Announcement of 2000 Earnings.Business Editors STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 19, 2001 Modern Times Group (OMX OMX Office Max (stock symbol) :MTGA MTGA Minnesota Turkey Growers Association MTGA Motion Tga , MTGB MTGB Medium to Good Beans ) (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :MTGNY) announces the results of operations for fiscal 2000 today, Monday, February 19, 2001.
- GROWTH IN SALES WAS 21% FOR FULL-YEAR 2000.
- OPERATING INCOME AFTER DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION IMPROVED 123%, TO SEK
450 MILLION INCLUDING CAPITAL GAINS.
- INCOME AFTER FINANCIAL ITEMS JUMPED 128%, TO SEK 407 MILLION.
- THE TRANSITION TO DIGITAL DECODERS BY VIASAT GOLD SUBSCRIBERS PROGRESSED
ACCORDING TO PLAN, IN TOTAL 285,000 DECODERS HAVE BEEN DELIVERED.
- SALES OF DIGITAL DECODERS WERE STRONG TO NEW SUBSCRIBERS, MANY OPTING FOR
PREMIUM PLANS. 97,000 BOXES WERE SOLD, OF WHICH 80% WERE VIASAT GOLD.
- DURING YEAR 2000 METRO WAS DIVESTED TO THE SHAREHOLDERS, AN ACQUISITION OF
TV1000 FROM KINNEVIK AND THE CREDITLIMIT FOR MTG HAS BEEN INCREASED WITH SEK
900 MILLION.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY (SEK MILLION)
2000 1999
Pro-forma
Net sales 5,431 4,491
Gross income 2,088 1,309
Operating income before depreciation and 820 421
amortization
Operating income after depreciation and 450 202
amortization
Income after financial revenue and expense 407 178
OPERATIONS Organization The shares in the Metro International
At year-end 1999, the former business area Media Services was divided into two areas: SDI (1) (Serial Digital Interface) A physical interface widely used for transmitting digital video in various formats. For electrical transmission, it uses a high grade of coaxial cable and a single BNC connector with Teflon insulation. Media and Modern Studios. SDI Media brings together the Group's operations in subtitling and dubbing dubbing removal of most of the comb of day-old chickens. See also decombing. for movies and television programs, DVDs, the Internet, and various applications for the hearing- impaired. Modern Studios consists of the companies that produce various kinds of content: Strix Television, Sonet Film, Freeport, Nordic Artist, Modern Television, and Modern Entertainment. The Modern Interactive business area (formerly Electronic Retailing) consists of operations in traditional home shopping Home Shopping commonly refers to the electronic retailing / home shopping channels industry, which includes such billion dollar companies as HSN, QVC, eBay, ShopNBC, Buy.com, and Amazon.com. (TV-Shop), logistics and fulfillment (eCommerce Logistics), other interactive businesses in text TV and the Internet (MTG MTG Meeting MTG Mortgage MTG Magic: The Gathering MTG Mounting MTG Mind the Gap (London underground announcement) MTG Methanol To Gasoline MTG Manual Tank Gauging MTG Master Timing Generator MTG Micro Turbine Generator Internet Retailing), and the web production company NoName4Us. As a result, the MTG Internet, Interactive Television, and Webad businesses have been transferred from the former Media Services business area to Modern Interactive. Finally, MTG's share of earnings in Everyday.com are reported in this business area. The figures provided for comparison in this report have been restated to reflect these changes. To highlight the significance of subscription revenue, from 2000 forward revenue from cable television is reported in net sales Net Sales The amount a seller receives from the buyer after costs associated with the sale are deducted. Notes: This amount is calculated by subtracting the following items from gross sales: merchandise returned for credit, allowances for damaged or missing goods, freight instead of in other operating revenues operating revenue Revenue from any regular source. Revenue from sales is adjusted for discounts and returns when calculating operating revenue. Compare other revenue. , as previously. The comparative figures have been restated in accordance with this principle. FINANCIAL RESULTS Consolidated Earnings for 2000 Net sales rose 21%, to SEK SEK In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Swedish Krona. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 5,431 million. Operating income Operating Income The profit realized from a business' own operations. Notes: This would not include income from things such as investments in other firms. Also referred to as operating profit or recurring profit. before depreciation and amortization advanced to SEK 820 (421) million. Operating income after depreciation and amortization advanced to SEK 450 (202) million. The Group's net share of earnings in associated companies associated company associate n → Partnerfirma f associated company n → società collegata was SEK 57 (43) million. Net interest and other financial items totaled SEK -43 (-24) million, including SEK -8.8 (-1.6) million in net exchange rate gains and losses on the translation of financial receivables and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies. Income from operations no longer consolidated equaled SEK 32 (-) million. Income after financial items jumped, to SEK 407 (178) million. Income after tax also jumped, to SEK 203 (65) million. Earnings per share ended at SEK 3,10 (1.33). MTG's total assets at December 31, 2000, were SEK 6,652 (4,271) million. REVIEW OF OPERATIONS Viasat Broadcasting Net sales: SEK 3,818 (3,114) million Operating income after depreciation and amortization: SEK 591 (314) million Operating income included SEK 106 million in capital gains on the divestment divestment to strip one's investment from an entity. of shares in TV4. The business area's sales and income for 2000 include