Operating profit for Bonnier’s operations more than tripled

Operating profit for Bonnier’s operations more than tripled

Bonnier’s operating profit increased in a manner that exceeded expectations for the unusual year that was 2020. The EBITA improved by SEK 1 billion for comparable divisions, to SEK 1.4 billion, with an unchanged revenue level. Operating cash flow improved by SEK 1.7 billion to SEK 2 billion. The Group is now debt free.

Bonnier Group CEO Erik Haegerstrand says:

“Our way of working for the past few years, with strong and more independent companies, has proven successful, with improved profits across the board. The swift adaptations to this year’s challenges were impressive and the demand for journalism and stories, not least in digital formats, inspired confidence. A strong financial position provides the foundation for future investments.”

Our companies

BONNIER BOOKS performed extremely well in 2020. Sales amounted to SEK 6.1 billion (5.8), where the increase is mainly attributable to the publishing business and the audio and e-book service BookBeat. The year was characterized by improved EBITA amounting to SEK 392 million (250) and a corresponding operating cash flow, despite increased market investments in BookBeat. During a year marked by the pandemic, the publishing segment was particularly strong and reached an EBITA margin of over 12 percent, driven by increased market shares, accelerated sales of digital formats and consistent cost reductions.

On the individual publishers’ level, the operations in Germany reached new heights with their highest turnover and best results ever. Werner Söderström in Finland also achieved record results and the Swedish Bonnierförlagen showed increases compared to the previous year with critical highlights that included winning the August Prize, among other things. In the British operations, positive results were reported despite the stringent lockdown measures as a result of the pandemic. The 50 percent-owned Cappelen Damm in Norway showed stable results where, above all, general literature and educational titles showed a positive development, while the bookstore chain Tanum, which was sold during the year, continued to show a loss. Naturally, the effects of the pandemic hit hardest on an already exposed physical retail trade, where Pocket Shop’s sales declined markedly. Academic Bookstore in Finland also suffered in terms of sales but managed to improve its result compared to the previous year.

During the year, Bonnier Books launched extensive sustainability efforts with high climate goals, established a new publishing business in Denmark and acquired Strawberry Publishing in Sweden and Denmark. As in the previous year, there was a major investment focus on BookBeat, which maintained its planned growth rate in both sales and subscriptions, while expanding its market presence to Denmark and Poland. The number of paying members for the service amounted to just over 420,000 at the end of the year, an increase of 167,000.

BONNIER NEWS had a turnover for 2020 of SEK 7.7 (7.6) billion, which included revenues of SEK 280 million from the newly acquired Hall Media. The EBITA amounted to SEK 647 (211) million, with Hall Media accounting for SEK 3 million.

The Corona pandemic had a negative impact on operations in 2020, and mainly affected advertising revenues, single-issue sales and event and training operations. In total, Bonnier News Sweden lost 22 percent of its advertising revenue and 12 percent of single-issue sales compared with the previous year. Part of the reduction in advertising revenues was countered by lower costs in the advertising business, allowing for the contribution margin for the advertising business to be maintained.

At the same time, the Corona pandemic led to an increased pace of digitalization, which had a positive impact on the subscriber business. The total number of subscribers increased by 7 percent compared to the previous year, driven by an increase in digital products that rose by 26 percent.

In 2020, the business continued to drive forward digital transformation, which meant continued investments in the technical platform and reduced costs for, among other things, printing and distribution. Cost reductions were primarily driven by efficiencies.

Bonnier News continued to reduce the cost base in newly acquired and newly integrated businesses, such as MittMedia, Hall Media and Bonnier Magazines & Brands. Both MittMedia and Hall Media turned to growth in the number of subscribers and profit in 2020 after several years of declining editions and losses.

The international B2B business was affected by the Corona pandemic in a similar way to the Swedish business. However, the healthcare business was not affected to the same extent as the Media & Services business, thanks to high activity in the healthcare sector. Cost-saving measures initiated in the spring meant that the results from operations could be maintained on a par with last year, despite reduced revenues.

In 2020, government subsidies for public news media in Sweden were temporarily increased due to the large revenue losses from the Corona pandemic. Local newspaper titles were the main recipients of the support, while the national news and business dailies Dagens Nyheter and Dagens industri abstained. 

During the year, three acquisitions were made: Hall Media, which is a local publisher in south-eastern Sweden; Estate Media, a Norwegian/Danish business in real estate media; and Hakon Media, with a focus on retail.

BONNIER FASTIGHETER delivered stable results for the year 2020. Sales increased to SEK 740 (712) million with an EBITA of SEK 506 (474) million. Positive changes in the value of properties amounted to SEK 703 million (824), of which SEK 219 million was realized. The market value of the properties was estimated at SEK 14 billion at the end of the year. Bonnier Fastigheter’s financial position remained very good, with a loan-to-value ratio of 21 percent (25).

Bonnier Fastigheter continued to grow in Uppsala and acquired the centrally located block Kvarngärdet 27: 2, known as “Cykelfabriken,” which complements the company’s existing property holdings in Uppsala. During the year, the industrial property Vanda 3 in Akalla was sold. Bonnier Fastigheter continued to have a strong focus on its own project and property development. During the year, Bonnier Fastigheter’s first new construction project in Uppsala, Munin NXT, started. The project comprises 3,600 square meters of office space in the southern part of the city and is expected to be ready for occupancy by the summer of 2022.

