2015-04-29 07:30:01 CEST

2015-04-29 07:30:04 CEST


REGULATED INFORMATION

Finnish English
Talentum Oyj - Interim report (Q1 and Q3)

Talentum Oyj, Interim Report Q1/2015


Helsinki, Finland, 2015-04-29 07:30 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 

TALENTUM OYJ             INTERIM REPORT          29 April 2015 at 8.30 a.m.

Talentum Oyj's Interim Report for January-March 2015:

THE GROUP'S OPERATING INCOME IMPROVED, THE EVENTS BUSINESS AS WELL AS THE BOOKS
AND LEGAL TRAINING INCREASED NET SALES 

January-March 2015 in brief

- Talentum Group's net sales totalled EUR 18.4 million (EUR 18.1 million)
- Operating income without non-recurring items was EUR 0.9 million (EUR 0.7
million) and operating income (EBIT) was EUR 0.7 million (EUR 0.4 million) 
- The operating income of the Events Business and Magazine Business Finland
improved clearly in comparison with the previous year 
- Due to poorer-than-expected media sales the operating income without
non-recurring items for Magazine Business Sweden weakened 
- Circulation sales decreased as expected slightly in Finland and Sweden

Net sales of business segments:

- Magazine Business Finland: EUR 6,0 million (EUR 6,3 million)
- Magazine Business Sweden: EUR 4,3 million (EUR 4,7 million)
- Event Business: EUR 3,3 million (EUR 3,0 million)
- Books and Legal Training: EUR 2,7 million (EUR 2,0 million)
- Direct Marketing: EUR 2,8 million (EUR 2,9 million)


KEY FINANCIAL FIGURES                                                           
EUR million                                        1-3 2015  1-3 2014  1-12 2014
Net sales                                              18.4      18.1       72.3
Operating income without non-recurring items            0.9       0.7        4.1
as % of net sales                                       5.0       3.7        5.7
Operating income                                        0.7       0.4        3.4
as % of net sales                                       3.6       2.1        4.8
Income before taxes                                     0.6       0.4        3.8
Net cash from operating activities                      1.1       2.0        4.4
Total assets                                           53.4      54.3       51.8
Investments                                             0.3       0.5        4.2
as % of net sales                                       1.5       2.5        5.8
Return on invested capital %                            3.1       2.1       17.5
Return on equity %                                      2.5       2.0       14.7
Equity ratio, %                                        42.4      41.8       47.2
Gearing ratio, % (net debt to equity)                   4.2      -5.1        3.8
Interest-bearing liabilities                            5.0       4.7        5.4
Net interest-bearing liabilities                        0.7      -0.9        0.7
Personnel on average                                    729       749        721
Earnings per share, EUR                                0.01      0.01       0.06
Cash flow from operating activities per share,         0.02      0.05       0.10
 EUR                                                                            
Equity per share, EUR                                  0.39      0.39       0.43


Talentum's business operations are divided into six segments: Magazine Business
Finland, Magazine Business Sweden, Events Business, Books and Legal Training,
Direct Marketing and Other Activities. 

Chief Executive Officer Aarne Aktan:"Operating income in the period under view improved in comparison with the
previous year. Net sales were slightly higher than in the previous year. Net
sales of digital products and services amounted to EUR 2.4 million,
representing a growth of 30.3 per cent in comparison with the previous year. 

In the Events Business, the changes that were made to the product range last
year led to improved net sales and operating income in the segment. The product
range now better corresponds to the demand of the customer market and the net
sales of sponsored events developed particularly positively. 

Net sales developed positively in the Books and Legal Training segment. The
profitability of the segment remained similar to that of the previous year due
to investments in developing products and operations but we expect the
investments to improve profitability later on in this year. 

The financial development of Magazine Business Sweden was weak. Decrease of
recruitment advertisements weakened net sales and operating income in the
segment. The development of circulation sales was reasonable, remaining almost
at the same level as in the comparison period. Circulation sales accounted for
52.2 per cent of net sales in the segment, while sales of advertisements
accounted for 45.6 per cent. We continue to take goal-oriented adaptive
measures in Sweden to ensure that the positive trends in operating income,
which began during the last financial period, will continue this year. At the
same time, we will invest in the development of new digital products and
services. 

Operating income from Magazine Business Finland developed as expected although
net sales fell. Sales of advertisements continued to suffer from the difficult
market climate, which we do not expect to improve during this year. Sales of
advertisements accounted for 31.6 per cent of the segment's net sales.
Circulation sales developed as expected, accounting for 67.4 per cent of net
sales in the segment. The profitability of the segment developed very
positively. 

Operating income from Direct marketing improved slightly in comparison with the
previous year."

Talentum prospects for 2015 unchanged

Talentum estimates that its net sales for 2015 will remain approximately at the
same level as in 2014. Operating income without non-recurring items will be
higher than in 2014. Operating income without non-recurring items was EUR 4.1
million in 2014. 

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:

January-June result                             17 July 2015
January-September result                   22 October 2015

Briefing

A briefing will be held for analysts and the media on 29 April 2015 at 11.00
a.m. at Sokos Hotel Vaakuna, Asema-aukio 2, 00100, Helsinki. 



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