Finnish Portal Operator Alma Media Sees Q1 Impacted by Headwinds Blowing in From the East

The Finnish online classifieds operator Alma Media has announced its provisional results for Q1 of the 2023 financial year. Relevant highlights from the company's performance for the three months ended 31st of March include:

• The Adjusted Operating Profit margin of Alma's 'Consumer' segment fell to 16.7% compared to 20.4% in 2022.
• Revenue from the company's real estate portal assets was steady at €4.3 million.
• Overall company revenue was flat at €75.2 with Operating Profit falling 13% to €17 million.

Alma Media owns and operates Finland's leading real estate portal Etuovi as well as the country's largest rentals marketplace Vuokraovi. The company also operates several leading online classifieds assets across its home market (autos marketplaces Nettiauto, Autotalli.com and Alma Talent and Jobly.fi in recruitment) as well as Eastern Europe (including Prace.cz in the Czech Republic and Profesia.sk in Slovakia).

The company saw overall revenue remain flat compared to the comparison period while profits suffered a significant dip. An investor presentation chalked up the declining margins to increases in employee and product costs as well as general advertising headwinds in the markets Alma operates in.

Commenting on the company's performance, CEO Kai Telanne said:

"Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has slowed down economic growth in Alma Media’s operating countries: inflation has accelerated, market interest rates have risen, consumers’ confidence in their finances has declined substantially, and geopolitical tensions have increased. Alma Media’s financial development and performance have been strong despite these factors."

As for its real estate operations, the company managed to maintain revenues at 2022 levels (despite a marked decline in transaction volumes in Finland (as much as -43.6% in January).

In more rosy news for the company, Alma Media's long-term strategy to shift revenues online and towards transactions from its traditional print operations continues to make progress. The company is trying to foster broader cooperation between business segments to share knowledge and diversify revenue streams.