The Egmont media group increased its revenue by 5.3% in 2006, bringing it to EUR 1,236 million. With the exception of Egmont Nordisk Film, all divisions recorded higher sales. Several acquisitions have strengthened Egmont’s market position. The acquisitions of the Norwegian bookstore chain Tanum, a 50% share of the music company MBO and a further 16% stake in the TV 2 Group, Norway, affected growth particularly positively. The full impact of these acquisitions will be realized in 2007.
Profit before financial items, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to EUR 91 million, an increase of EUR 4 million over the year before.
The Group’s profit before tax for 2006 amounted to EUR 57 million compared with EUR 68 million the year before.
The Group’s profit after tax was EUR 49 million, an increase of EUR 4 million compared with 2005.
The profit is satisfactory. In 2006, the Group invested more heavily in development and new product and service launches, particularly in the digital area. The Group also incurred costs resulting from implementing a new book club system.
At year-end 2006, Egmont’s equity amounted to EUR 402 million against EUR 147 million five years ago, an advance that reflects Egmont’s greater investment power.
President and CEO Steffen Kragh said: “The profit for the year is as planned. The significant investments are part of a deliberate growth strategy despite the negative impact on profitability in the short and medium term. The effort to strengthen our position will continue in the coming years, through launch of new products and by way of acquisitions.”
Business areas
Egmont Magazines published more than 100 different weeklies and magazines in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland in 2006. Revenue rose by 2%, an increase driven by organic growth in well-established titles and the satisfactory impact of new launches. In Denmark, ALT for damerne maintained its position as the leading women’s weekly and biggest advertising medium in the market for weeklies and other magazines, and, in Sweden, Hemmets Journal again ranked as the country’s largest weekly. KING, the Swedish magazine for fashion-conscious men, improved its standing with readers and advertisers alike and also won the award Magazine of the Year. The division generated profit on a par with that of previous years despite fierce competition and a number of investments. The year’s development investments include new Internet activities related to magazines or targeted at special groups of readers. Throughout 2006, the division also prepared several new titles such as the home magazine ROM 1∙2∙3, launched in Norway in February 2007, and Modette, which caters for young women keen on fashion and is slated for its Swedish launch in April 2007.
Revenue 2006: EUR 196 million (2005: EUR 192 million).
Operating profit 2006: EUR 28 million (2005: EUR 30 million).
Egmont Kids & Teens broadened the portfolio of its market-leading children’s and youth media in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland to include yet more channels and genres in 2006. Revenue remained at the same level as previous years despite the changing media habits of children and young people. The Donald Duck magazine is still the most popular comic in the Nordic region, but Egmont has also developed and acquired other publications, such as the Swedish- and Norwegian-produced comic strips Rocky and Pondus, which have now joined the Egmont portfolio. The divisional results reflect Egmont’s ability to maintain contact and dialog with children and youth through an array of new product launches as well as activities redesigned for the Internet and cell phone media. Investment in this area will continue in 2007, a year that marks Egmont’s acquisition of the mobile and online rights to those Disney universes and characters already central to the division’s book and magazine publications.
Revenue 2006: EUR 178 million (2005: EUR 175 million).
Operating profit 2006: EUR 13 million (2005: EUR 17 million).
Egmont Books’ book sales in Denmark, Norway and Sweden reached 18 million in 2006. One of Norway’s strongest book retailing brands, the bookstore chain, Tanum, was acquired by Damm. In 2006, the core business encompassed all book genres in the Norwegian and Danish book markets for adults as well as a broad program in Sweden. In addition, the division is involved in educational publishing in Norway, and Egmont is a leading educational publisher in Denmark. The division also publishes response media. In addition to the acquisitions, several bestsellers also boosted revenue. However, the division recorded negative results, due in part to investments in the Norwegian schoolbook market, the cost of adapting book clubs to changing trends, and the expenses surrounding the implementation of a new book club system. The consolidation, restructuring and investment implemented by Egmont Books in recent years set the stage for a projected improvement in profitability in 2007.
