 34 | 30 |
| Cash flows from operating activities: | ||
| Trade and other receivables | 20 | (820) |
| Inventories | (55) | 22 |
| Trade and other payables | 45 | 661 |
| Cash generated from operations | 1 062 | 1 131 |
| Income tax paid | (28) | (39) |
| Interest paid | (120) | (155) |
| Net cash generated from operating activities | 914 | 937 |
| Cash flows from investing activities | ||
| Term deposit (placement)/release | 0 | 1 600 |
| Interest received | 10 | 11 |
| Purchase of property, plant and equipment | (205) | (220) |
| Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment | 9 | 1 |
| Loans granted | 0 | 0 |
| Loan repayments received | 0 | 1 |
| Net cash used in investing activities | (186) | 1 393 |
| Cash flows from financing activities | ||
| Finance lease repayments | (21) | (20) |
| Change in use of overdraft | 0 | (1 117) |
| Loan received | 11 | 0 |
| Repayments of bank loans | (542) | (2 533) |
| Purchase of treasury shares | (29) | (31) |
| Net cash used in financing activities | (581) | (3 702) |
| NET (DECREASE)/INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS | 148 | (1 372) |
| Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year | 2 927 | 3 656 |
| Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year | 3 075 | 2 284 |
Additional information:
Gunnar Kobin
Chairman of the Management Board
GSM: +372 5188111
e-mail: gunnar@egrupp.ee
