Amedia delivers a better result in the corona year 2020 than in 2019, despite a slight decline in turnover.
– We are leaving a very special year behind us, but a fantastic presentation has been made of the employees in Amedia, said the new CEO Anders Opdahl in Amedia at a digital press conference on Wednesday.
– Despite the pandemic, we have left behind a year where we have strengthened journalism, the importance of newspapers for society and expanded the Norwegian media diversity. At the same time, we have prepared ourselves for continued investment, says Opdahl in a press release.
The head of Amedia can point to a gross operating profit in 2020 of NOK 535 million and a profit before tax of NOK 375 million.
Nice debut
Opdahl took over as CEO of Amedia on 10 August last year, after Are Stokstad resigned after seven years in the top position.
The result before tax is NOK 63 million better than in 2019. This is despite a decrease in turnover of just over NOK 100 million, from NOK 3,745 million to NOK 3,643 million. The decrease is 3 percent.
Amedia also delivered solid figures for 2019, but was already able to report one in April last year brutal koronaeffekt. Last year’s figures show that advertising revenues fell by 13 per cent, from NOK 1267 million to NOK 1101 million.
Strong subscription growth
But at the end of 2020, Amedia’s newspapers had a total of 677,115 subscribers. That is a total of 59,400 more than at the beginning of the year (see the graph below).
The number of fully digital subscribers increased by 30 percent, to 357,000. The corona pandemic accelerated digitalisation. Amedia now estimates that the group has 1.5 billion in digital revenues.
– The digitization process has really accelerated over the past year. Our digital offer is now our largest and most in demand, says Opdahl.
Amedia’s total circulation revenues rose by 8 per cent to a record high of NOK 1,806 million in 2020. Thus, the figures were far better than could be feared in the spring of last year, but every fourth advertising krone on paper was lost last year.
Lost 60 percent
At its worst in the corona year 2020, 60 percent of advertising revenues in the paper market disappeared. The newspapers located in areas with the hardest infection pressure were not surprisingly hit hardest by the ad failure. In total, Amedia comprises 80 newspapers, plus the fully digital Nettavisen.
Through 2020, Amedia managed to reduce its total costs by NOK 116 million compared with 2019. This is due to lower travel activities, lower paper consumption and smaller purchases, in addition to reduced personnel costs.
Last year there was a sharp decline in the printing of paper newspapers. Most of the cost reductions last year were unplanned, but came as a result of an abrupt halt when the corona pandemic broke out. It also helped Amedia to improve its operating margin to 14 percent, which the group management is very pleased with.
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New record
– It has been a brutal fall, but somewhat better in April than in the first period after the closure. Now we are excited about whether the softening affects advertising revenue, Stokstad told Nettavisen.
The effects of the corona pandemic are hitting the advertising market. In total, revenues were reduced by NOK 102 million in 2020, and advertising revenues fell by 13 per cent to NOK 1101 million.
Advertising in print newspapers was reduced by 25 per cent, while turnover from digital advertisements increased by 6 per cent.
Natural fall
– The fall in paper in the advertising market is natural. Many of the companies that experience a large effect of this channel were directly affected by various restrictions. At the same time, a large part of the fall is offset by our digital growth, driven by good efforts, more digital retail and a tremendous interest in news, Opdahl comments.
The online newspaper wrote last week that 72 out of 75 Amedia newspapers are increasing circulation and set a subscription record last year. Subscription growth in the second half of the year was 6.5 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2019. The number of subscribers in Amedia exceeded 700,000 for the first time, a weight of 25 per cent from 2015.
At the end of 2020, Amedia had a book equity of 58 percent. The group has no debt, on the other hand over 1.2 billion in cash and the like.
Fantastic starting point
– We have a fantastic starting point for further investment. We are well equipped to strengthen our position in the Norwegian media landscape in the years ahead. I have great faith that Amedia will be strong not only in two, three and four years ahead, but in 10, 20 and 30 years, says Opdahl about the prospects.
But the CEO says about the prospects ahead that we are still in the middle of a pandemic, and that we must be prepared for further turbulence.
– In this situation, through development, effort and good operation, we have added new and solid stones to the country’s democratic foundation. We will continue to do so both this year and in the years to come.
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