Yahoo Finance

Today, Schibsted Media Group released its Q3 2018 report. The revenue grew 5 percent to NOK 4,358 million, whereas the EBITDA grew 10 percent to NOK 865 million.

"In Q3 Schibsted announced that we will spin off our international marketplaces businesses into a separate, listed company. This is a major strategic step for the Group, which will create new opportunity and shareholder value both for the new company, preliminarily called MPI, and for the remaining Schibsted. The plan is first day of trading for MPI in April 2019, and we have decided to apply for listing of MPI at the Oslo Stock Exchange," CEO Rolv Erik Ryssdal says.

"Meanwhile, I am happy to report that our operations are developing strongly. Our Marketplaces operations are growing revenues well and improving their EBITDA margin. This is particularly driven by improved monetization in the verticals in key markets like France, Spain, Brazil and Norway. Sweden is still on the soft side," Ryssdal says.

"The reduction in investment phase losses continues. Brazil is already producing good margins. Shpock enters a new phase with emphasized focus on a path to profitability, moving towards break-even during 2019," Ryssdal says.

"Our publishing operations have experienced a slight revenue decline, but have been able to maintain solid operating margins in Q3, driven by good digital growth and tight cost control. High quality in our editorial products is paramount in order to continue to build long-term viable revenue models, and I am glad to see that the number of digital subscribers continues to develop positively," Ryssdal says.

"In September, we announced the plan to roll our successful personal finance product Lendo out in three new markets, where we see significant potential for value creation. Although the revenue growth of Lendo was somewhat lower in Q3 than in previous few quarters, Schibsted sees personal finance and fintech as an exciting area of growth. Lendo currently is the most important initiative in this field, but we have several other exciting initiatives with promising development," CEO Rolv Erik Ryssdal says.

Highlights of Q3 2018

• Marketplaces: Revenues continue to grow, and profits increase

  • Revenue up 13 percent*; EBITDA margin up 2%-points to 35 percent*. Revenue from verticals grew 17 percent

  • France, Spain, Norway and Brazil with strong development in Q3

  • Lower margin in France due to acquisitions and increased marketing - Leboncoin.fr EBITDA margin in Q3 58 percent (61%).

  • Investment phase losses are declining. Refocused ambitions for Shpock - moving towards break-even during 2019

• Publishing: Digital continues to grow

  • 1 percent total revenue decline; solid digital growth and 10 percent EBITDA margin (11%)

• Schibsted Growth: Continues to expand

  • Continued growth for Lendo, but with lower rate than in previous quarters. Planning launch in three new markets

• International online marketplaces to be spun off and separately listed at Oslo Stock Exchange

• Kristin Skogen Lund appointed new CEO of Schibsted