With Customers in Mind. - Bonnier

ANNUAL REVIEW 2015.

With Customers in Mind.

2 BONNIER ANNUAL REVIEW 2015

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This is Bonnier. We continuously reinvent media. Bonnier is the Nordic region’s leading media company, with over 200 years of experience in changing media markets. We are based in Sweden, have operations in 15 countries and are wholly owned by the Bonnier family. Our businesses span the media spectrum, with a strong historic core in independent journalism and book publishing. Now we are working to turn Bonnier into a leading digital media group.

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Board and Group.36 12 Great Moments in the History of Bonnier.38

Financial Result 2015.28 Our Core Values.32About Bonnier.32 Living the values.34

Books. It was a stable year of literary and

commercial success, with new initiatives like Type & Tell, with head of business

development Rebecka Leffler.

Business to Business. Record profits made 2015 a great year,

with a number of major acquisitions such as Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten,

with Christoph Hermann.

16

Broadcasting. Record digital consumption and continued high linear viewing marked the year. And

new viewers were reached through projects like multi-channel network ENT.

18 20

Contents

With Customers in Mind. Three companies. Three different

approaches to growing and developing business with a focus on the consumer.

Where Consumers Are ... Power lies in the hands of consumers as

never before when it comes to digital media. What are the trends affecting media?

Guaranteeing the future. In 2015, Bonnier showed that we can reach

a balance between investing in the future and being profitable, says CEO Tomas Franzén.

4 6 12

News. Earnings improved and digital readership increased, with more online subscribers

and digital ad sales than ever, says CDO Charlotte Svensson.

Magazines. The business area's house & home titles in the Nordic region improved

profitability, with Erik Rimmer and Helena la Corte.

Growth Media. An intensive year of investments

and organic growth included the launch of Kit, with Linda Öhrn Lernström,

head of features.

262422


Read more about the financial results on page 28.

BONNIER FACES A TRUE CHALLENGE. In order to survive and be a leading digital media group, we need to work in smarter ways and more effectively in our traditional businesses, while at the same time being more innovative than ever in developing our media and creating new services.

WE MUST QUICKLY INCREASE REVENUES from new and digital sources. The year 2015 was a first step towards this for Bonnier. A year in which we showed that we can reach a balance between investing in the future and being profit-able in the here and now. We made big investments in digitalization at the same we had an EBITA of more than SEK 1 billion, well in line with what we budgeted.

DURING 2015, we moved further ahead in our goal of having half of our revenues coming from new and digital sources. For 2015, this number was 20 percent compared to 15 percent for 2014.

WITH ALL THE STRONG BRANDS and talent within Bonnier, we have a really good chance at succeeding. More importantly, this is completely up to us. We are streamlining, reinvesting and working with our organization and culture through an increased focus on technology, new business and important revenue sources and, above all, on our customers. Advertising will continue to be a significant and important revenue source, but I believe it is through our customers, not our advertisers, that we will grow.

JOURNALISM will probably be a smaller part of Bonnier’s business in 10 years than it has been historically, but journalism and storytelling will continue to be a part of Bonnier’s core and the company’s identity.

IF WE FAIL TO INCREASE our digital revenues quickly, in just a few years we will lose credibility as a media company that can thrive over the long term. One of our editors-in-chief described a period of poor results in a journalism business as a “wet blanket” over the news desk. And I wholeheartedly believe that to be true. Financial stability is a prerequisite for long-term success and strong and independent media.

We are and will continue to be a media company that is proud of its role in society and what we contribute in the form of strong, independent media. A wide range of voices is a foundation for an open and democratic society. Tomas Franzén, CEO Bonnier AB

Our common goal is to guarantee the future of Bonnier as a strong media company over the long term with a core in journalism and storytelling.

Guaranteeing the Future.

CEO

“Right now I’m listening mostly to books about Nelly Rapp, who is a monster agent. I listen every night when I go to bed and also while I’m play-ing with Lego or drawing.”

VIDE ERIKSSON, 8-YEAR-OLD BOOK-

BEAT FAN FROM SKÖNDAL, SWEDEN

CUSTOMERS MIND

Money back when you shop, books on your smartphone and a business daily expanding digitally. BookBeat, Refunder and Bonnier Business Polska all put digital customers in focus, but in different ways.TEXT: KARIN STRAND | PHOTOS: PETER JÖNSSON

CUSTOMERS


only 15 percent of our members make returns. It speaks for itself that Refunder members are valuable for online stores.

“We have no problem recruiting new stores. It’s completely risk-free for them, since they only pay a commission for an actual purchase. Everyone wins under the concept.”

LEARNING TO OPTIMIZE the different communication channels has been a constant learning curve for Refunder. The company has operated in 20 different channels, and Ohlsson describes the environment as “a jungle.”

Right now, Refunder is working on activating members and getting them to buy more, according to the principle that add-on sales cost less than new sales. This is being done via segmen-tation, with members receiving offers tailored just for them.

“But we can be better at this,” says Ohlsson. “We want our members to feel they’re in a pleasant e-commerce bubble, receiving offers tailored for them.”

ET MONEY BACK when you shop online. That’s the message that cashback site Refunder has tried to hammer home to the Swedish

public since it started in April 2014. Now the message seems to have reso-nated with Swedes, and the number of members is growing steadily.