Revenue 2006: EUR 200 million (2005: EUR 179 million).
Operating profit 2006: EUR (4) million (2005: EUR (1) million).
Egmont Nordisk Film, which celebrated its first centenary as the world’s oldest active film company in 2006, recorded an unchanged profit despite a year of extensive organizational change. Egmont Nordisk Film completed numerous acquisitions and investments while also adapting its activities to a new, future-geared structure including the new business area, music. Wholly or partly owned companies added during the year included the music company MBO, the Danish Dagmar and Kinopalæet movie theaters, the Swedish music company Roxy and the Danish companies Copenhagen Bombay and Substanz. Revenue reflects brisk activity in the film and TV media and continuing satisfactory sales of SONY PlayStation2. After the financial year ended, Egmont Nordisk Film opened a new movie theater in Frederiksberg, became a co-owner of the Norwegian production company Maipo and prepared the launch of SONY PlayStation3.
Revenue 2006: EUR 352 million (2005: EUR 358 million).
Operating profit 2006: EUR 4 million (2005: EUR 4 million).
Egmont International, which primarily publishes magazines, books and other products for children and young people in 19 countries outside the Nordic region, bolstered Egmont’s position as Europe’s leading children’s publisher. In 2006 Egmont also entered the German magazine market for adults by acquiring ATTIC Futura (now called Cultfish Media), the publisher of FHM and magazines primarily for teenage girls. The division expanded its activities in 2006, starting retail operations in the Ukraine and adding a book publisher to the Turkish joint venture, Dogan Egmont Publishing.
Revenue 2006: EUR 277 million (2005: EUR 266 million).
Operating profit 2006: EUR 19 million (2005: EUR 21 million).
The TV 2 Group, Norway, in which Egmont now holds a 50% stake, generated revenue of NOK 2,314 million (EUR 288 million) in 2006 against NOK 1,944 million (EUR 244 million) in 2005. The TV 2 Group’s operating profit came to NOK 32 million (EUR 4 million) compared with NOK 209 million (EUR 26 million) in 2005. 2006 brought growth in the TV 2 Group’s advertising income and market share. The profit decline is primarily due to investments intended to secure the TV 2 Group’s future market position, which included the purchase of football rights, the development and launch of a football and youth channel, TV 2 Zebra, as well as the movie channel TV 2 Filmkanalen and the news channel TV 2 Nyhetskanalen. The TV 2 Group also consolidated its position on other platforms, particularly the Internet.
The TV 2 Group’s share of Egmont’s revenue amounts to EUR 29 million and its share of operating profit is EUR 1 million. For the period up to November 2006, EUR 3 million was recognized as profit on investments in associates (2005: EUR 9 million).
Charitable activities
Since 1920, Egmont has donated more than EUR 230 million in present value terms to numerous social, cultural and health initiatives. In 2006, Egmont donated EUR 6 million to 40 projects and provided support to 305 families with children. The Nordisk Film Foundation re-channeled EUR 1 million into the film industry. One of the year’s projects was the further development of Egmont Højskolen, a residential school that offers a range of opportunities to young disabled people aged 18 to 25, among others.
About Egmont
Egmont’s four Nordic divisions produce weeklies, magazines, comics, youth magazines, games and activity products, books and educational materials. Egmont encompasses films, TV programs, movie-theater operations, tv-stations, interactive games, game consoles and music. Children’s media are the prime focus of Egmont’s international division, with companies operating in 19 countries outside the Nordic region. Creating and telling stories is the common denominator of the Egmont media group’s activities.
Further information available from:
Sascha Amarasinha
Vice President, Corporate Communications
Telephone: +45 33 30 51 40
Cell phone: +45 61 62 29 73
sas@egmont.com
See Egmont's financial highlights 2006
Download photos and Egmont's logo
