Schibsted lost 216 million before tax – E24

Schibsted was in the red before tax in the first quarter, and says that reorganization makes it difficult to implement cost cuts. – These effects are temporary, says CEO Kristin Skogen Lund.

Like many other companies, Schibsted notices challenges linked to high inflation and high interest rates.

This affects, among other things, the advertising market, the job market and demand at the loan intermediary Lendo, according to the company.

– Operationally, our financial results in the first quarter were negatively affected by the still volatile macroeconomic situation and the structural changes in the company, says CEO Kristin Skogen Lund in a message.

This is how it went for Schibsted in the first quarter:

• profit before tax of minus NOK 216 million, from NOK 144 million in the first quarter of last year
• gross operating profit (ebitda) was NOK 454 million, from NOK 423 million at the same time last year
• turnover of NOK 3.79 billion, from NOK 3.78 billion last year
• profit after tax of minus NOK 1.22 billion, down from NOK 2.17 billion at the same time last year

Kristin Skogen Lund recently announced that she will step down as CEO of Schibsted. Who will be the new CEO has not yet been announced.

Restructuring limits the cost cuts

The group is currently changing, and has, among other things, sold Schibsted Media to Stiftelsen Tinius and sold a share in Adevinta.

– Together with these processes, we are now developing comprehensive measures to adapt the organization and the cost base for a new setting and a more challenging macroeconomic situation, says Lund.

She says that the ongoing reorganization places limitations on the ability to take the necessary measures related to costs.

– Although this is expected to affect our financial results negatively in the short term, we would like to emphasize that these effects are temporary, says the CEO.

In the quarterly report, Schibsted writes the following:

“Given the ongoing separation of the media business and the reorganization of the group, we see ourselves temporarily prevented from initiating the necessary cost measures due to legislation and procedures, which temporarily affect our financial results negatively”.

“In this context, we are putting our financial goals for Nordic Marketplace on hold for the time being,” the company writes.

Big payouts

In March, Schibsted announced that most of the profit from the sale of Adevinta shares and Schibsted Media will be paid out to the owners. They will be paid NOK 20 billion in dividends, and in addition the company will spend NOK four billion on share buybacks over several years.

Schibsted expects to receive a total of NOK 29 billion from the Adevinta and Schibsted Media sales, and thus plans to be left with NOK 5 billion, which will primarily be used to reduce debt and strengthen the company’s financial position.

During the first quarter, Schibsted sold its shares in Viaplay, after having owned 10.1 percent of the company at New Year’s.

Becomes the sole owner of Finn

Schibsted will now become the sole owner of Finn, according to a separate announcement on Friday. Polaris Media has been a minority owner since Finn was founded in 2000.

Now the company is selling its 9.99 percent for NOK 2.5 billion. Polaris Media will be paid in Schibsted shares. Polaris originally invested NOK 5 million in Finn.

In addition to the exit gain, Polaris Media has over the past 24 years received almost NOK one billion in dividends and sales of just over one percentage point.

E24 is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Schibsted group. Certain journalists in E24 own shares in Schibsted through the group’s share savings programme.