“The challenges since we started have been building the brand and recruiting members,” says Refunder CEO Fredrik Ohlsson. “It’s getting people to under-stand that the deal is as good as it sounds, that there’s no hook. Our strategy has been extremely conserva-tive in our message, and the goal is to get people to make a first purchase.” REFUNDER IS A SERVICE that connects consumers with e-commerce. Online stores pay a commission for purchases made through Refunder. Consumers get half of the commission in the form of a refund placed directly into their accounts, with Refunder getting the other half.

“So actually the online stores are our customers, but our members are who we communicate with,” says Ohlsson.

With help from Bonnier Growth Media, Refunder has gotten access to channels within Bonnier, like TV4, daily newspaper Expressen and magazines.

“It’s been crucial to our success,” says Ohlsson. “We wouldn’t have been able to do this by ourselves or with a differ-ent partner.” AND IT’S DEFINITELY BEEN a success. The number of members in a year and a half has grown to 119,000 and the online stores cover essentially all areas. The typical member is a 37-year-old woman living in a big city.

“The average online purchase in Sweden amounts to SEK 830, but for our members the average is SEK 1,291,” says Ohlsson. “If you look at returns, some 30 percent return their purchases but

G“Of course you want to get a good deal. I always check first with Refunder to see if they’ve got an offer. You earn a bit of money, naturally, but actually probably end up buying more in the end.”REFUNDER CUSTOMER ALEXANDRA ASPGREN, VENDELSÖ, SWEDEN

Refunder in short

• Launched on April 1, 2014• Cashback service with 119, 000 members• Six employees work at its offices in Stockholm• Some SEK 14 million in turnover for 2015www.refunder.se

Happy Socks is a popular boutique at Refunder.

WITH CUSTOMERS IN MIND

9

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Fredrik Ohlsson, CEO of Refunder

“We want our members to feel they’re in a pleasant e-commerce bubble, receiving offers tailored for them.”

HILE MARKETING A NEW service in Sweden has been the challenge for Refunder, for the startup BookBeat the challenge is taking market share in an already

existing but fast-growing market. The first users registered at the end of 2015, with a broad launch beginning in the second quarter of 2016.

BookBeat is a service that offers subscribers the chance to read and listen to books directly on their smartphones via an app.

“There’s already a market for this kind of service,” says Niclas Sandin, CEO of BookBeat. For Bonnier Books, starting BookBeat is a way to join in and drive development forward.

“WHAT’S UNIQUE ABOUT the initiative is that we’re building a service and organization that from the start can adapt to and handle future changes, when it comes to both technical development and customer behavior,” Sandin says.

“So more than half of our internal competence consists of technical developers.”


Niclas Sandin, CEO of BookBeat

“We want to be a part of people’s daily life. We don't want to be the gym membership that you use once and then never again.”

BookBeat is for digital book service fans as well as people curious about e-book and audiobook services who simply haven’t tried them yet.


BookBeat offers subscribers the chance to read and listen to books directly on their smartphones via an app.

Development started in March 2015, and by the end of November the first version of the app was out. A limited number of users were invited to test it and provide feedback, and the response was swift. Along with tips for which books they would like in the app, users have suggested new functions that have been added regularly with each new version of the app released.

“The biggest challenge has been to keep up the fast pace of development and to manage expectations for the first version,” says Sandin. “We decided early on that it was most important for us

to reach the market quickly and once there, dare to experiment and create the best service with real customer feedback. I believe that if you try to find the perfect solution for all customers’ problems already at the drawing board, you risk paralyzing your organization.” BOOKBEAT’S TARGET AUDIENCE is in part experienced digital book service users, in part people who are curious about such services but haven’t tried them yet. To find new subscribers, the company is looking to partner up with other digital services that potential customers already use. And of course take advan-tage of the fact that BookBeat is part of the Bonnier group to find internal partnerships.

“When we start to get subscribers to the service, we will need to be best at presenting the right content for the right people and make sure they really use the service,” says Sandin. “We don’t want to be the gym membership that you use once and then never again. We want to be a part of people’s daily life.” BOOKBEAT IS A LONG-TERM initiative that, once established in Sweden, will expand internationally. Sandin is already looking at which markets have potential and what new ways of marketing will be necessary.

BookBeat in short

• Development started in March 2015• Wide launch in Q2 2016• Digital subscription service for digital books• Around 25 employees at end of 2015www.bookbeat.com


NE COMPANY that reached out into a new market in 2015 is Bonnier Business Polska. Following two acquisitions, the company

finds itself in a new, digital and more con sumer-oriented market, something that’s led to more than half of the com-pany’s revenues in 2015 coming from digital media.

“The digital shift has been a huge challenge and forced us to think a step further. What are the digital needs of our target audience and what are they prepared to pay for?” says Patricia Deyna, CEO for Bonnier Business Polska.

“It was obvious early on that we couldn’t grow organically, so we started to look for something new that could change our position in the Polish market.” UP UNTIL 2015, the company had been built up with the business daily Puls Biznesu at the core, with a print paper, Web portal and comprehensive event division. Then, in January 2015, the company acquired Bankier.pl, the leading Polish finance and business portal geared to professionals – such as investors – as well as consumers.