Bonnier Fastigheter is planning several projects in the Värtahamnen neighborhood of Stockholm and can now take the next steps in the development of these, as the City Planning Board approved the first new detailed development plan for urban development there at the end of the year.

The operations of HållBo AB, which is owned together with ByggVesta, are developing according to plan. Two additional residential properties were acquired during the year and HållBo AB now owns a total of 307 apartments. In addition, the company’s first joint new construction project started in Barkarbystaden in suburban Stockholm, comprising a total of 260 apartments with the project expected to be complete in the spring/summer of 2022.

BONNIER VENTURES focuses on minority investments in digital fast-growing start-ups. The companies have a large presence in the Nordic region and an ambition to grow globally. The holdings in these companies were valued at more than SEK 900 million at the end of 2020. Since the start in 2014, the investments have had an average value increase of 22 percent per year before management costs and 19 percent after management costs. 

In 2020, Bonnier Ventures invested SEK 78 million in existing portfolio companies, primarily in Acast and Doktor.se. In addition, three new investments were made for a total of SEK 65 million: We Are Voice, a digital driving app; Winningtemp, a platform to strengthen employee well-being and commitment; and Future Ordering, a cloud service for restaurant orders. With the sale of the agency network Real Agency Group, Bonnier Ventures’ operations have been streamlined into start-up investments. Bonnier Ventures also divested its holdings in Abios, Kitab Sawti during the year and entered into an agreement to sell all shares in Refunder.

SF STUDIOS was severely affected by the pandemic, which had consequences for the financial results. The EBITA amounted to SEK 20 (36) million. The business was affected by restrictions mainly linked to cinemas, which affected the ability to launch films. The main titles distributed during the year were Tenet and Greenland. Sales of physical products such as DVDs and Blu-rays increased compared to 2019, mainly due to that SF Studios now also distributes Warner’s titles. During the year, agreements were concluded with the American film companies Sony and Universal for the distribution of physical products in the Nordic and Baltic countries.

The production business had a high level of activity, and during the year the collaboration with Netflix was expanded and FLX collaborated with a new partner, Discovery +. Despite challenges from and adaptations to the pandemic, strong titles produced during the year included The Emigrants, The Tale of Karl-Bertil Jonsson’s Christmas Eve and the Danish production Margrete the First, as well as TV series such as Badehotellet in Denmark and Snabba Cash for Netflix in Sweden. During the year, the first international production, Horizon Line, was delivered. Part-owned FLX delivered its best year to date, mainly due to the large demand for TV and streaming productions. 

The streaming service SF Anytime developed strongly.

THE ADLIBRIS GROUP made major improvements in profitability in 2020. Sales amount to SEK 2.7 billion, which is an increase of 19 percent compared with the previous year. Book sales increased by 22 percent and were mainly driven by private customers’ increased digital purchases in connection with the pandemic and increased investment in marketing in digital channels. Sales of articles other than books also increased during the year by 4 percent, with yarn, board games and puzzles on the Adlibris sites, garden products on Odla.nu and gift cards via Morot & Co doing particularly well. The EBITA for the year amounted to SEK 50 million, which is an improvement of SEK 267 million compared with 2019 and was mainly due to higher sales, a stronger margin, inventory optimization and a more efficient logistics chain. In December 2020, Campusbokhandeln was acquired, a company offering used and new course literature via e-commerce and on campus areas in Sweden.

BONNIER PUBLICATIONS, the leading Nordic publisher of special-interest media, reported an EBITA of SEK 86 million, lower than the previous year’s SEK 142 million. Continued high profitability in traditional print media enabled a higher level of investment in digital products. A reorganization will result in cost savings as early as 2021 as a basis for even more focused work. The EBITA margin amounted to 8 percent compared with 12 percent last year. Demand for print media is declining, affecting the magazine market. Sales for Bonnier Publications amounted to SEK 1.1 (1.2) billion for the year 2020. During the year, another brand – Do It Yourself – was launched in a digital edition and work on digital editions of the magazine titles continued. Although the pandemic had a negative effect on this year’s results, the crisis has also shown that there is an interest and willingness to pay for the type of high-quality digital journalism that Bonnier Publications offers.

Other includes a number of smaller businesses, such as Bonnier Skog, Clio and Bonnier Corporation, as well as group-wide activities and functions. Costs for central functions continued to be reduced, in 2020 by approximately SEK 250 million compared with the previous year.

Parts of the business within Bonnier Corporation, with titles published in New York and California, were divested during the year.

An agreement was signed for the sale of Bonnier Group’s 30 percent holding in Bisnode to Dun & Bradstreet, which generated a profit of SEK 1.2 billion. Investments in funds and growth companies such as Klarna, Infarm and MessageBird of approximately SEK 300 million were made in 2020.

Pension liabilities were amortized by SEK 1.4 billion during the year and amounted to 0.6 at the end of the year. Net debt amounted to SEK 0 (1.2) billion and included accounting debt attributable to leased premises of SEK 1.4 billion.

For more information:
Erik Haegerstrand, CEO Bonnier Group, tel +46 (0)8 736 40 51

*) The comparison year 2019 refers to comparable divisions and excludes Bonnier Broadcasting

Note: This text is a translation of the Swedish original. In case of any discrepancies between the Swedish text and the English translation, the Swedish text supersedes the translation.