Schibsted ASA (SCHA/SCHB) - News Media reduces costs

24 Jan 2023 10:05 CET

24.1.2023 10:05:36 CET | Schibsted | Non-regulatory press releases

Today, Schibsted informs that its media division, News Media, will be reducing
costs by NOK 500 million over the next two years, in order to improve
profitability and to bring its EBITDA margin back to the target range of 10-12
per cent in 2024.

The cost reductions are due to the rising costs through 2021, primarily
connected to the print business. Rising paper and energy prices have impacted
the print profitability, and News Media's overall profitability significantly.

The media industry has been undergoing a structural change for many years, a
transformation from print to digital, driven by user behaviours and accelerated
during the pandemic. This transformation is further accelerated as a result of
substantially increased costs linked to the print value chain.

With the significantly pressured print business and the macroeconomic
uncertainty going forward, measures need to be taken. News Media will realise
gross cost savings of NOK 500 million by 2024 through improvements within three
focus areas. Net savings will be reduced by inflation and wage increases.

The first focus area is improving profitability in the print value chain.

The second focus area is increasing operational efficiency across the
organisation.

The third focus area is establishing a more effective and efficient organisation
across the product, tech and consumer business domains, to better cater to user
needs.

"We are not planning any large-scale workforce reductions, which is always the
last resort. But our different units will set tougher priorities, reduce
complexity, and identify areas where they can work more efficiently. Reducing
the number of employees is not a goal in itself, but in some cases it will be
the effect when we aim for less complexity and more efficiency." says Siv Juvik
Tveitnes, EVP News Media at Schibsted.

"I have strong faith in the measures we are now taking, and I think we are very
well placed to succeed. Our newsrooms create world-class journalism, our
advertising positions are unique, and Scandinavians have the highest willingness
to pay for news in the world. Change is nothing new in our organisation. We have
experienced challenging times before, and we have come out stronger," says Juvik
Tveitnes.

CONTACTS

* Atle Lessum, Director of Schibsted Group Communications, +47 415 05 645,
atle.lessum@schibsted.com
* Malin Langtvet, Investor Relations Officer, +47 916 86 710, ir@schibsted.com

ATTACHMENTS

Download announcement as PDF.pdf -
https://kommunikasjon.ntb.no/ir-files/17847482/2053/2733/Download%20announcement
%20as%20PDF.pdf

More information:
Access the news on Oslo Bors NewsWeb site

580610_en_Download announcement as PDF.pdf