Sanoma Corporation, Half-Year Report 1 January–30 June 2025: Increased operational EBIT driven by Learning

Sanoma Corporation, Stock Exchange Release, 30 July 2025 at 8:30 a.m. EET

Sanoma Corporation, Half-Year Report 1 January–30 June 2025: Increased operational EBIT driven by Learning

This release is a summary of Sanoma’s Half-Year Report 1 January–30 June 2025. The complete report is attached to this release and is also available at www.sanoma.com/en/investors.

Q2 2025

• Net sales amounted to EUR 339.8 million (2024: 342.4) and were relatively stable in both Learning and Media Finland. Organic net sales development was -1% (2024: 1%).
• Operational EBIT excl. PPA amounted to EUR 62.0 million (2024: 61.0). Earnings increased in Learning as a result of some positive sales mix impact and improved cost base. In Media Finland, earnings decreased slightly mainly due to lower advertising sales and weaker events performance.
• EBIT increased to EUR 48.9 million (2024: 43.2) as a result of higher operational earnings and lower items affecting comparability (IACs), amounting to EUR -4.4 million (2024: -8.4). Purchase price allocation adjustments and amortisations (PPAs) amounted to EUR 8.7 million (2024: 9.3).
• Operational EPS was EUR 0.21 (2024: 0.17).
• EPS was EUR 0.19 (2024: 0.14).
• On 29 April 2025, the Annual General Meeting decided that a dividend of EUR 0.39 per share (2024: 0.37) shall be paid for 2025 in three instalments. The first instalment of EUR 0.13 was paid on 9 May, the second instalment of EUR 0.13 will be paid in September and the third instalment of EUR 0.13 in November.

H1 2025

• Net sales amounted to EUR 560.9 million (2024: 563.3). Net sales increased in Learning as a result of growth in learning content sales in the Netherlands and Italy and digital platform sales in Poland. In Media Finland, net sales declined driven by advertising demand. Organic net sales development was -1% (2024: 3%), being 2% in Learning and -3% in Media Finland.
• The Group’s operational EBIT excl. PPA increased to EUR 43.3 million (2024: 37.2). Earnings increased in Learning driven by net sales growth, a more digital sales mix and improved cost base resulting from Program Solar. In Media Finland, growth in digital subscription sales and lower paper costs supported earnings, while advertising sales had an adverse impact.
• EBIT increased to EUR 17.6 million (2024: 11.8). IACs increased to EUR -8.1 million (2024: -7.0). PPAs were EUR 17.6 million (2024: 18.5).
• Operational EPS amounted to EUR 0.04 (2024: -0.02).
• EPS was EUR 0.00 (2024: -0.05).
• Free cash flow improved to EUR -51.7 million (2024: -58.2), while being negative in line with the seasonal pattern of the learning business. The improvement was mainly attributable to higher operational earnings in Learning and lower financing costs.
• Net debt/Adj. EBITDA was 2.5 (2024: 2.9), being within the long-term target level of ‘below 3.0’.

Outlook for 2025 (unchanged)

In 2025, Sanoma expects that the Group’s reported net sales will be EUR 1.28‒1.33 billion (2024: 1.34). The Group’s operational EBIT excl. PPA is expected to be EUR 170−190 million (2024: 180).

The outlook is based on the following assumptions:

• Demand for learning content will be relatively stable across the Group’s main operating markets.
• The advertising market in Finland will be relatively stable.

President and CEO Rob Kolkman:

“During the first half of 2025, our operational earnings and free cash flow improved driven by Learning. Net sales grew in Poland, the Netherlands and Italy, and this growth more than offset the expected lower sales in Spain ahead of the upcoming curriculum renewal in 2026. In Poland, the growth was mainly from our digital learning platform sales. Overall in Learning, our cost base improved as we continued to see the positive impacts of Program Solar. Together with the net sales growth, this improved Learning’s operational earnings for the first six months.

We continued to advance the use of AI in both businesses with a strong emphasis on its responsible use and human oversight. Across Learning, we are increasingly using AI-based tools to enhance efficiency in content creation and introducing new digital tools to the market. These included for example a new learning solution that personalises after-school studying by combining curriculum-based activities and interactive cognitive games. Our updated blended learning materials included, for example, the interactive Smartbook for three secondary school subjects in Poland. In Media Finland, the newsrooms have focused on automating news gathering processes and improving image tooling with AI. Automated translations and story drafting have been tested in public pilots. In radio, AI-generated localised weather forecasts are in daily use. The overall data capabilities have been improved to enable the use of AI-assisted reporting and analysis tools.

In Media Finland, subscription sales increased slightly driven by continued good development of the SVOD service Ruutu+. Also the digital news media subscriptions and +Kaikki, a bundle subscription including all of Media Finland’s digital consumer products, continued to perform well. As we expected after the first quarter, the softness in the Finnish advertising market continued against a somewhat more demanding comparison of the second quarter of 2024. Our advertising sales decreased, mainly driven by lower TV advertising, including the impact of ending the reselling of a third-party TV channel advertising at the beginning of the year. Operational earnings were impacted in particular by the lower advertising sales, while we continue to expect operational EBIT to be relatively stable for the full-year.

Our free cash flow increased as a result of higher operational earnings in Learning and the lower financing costs of the Group, although being negative in line with the seasonal pattern of the business. The deleveraging of our balance sheet continued to progress well, and at its typical annual peak at the end of June, our Net debt / Adjusted EBITDA was 2.5 (2024: 2.9). This is well within the long-term target of < 3.0. In line with the annual seasonality of the learning business, the ratio is expected to improve further during the second half of the year.

The economic uncertainty has continued during recent months. As mentioned before, the US trade tariffs are not expected to have an impact on Sanoma’s businesses or performance in the short term. As a significant part of our full-year operational earnings is dependent on the outcome of the third quarter high season in Learning and the development of the Finnish advertising market in July–December, we are keeping our Outlook for 2025 unchanged. We are in a good position to deliver on the third quarter high season in Learning, and to grow and improve our performance across the business.

For the past two years, we have been focused on increasing our profitability and free cash flow and strengthening our balance sheet. We have made good progress with these strategic priorities. Looking ahead, curriculum renewals in our major learning markets, particularly Poland and Spain, are expected to accelerate our organic net sales growth from 2026 onwards. In Media Finland, we are continuing, and accelerating, our successful digital transformation. We also aim to expand through value-creating M&A in K12 learning services, while being committed to meeting our leverage and equity ratio targets and paying an increasing dividend, equal to 40–60% of our annual free cash flow. We are hosting a Capital Markets Day on 25 November 2025 to elaborate more on our growth path 2026–2030 (more information at Sanoma.com).

I would like to warmly thank all Sanoma employees for their dedication and strong commitment in supporting our customers in the best possible way and delivering these solid results.”

Key indicators

1) Excluding IACs 


2) Excluding IACs and purchase price allocation adjustments and amortisations (PPAs)


3) Advances received included in the formula of equity ratio were EUR 159.8 million in H1 2025 (2024: 162.8)

Analyst and investor conference

An analyst and investor conference will be held in English by the President and CEO Rob Kolkman and CFO Alex Green on 30 July 2025 at 11:00 a.m. EET at Sanomatalo, Flik Studio Eliel, 1st floor, Töölönlahdenkatu 2, Helsinki.

The conference can be followed as a live webcast at https://sanoma.events.inderes.com/q2-2025.
   
Management presentation is followed by a Q&A session. Questions can be placed through the webcast chat function or by phone. To ask questions by phone, the participant is required to register at https://palvelu.flik.fi/teleconference/?id=50051355. After the registration you will receive the phone number and conference ID to access the conference. If you wish to ask a question, please press *5 on your telephone keypad to enter the queue.

An on-demand replay of the webcast will be available shortly after the conference at www.sanoma.com/en/investors.

Interview opportunities for media by Teams or by phone are available after the conference. Media representatives are asked to book interviews via Communications Director Marcus Wiklund, marcus.wiklund@sanoma.com.

Additional information

Kaisa Uurasmaa, Head of Investor Relations and Sustainability, tel. +358 40 560 5601

Sanoma

Sanoma is an innovative and agile learning and media company impacting the lives of millions every day. Our Sustainability Strategy is designed to maximise our positive ‘brainprint’ on society and to minimise our environmental footprint. We are committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and signatory to the UN Global Compact.

Our learning products and services enable teachers to develop the talents of every child to reach their full potential. We offer printed and digital learning content as well as digital learning and teaching platforms for primary, secondary and vocational education, and want to grow our business.

Our Finnish media provide independent journalism and engaging entertainment also for generations to come. Our unique cross-media position offers the widest reach and tailored marketing solutions for our business partners.

Today, we operate across Europe and employ close to 5,000 professionals. In 2024, our net sales amounted to approx. 1.3bn€ and our operational EBIT margin excl. PPA was 13.4%. Sanoma shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. More information is available at sanoma.com.

Attachment

• Sanoma Half-Year Report 2025