Reasonable start to the year – FY 2021 guidance range narrowed

Announcement no. 16-2021

5 May 2021

North Media generated satisfactory earnings in the first quarter, even though, revenue was affected by the impact of COVID-19, timing differences and the implementation of new growth initiatives. Both Last Mile (FK Distribution) and the growth businesses within Digital Services reported improved EBIT margins, to 29.5% and 15.6% respectively.

• Revenue was to some extent impacted by the COVID-19 situation, declining by 6% to DKK 243 million.
• EBIT was DKK 64 million as compared with DKK 66 million in Q1 2020.
• The Q1 net profit exclusive of the return on securities was DKK 52 million, compared with DKK 47 million in Q1 2020.
  
  
  
  

Last Mile business area

• FK Distribution was affected by small customers, with their stores closed, rescheduling planned campaigns. Large chains and shops maintained their marketing activities through leaflets.
• Revenue was down by 7%, but cost reductions contributed to keeping EBIT at DKK 62 million, almost in line with the Q1 2020 figure of DKK 64 million. The EBIT margin was 29.5%.
• Collaboration with Deutsche Post was agreed to expand to packing leaflets for 500,000 households.
  
  
  
  

Digital Services business area

• BoligPortal reported 6% growth, which is seen in relation to the launch of a new freemium platform, with certain products available free of charge. As expected, the cost of developing and launching the platform also had a negative impact on EBIT, which was DKK 5.7 million as compared with DKK 6.1 million in Q1 2020. The EBIT margin was 27.9%.
• Ofir reported 65% growth, which was driven mainly by an increase in jobs posted by private companies. EBIT improved from a loss of DKK 1.4 million in Q1 2020 to a profit of DKK 1.1 million in Q1 2021, for an EBIT margin of 14.5%. Ofir strengthened its market position, most recently through the collaboration with Google Jobs.
• Bekey’s revenue was down 24% due to timing differences in onboarding new municipal customers, whereas EBIT was largely unchanged at a DKK 1.5 million loss. Bekey expects to generate the growth forecast through contracts concluded with new customers in the stairwells market during the rest of the year.
  
  
  
  

Guidance for 2021 narrowed

Full-year 2021 guidance narrowed within the previously announced range. Narrowed guidance is for Last Mile.

• Revenue expected in the DKK 995-1,025 million range (previous guidance: DKK 985-1,025 million).
• EBIT expected in the DKK 235-255 million range (previous guidance: DKK 230-255 million). Full-year earnings still expected to be in line with the record performance of 2020.

“As expected, we’ve had a reasonably good start to the year, and our performance in the first quarter supports our full-year guidance for 2021. Our businesses are all fully engaged in a number of exciting growth initiatives, which we expect will support our ambitions for growth and enhanced earnings in 2022-23,” says North Media’s Group Executive Director & CFO Kåre Wigh.

For further information, please contact:

Kåre Wigh, Group Executive Director & CFO, mobile

This document is an unofficial translation of the Danish original. In the event of any inconsistencies, the Danish version shall apply.

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