“We believe the risk of a new share issue is high,” SEB writes accordingly News agency Direkt in his analysis, and believes, according to this, that the lenders will struggle to overlook the accelerating losses for Viaplay’s international business.
Animals, international venture
Viaplay now guides that the international business will lose NOK 1.4-1.5 billion in 2023, against a previous guidance of NOK 1.0-1.1 billion in deficit.
In Monday’s earnings announcement, the group pointed to lower demand in both the Nordic and international consumer markets, as well as a continued decline in the advertising market. In addition, the cost program of one billion Swedish kroner implemented last autumn has progressed more slowly than expected.
WENT IMMEDIATELY: Anders Jensen. Photo: Viaplay
In its original 2023 guidance, Viaplay added up to 24-26 percent subscriber growth (excluding currency and Premier Sports), from 7.3 million at the end of 2022 to 9 million at the end of 2023. In the new guidance, the target for organic growth is cut to 16-17.5 percent. 16 per cent growth points towards 8.5 million subscribers at the end of the year.
Raised the prices
For the second quarter, Viaplay guides SEK 250-300 million in operating losses, while the number of subscribers is expected to exceed 7.7 million subscribers. In that case, growth will be marginal from the first quarter. At the same time, advertising revenues are expected to fall by 12-16 per cent.
In the fourth quarter, the company lost almost SEK 300 million, despite the fact that the number of subscribers rose by a whopping 83 percent from the corresponding quarter the previous year. The loss came after 400 million Swedish kroner was spent on the mentioned international venture, when the streaming service was launched in Great Britain.
In January 2023, Viaplay decided to increase subscription prices. The new prices came into effect in March, and meant increases of 13-15 per cent. A Viaplay Total subscription in Norway, for example, rose by NOK 100 to a whopping NOK 749 a month.
Former MTG manager in
The job of turning the Viaplay ship around goes to Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, who led MTG when the TV business was spun off and was named Nordic Entertainment in 2018. After the demerger, MTG has, according to Campaigns concentrated on e-sports and gaming, and Lindemann announced his departure from there in 2020.
– I know Viaplay Group well, and of course have followed the company’s journey closely in recent years. I am passionate about the group’s enormous potential and very much look forward to the opportunity to lead Viaplay through today’s challenging times and deliver on the next phase of development, he said according to a press release.
2023-06-07 09:18:46
#analysts #slaughter #Viaplay #results #announcement