Among other pluses, the portal has a much-appreciated tool for comparing the country’s banks and their prod-ucts with one another, plus an affiliate network that connects advertisers with owners of websites.

“With the acquisition of Bankier.pl, we broadened our target audience so that, unlike earlier, it was not just B2B but also B2C,” says Deyna. “This has meant a markedly better market position with increased traffic to our portals.” IN SEPTEMBER, THE COMPANY expanded even further with the acquisition of Arslege.pl, an online test-prep service for the bar exam and other high-status professional qualification tests.

“Our strategy has always been to grow digitally and find synergies with our existing business,” says Deyna. “Next up is a push to develop our event business within the newly acquired companies – it’s an area where we have a lot of ex-perience. We might also develop a new product in the online test-prep arena.”

She stresses that her employees have been key to the success. “A team with common goals, a cost-effective structure and an integration plan are deciding factors in successful acquisitions.”

Patricia Deyna, CEO of Bonnier Business Polska.

“The digital shift forced us to think a step further.”

"Puls Biznesu offers all the modern tools that allow our customers to be updated on the go. We at PB have the know-how to make high- quality content based on old print rules: reliability, depth of knowledge and speed."PULS BIZNESU BANKING JOURNALIST EUGENIUSZ TWAROG

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OBonnier Business

Polska in short

• Launched at end of 1996• Business daily Puls Biznesu and portal modeled on Swedish business daily Dagens industri, now includes customer-oriented finance and business portal and affiliate network• Around 250 employees• Some SEK 140 million in turnover, SEK 17.2 million in EBITA for 2015www.bonnier.pl


1 Soccer on Your VR Headset Sports fans are in for a treat as VR companies are starting to tap into the virtual reality potential. Market researcher Piper Jaffray says the VR sports market has potential to grow to USD 4 billion in the next 10 years. Companies like NextVr and LiveLike VR are already providing experiences for fans in the U.S. and U.K., with new launches planned for 2016.

2 Paid by the Click Affiliate marketing, where companies reward other companies and individuals for referring new customers, is growing faster than traditional advertising. Business Insider says approximately 15 percent of the digital media industry’s revenues now come from affiliate marketing. Social networks are rushing to take advantage, while some players are way ahead: Amazon already says 40 percent of its sales come from affiliate marketing.

3 Subscriptions 2.0 The success of streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify show that consumers are ready to pay for subscriptions if the price and content are right for them. The fight for the cash that consumers are willing to pay for monthly entertainment is on. Expect to see content bundles to capture this, from players like Facebook, Google and others.

4 A+ for Online Learning Skills shortages are creating a market for online education like never before. And it’s not just consumers who are driving the push. According to Forrester, 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies use e-learning for competence development. And in April 2015, LinkedIn paid USD 1.5 billion for Lynda.com, which offers online courses for a monthly subscription.

5 Everything is SocialIt’s time to recognize that social is a behavior, not a type of media. All media has a social element to it and content that might have stayed within its original publishing form now is spread on all social separating news from noise.

6 The Message is the Medium The volume of notifications users get is increasing exponentially. Inbox app Snowball says Android users get more than 60 notifications a day. Combined with technology improvements in notifications that let users interact more and in new ways, notifications could become their own media and framework, with apps becoming the tool for publishing them.

Where Consumers Are… and Where They Will Be.


Consumers have more power than ever before when it comes to media. Check out eight trends that digital guru Sara Öhrvall has identified

as transformative changes that are profoundly shaping how consumers interact with technology and media, which in turn

are having a big effect on businesses. ILLUSTRATION: JOHAN JARNESTAD

”SILENCIO 16”


7 Content Worth Paying For Contrary to what many believe, the willingness to pay for quality content is gradually increasing, albeit from low levels. Surprisingly, it’s millennials who are driving this shift, and they place a premium on self-directed learning and meaningful hobbies. According to Pew, 45 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds say they are willing to pay for digital content from media publishers.

8 Internet of Things Expanding Revenues from connected services are expected to top USD 152 billion by 2020, says Business Insider. And with the release of Google’s Brillo and Apple’s Homekit smart home platforms, new companies are readily getting into the digital business and creating digital ecosystems. Like Mercedes Benz teaming up with Nest so cars can automati-cally turn up the thermo stat at home during the evening commute.

Net Sales by Country

SWEDEN FINLAND GERMANYDENMARK U.S. NORWAY OTHER

6 %

Net Sales by Revenue Streams

ADS WHOLESALE SUBSCRIPTIONRETAIL OTHER

Bonnier 2015 in short

56 %

12 %

7 %

7 %

7 %5 %

We create, select and refine a world of

knowledge and stories.

Our Business Idea

To be a leading and high-performing

digital media house.We embrace technology. Bonnier has leading

positions in key media segments, but only about 20 percent of our revenues come from new sources.

By 2017, 30 percent of our revenues should come from sources sustainable over the long term. With this in mind, our strategy for the next years focuses

on investments in technology, new services and getting the right teams. We need to develop

a culture of strong cooperation across brands, companies and business areas. If we do this,

combined with our journalistic and literary credibility, the long-term thinking of our owners and the

talent within Bonnier, we have every opportunity to succeed.

