The Sanoma Group is comprised of three reporting divisions: Media, News and Learning. Tthe Trade segment is no longer a reportable segment.

The Learning segment, which was surveyed for this ranking, includes the Sanoma Learning strategic business unit. Sanoma Learning is a leading European provider of learning materials and solutions in print and digital formats.

The Media segment includes magazine, TV, radio and online businesses in eleven European countries and comprises four strategic business units: Sanoma Media Netherlands, Sanoma Media Finland, Sanoma Media Belgium and Sanoma Media Russia & CEE.

The News segment includes the Sanoma News strategic business unit, Finland’s leading player in newspaper publishing and online media.

Since 2012, Sanoma has focused on consumer media and education.

Key company developments in 2012 & 2013

Financial:

In 2012, Sanoma’s net sales were stable and amounted to 2.38 billion EUR as last year’s figures were corrected from 2.75 billion EUR to 2.38 million EUR. Declines were offset by well-performing print operations in the Netherlands and Belgium as well as increased sales of the Learning segment. Weak advertising numbers adversely impacted the Media and News segments.

Net sales for Learning increased by 7.5% to 312 million EUR based on the adjustment of last year’s figures (from 343 million EUR to 291 million EUR).

The Learning business unit’s net sales increased by 19.4% to 306 million EUR. In the Netherlands, net sales increased slightly while the market decreased. In Belgium, sales increased and the market position in primary education continued to strengthen, supported by online solutions. In Finland, net sales grew, driven by new online services and acquisitions. In Sweden, net sales grew from improved market share. In Hungary, upcoming reforms caused uncertainty in spending. In Poland, sales increased significantly as Sanoma strengthened its market position after a curriculum reform.

Ownership, Mergers & Acquisition, Internal Organization:

On 5 March 2012, Sanoma announced that it had signed an agreement to sell its kiosk operations in Finland, Estonia and Lithuania as well as its press distribution operations in Estonia and Lithuania. In April, Sanoma divested its book logistics company Porvoon Kirjakeskus Oy. The business information service provider Esmerk was divested in June 2012. The most significant transactions in the comparable year were the acquisition of the Finnish educational publisher Tammi Learning (now part of Sanoma Pro) and the Swedish educational publisher Bonnier Utbildning (now Sanoma Utbildning).

International:

Corporate net sales by country include 37% from the Netherlands, 36.6% from Finland, and 11% from Belgium. Net sales from other EU countries totaled 10.7% and non-EU countries accounted for 3.9%.

Earlier Developments:

2011:

Group revenues of Sanoma recorded a slight decrease from 2.76 billion EUR in 2010 to 2.75 billion EUR in 2011. The Learning division was also down, due to divestments and lower sales from non-core operations.

Lower net sales in Hungary were offset by increases in Belgium, where the market position in primary educationis supported by the successful launch of an online exercise platform. Net sales grew in Finland, driven by new online services and the success of acquired operations. In literature and other fields, net sales decreased by 28.9%, mainly because of the divestment of the Finnish general literature operations in October 2011.

In April 2011, Sanoma and Bonnier Books made public that Bonnier will buy the trade part of the biggest publisher in Finland, Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö (WSOY). In return, Sanoma bought the Finnish educational publisher Tammi Learning and the Swedish educational publisher Bonnier Utbildning (now Sanoma Utbildning). The transaction was completed on October 3, 2011 and amounted to 46.4 million EUR. In line with the strategy to focus on core consumer media and education business, Sanoma divested its bookstore operations in Finland to the Otava group for 27.5 million EUR; its book logistics company to Bonnier; and its kiosk operations and press distributions in Finland, Lithuania and Estonia to the Norwegian Reitan Servicehandel AS.

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