TV1000, which was acquired during the year. The digital-TV roll-out continued as planned. All Viasat Gold subscribers will have received a digital decoder A hardware device or software that converts coded data back into its original form. See decode and MPEG decoder. by the end of the first quarter of 2001. Hence, Viasat has locked in substantial savings on the cost of satellite distribution. Sales of digital decoders to new subscribers began in the fourth quarter of 2000. By year-end 2000, 62,000 new subscriptions had been sold, 72% of them Viasat Gold subscriptions. MTG's TV3, ZTV ZTV Zusätzliche Technische Vertragsbedingungen (German) , 3+, Viasat Plus Viasat Plus was a television channel established to entertain audience between the ages of 15-80. The channel broadcast re-runs of sit-coms shown on TV3 earlier and soap operas. Viasat Plus was broadcast in Norway, and was replaced by ZTV in 2002. , and TV8 channels reported advertising sales totaling SEK 2,282 (2,058) million, up 11%. The television advertising market in Scandinavia was buoyant during the period, leading to increased sales by MTG's channels. The Swedish market was particularly robust with a growth in sales of 18%. The Norwegian market recovered in the fourth quarter, following a third quarter negatively affected by changes in methods for measuring the TV-viewing audience. Subscription revenue totaled SEK 1,536 (1,494 1) ) million. In the fourth quarter, the transition to digital TV commenced through the replacement of decoders for current Viasat Gold subscribers and through sales to new subscribers. Sales of new subscriptions subsided as customers waited for digital TV, as anticipated, so the total number of card subscribers decreased slightly. However, more subscribers opted for Viasat Gold packages. By the end of the period, TV1000 had 405,000 (384,000) subscribers. The number of subscribers in the direct-to-home (DTH (Direct-To-Home) Typically refers to satellite TV broadcasting directly to a dish antenna on the roof of a house. See DBS. ) market was as follows.
Viasat Gold Cardholders
Dec 2000 Dec 1999 Dec 2000 Dec 1999
Total for 321,026 288,723 1,077,094 1,092,675
Viasat
By the end of week 6, 2001, a total number of 285,000 decoders have been installed in our current Viasat Gold subscribers' households. In addition to that the sale of new decoders amounted to 97,000, of which 80% were Viasat Gold subscribers. The total number of digital subscribers amounted to 382,000 in total. Operating income for the entire business area reached SEK 591 (314) million. MTG's share of TV4's income is included in the business area in the share of earnings in associated companies along with the Group's share of earnings from TV3 channels in Estonia and Latvia. Radio Net sales: SEK 133 (108) million Operating income after depreciation and amortization: SEK 18 (16) million The market for radio advertising grew a pace during the period, although prices remained at an unsatisfactory level. P4 Radio Hele Norge P4 Radio Hele Norge ASA (OSE: PFI) Norway's leading national, private radio station with 24% national market share, about one million daily listeners and two million weekly. achieved satisfactory earnings. In Finland, the Group's holdings in Star FM and Groove were divested in exchange for a minority holding in Radio Nova Radio Nova may refer to one of several different radio stations, among them:
Publishing Net sales: SEK 214 (128) million Operating income after depreciation and amortization: SEK 10 (-16) million The business daily Finanstidningen boosted revenues to SEK 173 million, due to improvements in the product and to excellent growth in subscriptions and cumulative audience. Brombergs Forlag reported income up sharply. The magazine business remained in the red. Modern Interactive Net sales: SEK 632 (582) million Operating income after depreciation and amortization: SEK -94 (-27) million During the period, TVShop's sales dropped as a result of the cancellation of unprofitable distribution agreements. In the fourth quarter, previously announced write-offs were made on certain balance sheet items related to the restructuring of the business area. The costs totaled SEK 35 million. The logistics company e-CommerceLogistics (eCL) kept up its brisk pace of growth in sales and generated a profit, thanks partly to work for clients outside MTG. The Text-TV operations in Spain reported healthy profitability, while the Internet Retailing operations remained unprofitable. SDI Media Net sales: SEK 330 (256) million Operating income after depreciation and amortization: SEK 18 (15) million MTG formed SDI Media to define more sharply and make more transparent its businesses in subtitling and dubbing for the cinema, television, and DVDs as well as translations for the Internet and applications for TV viewers who are hearing-impaired. The business area, currently the world leader in its field, has completed its launch phase and is focusing on growth and profitability. In 2000, sales growth was attributable to organic growth as well as acquisitions. Modern Studios Net sales: SEK 551 (419) million Operating income after depreciation and amortization: SEK 3 (18) million Business activities in Strix Television and Sonet Film achieved satisfactory growth in sales and profit for the year. Together, sales totaled SEK 357 million, with operating income after depreciation and amortization ending at SEK 44 million. In 2000, the Group began winding down Nordic Artist and finished refocusing Noun 1. refocusing - focusing again focalisation, focalization, focusing - the act of bringing into focus MTG Media Properties on core business. Total losses for these businesses were SEK 31 million in 2000. Income