Ambition

Employees: 8,397

Companies,approximately: 160

Countries: 15

Net Sales: 25,906 SEK M

EBITA: 1,008 SEK M

Key figures

35 %

24 %

23 %

10 %

7 %

A year of transformation with stable finances.

Profits were in line with expectations, with significant

investments in developing services and technology.

BUSINESS

AREASIN 2015.

WHAT HAPPENED

IN OUR

BOOKS.

BUSINESS TO BUSINESS.

BROADCASTING.

GROWTH MEDIA.

NEWS.

MAGAZINES.


“A Year of Literary and Commercial Success.”The year 2015 included big and small initiatives. Such as Bonnier Books having a stand at the children’s book fair in Shanghai for the first time. BookBeat, a digital book subscription service soft-launched in November, was one example of the powerful digital push during 2015. New self-publishing service Type & Tell also got a lot of attention. Bonnier Books acquired the Academic Bookstore chain in Finland.

The Swedish book market grew, the first time in a long while. For Bonnierförlagen, it was a successful year. Its authors won a majority of the country’s literature awards, including all three categories of the August Prize. Sales of digital audiobooks increased significantly, and it was the first year that more digital than physical titles were sold. Online retail Adlibris Group launched a num-ber of growth initiatives, adding other products to its initial focus on books at Adlibris.com. The gardening product site odla.nu was acquired and online cookware store köketsfavoriter.se was launched together with TV4. Adlibris also opened a brick-and-mortar bookstore in Stockholm. It was a stable year for paperbook bookstore chain Pocket Shop with sales increasing in Sweden and Finland.

Bonnier Media Deutschland had another strong year, with three books topping the bestseller lists. A number of digital initiatives were started and developed. The small publisher Lappan was acquired, improving Carlsen Verlag’s already strong market position.

Bonnier Publishing in the U.K. had its best year ever. Igloo Books, acquired in late 2014, had its all-time most profitable year. Adult fiction division Bonnier Publishing Fiction had a successful start, and small genre publisher Totally Entwined was acquired. The group had its first No. 1 book on the bestseller lists, only to hit the top spot again later in the year. Sales increased by 42 percent, and profits nearly doubled.

The Finnish economy continued to be tough, which meant a challenging year for Bonnier Books Finland. Despite this, e-commerce for books grew and Adlibris strengthened its position.

For Norway’s Cappelen Damm, the year was stable, with successes such as having the most titles on the bestseller lists and winning the prestigious Brage Prize. Bookstore chain Tanum won a con-tract to run five new book-stores at Oslo’s Gardemoen airport, with sales of NOK 200 million a year.

DID YOU KNOW?

NUMBERS.

That the runaway hit and surprise global phenomenon Darm mit Charme by Giulia Enders, Ullstein Buchverlag, was No. 1 on the best seller list in Germany for 75 weeks.

were sold altogether by Bonnier’s book publishers in 2015.

100 MILLION

BOOKS

U.S.

COMPANIES: ADLIBRIS GROUP, AKATEEMINEN KIRJAKAUPPA (ACADEMIC BOOKSTORE), BONNIER BOOKS FINLAND, BONNIER MEDIA DEUTSCHLAND, BONNIER PUBLISHING, BONNIERFÖRLAGEN, BOOKBEAT, CAPPELEN DAMM (50 PERCENT) AND POCKET SHOP.

SWEDEN

NORWAY

UK

FINLAND

AUSTRALIA

USAPOLAND

GERMANYFRANCE

BOOKS’ GLOBAL PRESENCE.

2013 2014 2015

NET SALES.

EBITA.

(SEK M)

2013 2014 2015

(SEK M)

6,000

1,000

400

300

200

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

BOOKS.In a changing and tough global book and e-commerce world, Bonnier Books enjoyed stable and increasing business with good profitability and an impressive growth rate.

BONNIER BUSINESS AREAS

100

JACOB DALBORG, Head of Business Area


More Than Books

No other Top 5 U.K. publisher is anything like us. We are deliberately different.”

Nordic online retailer Adlibris expanded its prod-uct range in 2015, adding crafts & DIY, stationery & office supplies and toys & kids' products to its original offering of books. Which meant 20,000 new products available and 293,000 products sold since the June launch. It’s part of the retailer’s strategy to give customers what they want at competitive prices. Most popular: crafts & DIY.

Richard Johnson, CEO, Bonnier Publishing:

PHOTO: CHRIS GLO

AG

The book industry is in the middle of a structural shift. Digitalization, internationalization, new business models and increased competition have changed the playing field. Anyone can be a published author. Which is why Bonnier Books launched the new self-publishing service Type & Tell. Rebecka Leffler, head of business development, explains.

Why has a book publishing company started up a service for people to publish their own books? Thanks to digitalization, the possibilities are greater than ever for writing stories that reach an audience in the same channels as authors published by book publishers. Plus authors can build relationships with their readers and by themselves create a bestseller, merely with marketing on Facebook. Self-publishing is growing as a market, and the power balance within the industry has changed dramatically. For us, it’s always been important to follow what’s happening in our industry, as well as to drive change. We need to broaden our business in order to be a relevant player, and we saw the need and an opportunity to launch a professional self-publishing service. With Type & Tell, we can offer the knowledge and expertise that Bonnierförlagen has nurtured for generations and a service where authors can get a chance to influence the details that are most important for them.

How has it gone so far?The reception has been very positive, while at the same time we’re not resting on our laurels since we have much to do. The fall was about getting the best users who are active to give us feedback. Together with our users, we’re sharpening and improving our service all the time, and our hope is that all authors should experience Type & Tell as inspiring, modern, fun and user-friendly.

How will we see Type & Tell develop?We will be developing a function so that many people can work in our tool with the same text at the same time. We also want to improve writers’ exposure by providing an author page. But which other functions and in what way we develop is still up to analysis and determined by concept devel-opment and user tests. Within two years we want to be the biggest self- publishing service in Sweden. We also plan on expanding internationally.

Type & Tell. Breaking new ground in a changed book world.

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Rebecka Leffler, Head of Business Development for Type & tell.

3 QUESTIONS.


“Year of the Digital.”TV4 celebrated its 25th anniversary, a year of

successes such as all-time highs for digital consumption; even linear TV

was the second best ever. Expanding the target audience from 12- to 59-year-olds to 15- to 64-year-olds along with a comprehensive push

for local Swedish content within all genres, from news to sports, entertain-

ment to drama, were two reasons behind the success. The channel inaugurated an up-to-the- minute news studio and launched a number of new initiatives, including multi-channel talent network ENT, advertising platform Woo and e-commerce site Kökets favoriter (Kitchen Favorites.

Swedish news production company Nyhets-bolaget, after extensive efficiency measures, turned a corner from losses to profits, and shifted focus to journalism for any platform, based on news content created for TV4. During the year, an increase in new customers and business took off as well.

The year 2015 was marked by increased cooperation, digital focus and large technology investments, including for development of an improved OTT platform. The digital ventures and investments in local content have been very successful – and all operations within the business area had better results than the previous year.

C More changed its strategic focus, becoming digital first, and the Danish mini-pay channels and C Sport Norge in Norway were sold as part of the new strategy. The business area’s video-on-demand services Filmnet and C Sports were consolidated under the subscription-video-on- demand service C More, and digital income increased over 70 percent during the year.

The macroeconomic cli-mate in Finland continued to be a challenge during 2015, but MTV’s results improved, thanks to structural changes in the business.

The radio operations were sold to the Bauer Media Group in order to focus on core business. News production for MTV was put under the newly established sister company Mediahub. The recently launched Media for Equity fund was a success, fully subscribed by the end of the year.

NET SALES.*

EBITA.*

2013 2014 2015

(SEK M)

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

With digital records broken at TV4, a change of focus for C More and improved results for MTV, 2015 was a strong year for the Broadcasting business area.

BROADCASTING.

SWEDEN

NORWAY

UK

FINLAND

POLANDGERMANY

FRANCE

COMPANIES: TV4 GROUP, MTV, NYHETSBOLAGET, C MORE.

STOCKHOLM

NORRKÖPING

JOENSUU VAASA

JYVÄSKYLÄ

KOKKOLA

UPPSALA

LAHTIMIKKELI

LAPPEENRANTA

OULU

KEMI

VÄSTERÅS

KUOPIO

SKÖVDE

LULEÅ

ÖSTERSUND

ÖREBRO

MALMÖ

HELSINKI

ROVANIEMI

JÖNKÖPING

TURKU

KARLSTAD

GÖTEBORG

HALMSTAD

PORIFALUN

SUNDSVALL

TAMPERE

UMEÅ

COPENHAGEN

VÄXJÖ

BROADCASTING’S PRESENCE IN THE NORDIC REGION.

NUMBERS.

DID YOU KNOW?

During 2015, C More’s OTT revenues increased 74 percent compared to the previous year.

MTV.fi is the third-biggest biggest online portal in Finland.

No.3

2013 2014 2015

(SEK M)

600

100

500

400

300

200

700


CASTEN ALMQVIST, Head of Business Area

* INCREASES AND DECREASES IN EBITA ARE PRIMARILY DUE TO C MORE NOT BEING PART OF THE BUSINESS AREA IN 2014.


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NENT is a multi-channel network that offers the expertise of Sweden’s No. 1 commercial TV station, TV4, to top content creators on digital platforms, helping them grow and develop in terms of both content and business. Maria Wiss, head of ENT, explains.

Why has TV4 started a multi-channel network?When TV4 started, we stood out in the Swedish TV market as a challenger with a new tone and new content for TV viewers. With ENT, we want to continue to revolutionize storytelling and communication. We have unique experience and competence in creat-ing stunning video and content that affects viewers, now we’ve

got the courage and self-confidence to take that creativity to new arenas. In order to continue to develop our position, it’s important to rejuvenate our audience, and we need to meet younger viewers in new arenas under new terms.

What kinds of stars is ENT looking for?We’re looking for talents who are passionate about what they create. They don’t have to have a big following or be extremely well established, and they don’t have to be only on YouTube. We contact people we see with something extra and the drive to take the next step in their careers. We also have many talents who contact us directly because they want us as a partner.

What are your successes so far?We had a good start in fall 2015. As of the end of 2015, there are 20 talents on board, which was our goal. Our three biggest recruits are “DeVetDu” (you know it) and “SpråkFörAlla” (language for everyone) within humor/enter-tainment and Alexandra Bring within fitness/lifestyle. All three are incredibly strong influencers among younger target audiences. We’re excited that they’ve chosen to work with us. Even though we’ve only been up and running a few months, we’ve managed to position ourselves in the market and attract gifted and strong talents. Ad-vertisers have also been quite interest-ed, and we’ve already carried out our

first campaigns. We’ve got high expectations and we’re excited for 2016 and beyond!

Talent Hunt. Boosting upcoming stars in new platforms.

3 QUESTIONS.

Linear TV viewing remained exceptionally high in 2015, at three hours a day...

Jarkko Nordlund, CEO for MTV

... There are clear signs that linear viewing will be supplemented by new ways of distribution, especially OTT services, to distribute content directly to consumers. These two facts together with MTV’s unique position in Finland give me strong confidence in our future.”

Reaching All Sweden on FacebookThe various Facebook pages of TV4 together reach 1.1 million Swedes directly. But if they interact with the content all their friends see, essentially the entire Swedish population comes in contact with TV4’s content via Facebook.

The ENT team. Back row, from left to right: Adam Navér, Erik Sidung, Edward Dahlbäck Rörström. Front row: Janina Witkowski, Maria Wiss, Linn Weilar, Ella Grundel, Pål Ströbaek, David Larsson.

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COMPANIES: BONNIER BUSINESS FORUM, BONNIER BUSINESS MEDIA, BONNIER BUSINESS POLSKA, BØRSEN, CLIO ONLINE, DEUTSCHE WIRSCHAFTS NACHRICHTEN, FINANCE, VERSLO ŽINIOS AND ÄRIPÄEV. MAJORITY SHARES IN RUSSIAN OPERATIONS WERE SOLD AT THE END OF 2015.

SWEDEN

LITHUANIA

FINLAND

POLANDGERMANY

SLOVENIA

NORWAYESTONIA

DENMARK

“Record Profits.”2015 was the sixth consecutive year with improved profitability for Bonnier Business to Business, and the business reached a new record profit. The business area experienced good revenue growth mainly due to acquisitions, but was able to show organic growth as well. The year 2015 was about continuing the digital transformation, broadening the niche business portfolio and climbing the value chain in terms of product and advertising offerings. Throughout the year, Bonnier Business to Business had a strong focus on acquiring new businesses and closed fewer than six trans actions. In January one of Poland’s main investment news websites, Bankier.pl, was acquired and integrated into Bonnier Business Polska. The acquisition has allowed Bonnier to establish itself as one of the main players on the Polish business and finance news market. Later during 2015, Bonnier Business Polska also acquired a majority stake in niche e-learning business Prawomaniacy. In February, a majority stake of Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten (DWN) was acquired. DWN is the fastest-growing online business news publisher in Germany and currently reaches more than 2 million unique users each month.

In the end of March, Bonnier made its comeback in learning materials by acquiring a majority stake in Denmark’s leading digital learning materials publisher, Clio Online. The company has played a major role in digitizing Danish elementary schools, and Bonnier Business to Business is aiming to export that success to new markets together with the founders of Clio Online. Following the summer holidays, Bonnier Business Media Sweden acquired sustainability publisher Miljöaktuellt from IDG. The deal allows Bonnier to take a holistic grip on the environment and sustainability niche and significantly improve the product offering on the Swedish market.

The final acquisition took place in November when a majority stake in Sjöströms Nordic was acquired. Sjöströms Nordic (now Bonnier Pharma Insights) is a digital company serving the pharmaceutical industry with pricing tools and relevant databases.

Due to a Russian ban on foreign ownership exceeding 20 percent of media assets, Bonnier had to divest large parts of its Russian operations in December 2015. It still remains in Russia, but with smaller shares of ownership. Bonnier Business to Business also signed a contract to divest Børsen Group to JP/Politikens Hus in Denmark at the beginning of January 2016, providing Bonnier with funds to accelerate the digital transformation through new acquisitions.

NET SALES.

EBITA.

2013 2014 2015

(SEK M)

A year of growth for Bonnier Business to Business was marked by major acquisitions as well as organic growth, with record profits.

BUSINESS TO BUSINESS.

BUSINESS TO BUSINESS’ PRESENCE IN EUROPE.

NUMBERS.

DID YOU KNOW?

... that 90 percent of Danish public schools use one or more products from Clio Online.

2013 2014 2015

(SEK M)

150

25

125

100

75

50

175


ANDERS ERIKSSON, Head of Business Area

1,250

1,000

750

500

250

were generated by the companies within the business area in 2015.

1.8BILLION

PAGE VIEWS2013

2015


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In February 2015, Bonnier Business to Business acquired a majority share in top business website Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten (DWN). Founded in 2012 by Michael Maier and Christoph Hermann, the website has a readership that has grown to nearly 3 million unique visitors per month as of the end of 2015. Hermann explains its success.

What makes DWN special? DWN is all about a unique, high- quality, journalistic profile: We consider business, politics and the social implications as a holistic playing field of news. Spewing ever more content is not a strategy. We focus on fewer, more outspoken and

fun-to-read stories. Therefore, we use a simple language without any PR, with no addiction to speed. Today, DWN is the No. 2 business news web-site in all German-speaking countries. A major part of our success comes from Facebook, where we reach even more interactions within the business audience than all other media in Germany.

What’s the key to your financial success? DWN has been profitable from day one, because our stories, analysis and commentary are being reused several times for corporate publishing clients and studies. We have also built an in-house advertising-sales team and have been working continuously with all major business advertisers – from banking and IT to automotive – in recent years. DWN still has a very lean structure, with a core in media organization – an editorial and sales team – in-house, but all other tasks outsourced.

What do you see for the future for DWN?

We want to be the No. 1 busi-ness news site in Germany.

DWN’s traffic numbers have

been growing at a rapid pace, so we are very optimistic we can become the market leader in the near future. Simultaneously, we want to diversify our revenue streams: We will further grow our existing revenues in adver-tising sales and content syndication, while also pushing into paid products and events. Together with Bonnier Business to Business, we are about to launch and acquire further news sites to become a leading B2B media player in Germany.

Smart Business. Unique profile and lean organization spell success for No. 2 German business news website.

3 QUESTIONS.

... with an EBITA margin of 32 % in 2015. With high focus on integrity and independent journalism. We create good content for our readers and also have platforms where advertisers see value for money.”

Impressive GrowthBonnier Business to Business saw a big jump in digital advertising revenues, which grew by 55 percent for the entire business area during 2015.

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Dagens Medisin

continues to deliver strong results ...

Lise Hjertaas, CEO Dagens Medisin Norway

Michael Maier and Christoph Hermann at Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten.

+55%


“Intensive Year.”The Bonnier Growth Media business area is focused on digital growth companies, with a portfolio of companies with combined turnover of more than SEK 2 billion. The business area’s portfolio contains majority-owned companies such as Svensk Filmindustri, Spoon, Evoke Gaming and Tailsweep, as well as a venture division that invests in fast-growing and media-related start-ups, such as Refunder, United Screens, Acast and Resolution Games. The year was intensive for the business area, with investments in a range of new businesses, as well as organic growth within the companies. Svensk Filmindustri had a significant year of realignment, going from being dominated by physical DVD sales to a much more international studio business with increased focus on produc-tion of high-quality film and TV, as well as digital channels in upgraded distribution operations. Svensk Filmindustri ended the year with production of the film A Man Called Ove, which broke Swedish audience cinema attendance records during the last week of 2015. Spoon became even more digitally focused, developing its customer offering with specialist digital competence as well as expanding geographically. During the year, with investments in agencies OhMy! and InFunnel in Sweden as well as Teft in Norway, Spoon contin-ued to expand its network as a “brand engineer.”

KIT was launched during the year and during its first months, established itself as a new media pioneer, with a focus on its tech-nology platform and high-quality

content, where mobile and social media intersect. United Screens doubled its revenue and has more than 200 million views per month. Toca Boca and Sago Sago have topped the App Store list with every app launch during the year, while also building new specialist teams for extending their brands.

One of the new investments

was podcast network Acast, which expanded its operations in Sweden and the U.K. to include the U.S. as well.

DID YOU KNOW?

NUMBERS.

… the new SF Kids Play has hundreds of hours of film and series, everything from classics to exciting new releases. All in a safe, fun and child-friendly app for computer, smartphone and tablets.

in December 2015, a record for toddler app developer Sago Sago.

GROWTH MEDIA’S GLOBAL PRESENCE.

ULRIKA SAXON, Head of Business Area

NET SALES.

PERCENT REVENUE GROWTH.

2013 2014 2015

(SEK M)

500

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

GROWTH MEDIA.The year 2015 was packed with new investments, organic growth in existing companies and one major turnaround.


NORWAY

MALTA

FINLAND

CANADA

U.S. (SAN FRANCISCO)U.S. (NEW YORK)

SWEDENDENMARK

U.K.

COMPANIES: EVOKE GAMING, KIT, MAG+, SAGO SAGO, SF ANYTIME, SPOON, SVENSK FILMINDUSTRI, TAILSWEEP, TOCA BOCA, TRE VÄNNER. BONNIER GROWTH MEDIA ALSO HAS MINORITY SHARES IN ABIOS GAMING, ACAST, OH MY!, REFUNDER, RESOLUTION GAMES AND UNITED SCREENS.

1.6 MILLIONACTIVE USERS

2015

2014

9 %

2013

50 %

2015

21 %


Creating successful content today for a mobile generation ...

Linda Öhrn Lernström, head of features at KIT:

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Virtual Reality Becomes Reality

Want to show someone what virtual reality (VR) has to offer? Show them a VR game! Stockholm-based virtual reality game developer Resolution Games develops social, accessible games for a global market. First out during 2016: a VR fishing game.

... isn’t just about good instincts. You need to be curious about new technologies and work in a data-driven way.”

