Thanks notably to screen-based media that accounted for over 50% of its revenues, Scandinavia’s media giant Egmont posted record earnings of €1.6 billion and operating profits of €191 million in 2013 according to the group’s annual report published on Tuesday.
Egmont’s film group Nordisk Film boasted revenues of €370 million (€339 million in 2012) and operating profits of €30 million (€18 million in 2012) that included the earn-out from the sale of Nordisk Film TV in 2009. Nordisk Film Cinemas sold 5.8 million tickets in Denmark and 3.2 million in Norway, and realized its ambition to expand its cinema operations in the Nordic region by acquiring Norway’s largest cinema chain Oslo Kino from the Municipality of Oslo.
Through Nordisk’s major content brand Zentropa, the group was associated to several award-winning and box offices successes such as Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt and Mikkel Nørgaard’s The Keeper of Lost Causes, the two biggest Danish films of 2013.
In Norway the group’s co-owned Maipo Film produced the country’s number one title The Christmas of Solan and Ludvig (880,000 admissions). The company’s latest family film Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder based on Jo Nesbø’s children’s book stormed at the top of the local box office last weekend, selling over 106,000 tickets, making it the 7th strongest opening weekend ever for a Norwegian film.
Egmont’s television asset TV2 in Norway posted €370 million revenues (€339 million in 2012) and operating profits of €30 million (€18 million in 2012). The group’s main channel bolstered its position as the largest channel in Norway for the 20-49 year target group while tv2.no registered increases in web and mobile services of 21% and 84% respectively.
Steffen Kragh, Egmont President and CEO said: ‘Unique content and unique moments are central to Egmont’s strategy. Another key factor is our ability to provide content to consumers on their mobile screens. Creativity and technology will continue to be the core drivers of our strategic transformation towards even more moving pictures and screen-based media”.