from divested operations Operating income after depreciation and amortization: SEK 32 (-) million For several reasons including adverse tax effects, MTG did not include in the spin-off The situation that arises when a parent corporation organizes a subsidiary corporation, to which it transfers a portion of its assets in exchange for all of the subsidiary's capital stock, which is subsequently transferred to the parent corporation's shareholders. of Metro its Swedish sales company, which is also a holding company for assets such as the Group's shares in Finanstidningen. Instead, the sales activities in this company were transferred to a new company in the Metro group, effective June 1, 2000. Earnings from this business for the first five months of 2000 have been consolidated in MTG's accounts but are not included in the pro forma As a matter of form or for the sake of form. Used to describe accounting, financial, and other statements or conclusions based upon assumed or anticipated facts. The phrase pro forma comparative figures for 1999, and are therefore reported on a separate line in the income statement. MTG's remaining interest in Metro consists of a convertible debenture Convertible Debenture Any type of debenture that can be converted into some other security. Notes: For example, a convertible bond can be converted into stock. loan totaling USD USD In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the U.S. Dollar. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 23.5 million and a commercial loan of USD 23.5 million. During the fourth quarter 1/16 of the debenture loan was converted into the equivalent of 1,000,000 shares. FINANCIAL POSITION Equity/assets ratio Consolidated shareholders' equity Shareholders' Equity A firms' total assets minus its total liabilities. Equivalently, it is share capital plus retained earnings minus treasury shares. Shareholders' equity is the amount by which a company is financed through common and preferred shares. increased in 2000 as a result of holders of a convertible debenture loan converting the entire loan into shares and new shares being issued to a company in the Kinnevik group in connection with the acquisition of TV1000. The Group's equity/assets ratio (defined as consolidated shareholders' equity including minority interests and the convertible debenture loan, divided by total assets) was 37% (36%) at the end of the period. This calculation does not take into account the shareholdings or convertible debenture loan in TV4, P4, or Metro, all of which are reported as long-term financial assets Financial assets Claims on real assets. . Their total market value at the end of the period was SEK 3,262 million. Their total book value was SEK 473 million. The option to acquire shares in Millicom was transferred to Metro in connection with the spin-off. The balance sheet total increased to SEK 6,672 million. The increase was caused by the acquisition of TV1000 and the investments in digital decoders. Taking into account the surplus values in publicly quoted shares held, adjusted for tax, the equity/assets ratio would be 52% (46%). Liquidity The Group's liquidity, including unutilized credit facilities credit facilities npl → facilidades fpl de crédito credit facilities npl → facilités fpl de paiement credit facilities , was SEK 514 (401) million at the end of the period. Net borrowings The Group's net borrowings (defined as interest-bearing liabilities, excluding the convertible debenture loan, less interest-bearing assets) totaled SEK 520 (14) million at year-end. During the period, the Group's credit facilities were expanded SEK 900 million, to SEK 1,600 million, to finance investments required by the digitalization digitalization /dig·i·tal·iza·tion/ (dij?i-tal-i-za´shun) the administration of digitalis or one of its glycosides in a dosage schedule designed to produce and then maintain optimal therapeutic concentrations of its cardiotonic of TV operations. Investment During the period, the Group invested a total of SEK 1,027 (407) million, of which SEK 555 million in the digital swap project and SEK 246 million in other capitalized development expenses. Depreciation and amortization Group depreciation and amortization equaled SEK 370 (219) million. Earnings per share Earnings per share after dilution totaled SEK 3,10 (1.33). OTHER INFORMATION Report for the first quarter of 2001 MTG will report the results of the first quarter of 2001 on April 25, 2001. Annual report MTG plans to publish its annual report in the beginning of March. It will be available at the Company's office: MTG, Skeppsbron 18, Box 2094, SE-103 13 Stockholm, Sweden. Additional financial information is available on the Internet at www.mtg.se. Annual general meeting The annual general meeting of shareholders in MTG will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday May 17, 2001, at Gamla Stans Gamla stan (The Old City), sometimes called Staden mellan broarna (The City between the Bridges), is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. Bryggeri, Tullhus 2, on Skeppsbrokajen in Stockholm. Dividend The Board voted to propose to the annual general meeting that no dividend be paid for 2000. Stockholm, February 19, 2001 The Board of Directors of Modern Times Group MTG AB This annual statement has not been subject to a review by the Company's auditors. Modern Times Group MTG AB 1999 figures are adjusted for TV1000. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/02/19/20010219BIT00970/bit0001.doc The full year-end report http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/02/19/20010219BIT00970/bit0001.pdf The full year-end report |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion