MTG says record first quarter sales point to the company’s transformation on track.
Viaplay continued to add subscribers, though precise numbers were unavailable, and there was continued underlying growth in international entertainment businesses. It follows the exit from the Ukranian pay-TV business to the 1+1 Media Group and the forthcoming sale of CTC Media during the second quarter.
However, CEO Jørgen Madsen Lindemann warned of a “material step up of sports costs”, after higher prices were paid for access to the Spanish and Italian leagues.
First quarter sales stood at SEK 3,826 million and operating income SEK 159 million.
The Viasat satellite subscriber base continued to decline but satellite ARPU was up year.
In CEE pay-TV sales were up on an organic basis, with higher sales for Trace partly offset by lower sales in the Baltics.