Viasat shrugged off lower advertising revenues in the Nordics, increasing revenues by 13%, and delivering its highest ever quarterly sales figure.
Operating income using the EBIT measure was up to SEK 472 million. Total EBIT stood at SEK 434 million from SEK 578 million in Q2 2013.
“Strategy delivery on track and in line?Both Viaplay in the Nordics and our emerging market wholesale channel business performed well in the quarter, and our results were boosted by the content production business,” said Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, President & Chief Executive Officer, MTG.
Advertising in the Nordics continues to be soft, not helped in this quarter by the presence of the World Cup on rival channels, but Viasat continues to invest in both its broadband platform Viaplay and in content.
Denmark’s Superliga football has been renewed for six seasons and the TV1000 Russian Kino movie channel has been launched in Israel.
The acquisition of youth media channel Trace was completed in the quarter, expanding MTG’s presence across Africa.
In the competitive Nordic media landscape, the satellite subscriber base declined, though IPTV network subscribers continue to grow. Premium subscribers are below the 600,000 mark, though ARPU also continued to rise to SEK 5,164.
There were lower sales in the Czech Republic, partially offset by continued growth in the Baltics and Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian TV advertising market is estimated to have declined in the period, and MTG’s media house audience share was down slightly
