Europe: Results from Nordic publishing houses lower than usual

Two profitable Nordic media groups, Schibsted in Norway and SanomaWSOY in Finland, have suffered disappointing results and dropping share prices in the last month. 

The figures are relative; for most publishing groups such figures would be welcomed, but for these particular houses, who are traditionally strong revenue generators, they are disappointing.

In Norway, Schibsted is still suffering losses in its home market due to a rapid shift from print to online. However, although it has faced circulation cuts on papers such as its tabloid Verdens Gang, it has not lost readers. Indeed the website is responsible for more than 30% of Verdens Gang’s revenue.

Schibsted has been affected more by losses in classified advertising, both print and web, from its holdings in Spain, France, and Italy.

In Finland, lower figures were not a result of circulation and advertising drops; rather SanomaWSOY cited increased marketing costs and new product launches at the root of the problem.

Some positive news comes out of Scandinavia as well; Bonnier, a Swedish private international media company, announced in a press release that their sales rose 45% in 2007.

Source: followthemedia