Alma Media updates its long-term financial targets

Alma Media Corporation        Stock Exchange Release 3 December 2018 at 5:00 p.m.

ALMA MEDIA UPDATES ITS LONG-TERM FINANCIAL TARGETS

Alma Media has updated its long-term financial targets. The company’s long-term financial targets are related to digital business growth, capital efficiency and dividend policy:

• Annual growth in the digital business over 12% (previously: over 15%)

• Return on investment (ROI) over 17% per year (previously: over 15%)

• Dividend over 50% of earnings per share

-            “The peak of the economic cycle is approaching and forecasts suggest that growth will slow down but continue at a good rate in the company’s operating countries in Eastern Central Europe. The significant share of the company’s revenue represented by the digital business, which already stands at approximately 50 per cent, has been taken into consideration in setting the long-term financial targets. The company’s target remains to outpace the market with respect to the growth of the digital business but, due to the expected slowing down of the economy, maintaining the previous rate of growth would be challenging without significant acquisitions. Competition between domestic media companies and international platform operators has also intensified,” says Kai Telanne, President and CEO of Alma Media.

-             “The updated ROI target reflects Alma Media’s improved profitability, which is due to the growth of the digital business. In setting the ROI target, we have also considered the fact that the adoption of IFRS 16 in 2019 will increase invested capital by more than MEUR 50,” Telanne adds. 

Outlook for 2018 unchanged

Alma Media reiterates its previous estimate, according to which the company expects its full-year revenue in 2018 to remain at the previous year’s level and its adjusted operating profit to increase from the 2017 level. The full-year revenue for 2017 was MEUR 367.3 and the adjusted operating profit was MEUR 51.1.

Capital Markets Day 4 December 2018

The company will present its strategy and updated long-term financial targets in more detail at the Capital Markets Day to be held tomorrow in Helsinki. The presentations will begin at 9:00 a.m. Finnish time and they will be streamed live on the Alma Media website https://almamedia.videosync.fi/2018-12-04-cmd. The webcast recordings will be available in the Investors section in the afternoon..

For more information, please contact:

Juha Nuutinen, Chief Financial Officer, +358 106 653 873

ALMA MEDIA CORPORATION

Elina Kukkonen

Senior Vice President, Communications and Brand

Distribution: NASDAQ Helsinki, main media, www.almamedia.fi

Alma Media in brief

Alma Media is a media company focusing on the service business and journalistic content. The company’s best-known brands are Kauppalehti, Talouselämä, Affärsvärlden, Iltalehti, Aamulehti, Etuovi.com and Monster. Alma Media builds sustainable growth for its customers by utilising the opportunities of digitalisation, including information services, system and expert services and advertising solutions. Alma Media’s operations have expanded from Finland to the Nordic countries, the Baltics and Central Europe. Alma Media employs approximately 2,250 professionals (excluding delivery employees), of which approximately 30% work outside Finland. Alma Media’s revenue in 2017 was EUR 367.3 million. Alma Media’s share is listed on NASDAQ Helsinki. Read more at www.almamedia.com.