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Acast launched in April, Bonnier invested in May 2015, and since Bonnier invested it has grown from 12 million monthly listenings to 24 million. The platform launched in the U.S. in late 2015, quickly becoming Acast’s biggest market with content partners such as Buzzfeed and the Financial Times. Acast is currently operational in Sweden, the U.K. and the U.S. and employs 40 people. Måns Ulvestam, CEO for podcasting platform Acast.

What makes Acast special?

Acast is the world’s most advanced podcasting platform. We provide premium hosting, distribution and monetization of podcasts. Acast's plat-form also provides content creators with the unique ability to enrich the podcast experience with pictures, links and videos.

What’s the business model and what role does advertising play?

Acast is a curated service, so we sign on podcasting content and then sell ads toward that content. We are currently challenging the status quo of podcasting, i.e., hard-coded sponsorship reads, by giving adverti-sers true metrics and ground breaking ad formats. For instance, Acast de-livers the world’s first dynamic adverti-

Pod Platform. Challenging the status quo.

3 QUESTIONS.

sing in podcasts and the world’s first dynamic sponsorships in podcasts and the world’s first programmatic buying in podcasts. Advertising is currently our only source of evenue, so it is obviously vital.

What’s your biggest challenge as you go international?

Finding the right talent is key to us, but so far we have been fortunate in that area. We require basically three types of talent to scale Acast. First of all we need developers. Then we also need senior content people who can gain the trust of both independent podcasters and media houses. Finally, we need salespeople. However, I would say our biggest challenge is making sure all our internal systems scale as fast as our business requires.

Måns Ulvestam, CEO for podcasting platform Acast.

The Acast platform offers dynamic advertising for any screen, smartphone, tablet or computer.


“Strong Digital Growth.”The magazine business area consists of Bonnier Publications with head-quarters in Denmark and sub sidiaries in Norway, Finland and Sweden; Bonnier Tidskrifter in Sweden; and Bonnier Corporation in the U.S. Among the largest brands are Illustreret Videnskab (Science Illustrated), Allt om Mat (All About Food) and Outdoor Life.

The print business continued to decline but many of the titles still had a strong position, gene-rating significant results during the year. The group achieved strong growth in digital sales driven by social media traffic and new formats and products. There was also good growth in the adjacent business of licensing, events and content marketing.

New digital offers and products were introduced to print subscribers in order to secure the most important revenue stream in the group.

A number of efficiency and productivity programs have led to significant cost savings without compromising quality.

Finally, in 2015 long-time head of the Magazines business area Michael Cordsen, also CEO of Bonnier Publications, announced his reti-rement in Jan. 2016. Jesper Buchvald took over his role as CEO and I took over as head of the business area.

DID YOU KNOW?

NUMBERS.

Knives are the most important kitchen tool, pepper the most important spice and butter the most important ingredient, according to a survey of Swedish food magazine Allt om Mat’s 462,000 readers.

is the total number of fans and followers of Bonnier Corporation’s brands across social

channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Periscope

and Google+.

27 MILLION

LARS DAHMÉN, Head of Business Area,

as of February 2016

2013 2014

NET SALES.

EBITA.

(SEK M)

2013 2014 2015

(SEK M)

1,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

MAGAZINES.The magazine industry continues to face significant challenges, but the Magazines business area made heavy investments in the digital and adjacent areas in 2015.


MAGAZINES’ PRESENCE IN EUROPE AND THE U.S.

NEW YORK CITY

IRVINE, CA

NEWPORT, R.I.

WINTER PARK, FL

STOCKHOLM

OSLO

COPENHAGEN

HELSINKI

COMPANIES: BONNIER CORPORATION, BONNIER PUBLICATIONS, BONNIER TIDSKRIFTER.

300

250

200

50

150

100

2015


Bonnier Publications is the biggest and most profitable media player within the house & home segment in Scandinavia, with magazines like Do It Yourself, homeowner title Vi i Villa and upscale interior design magazine Bo Bedre. Erik Rimmer, editor-in-chief, Bo Bedre, Denmark, and Helena la Corte, CEO, Vi i Villa, Sweden, talk about challenges and successes.

Advertising finances both your magazines. How is that working in today’s media market?Erik Rimmer: 2015 has not been an annus horribilis – on the contrary! We increased 20 % on advertising in print mag azines and online together compared with 2014. Rumors of print media's death in our segment are exaggerated. Let’s talk instead about what we want to tell readers, regardless of platform. Helena la Corte: It's all about putting readers first! Invite and give them space to tell their stories about

their lives in their homes. If you have the readers, advertising money will follow. Revenues from print advertising in Vi i Villa in Sweden increased by 30 % the last year.

What are the digital possibilities?ER: Last April, we launched our first English-language magazine, Nordic Living by Bo Bedre. If you want to have a business in the interior design area, you have to be international. Language is just a small hurdle – we have the stories and pictures that can inspire globally. And the easiest way will be digital, combined with a high-quality print magazine.HLC: Just as in print, it’s important to get engagement from visitors by creating interesting and valuable content. But also to get paid for it. For example, Idényt (Vi i Villa in Denmark) has succeeded in building a very profitable digital busi-ness. Time-to-market is everything. We have to listen to our readers and adjust to and develop what they ask for – and fast.

Where can we be better?HLC: Cooperation among brands within the house & home segment within Bonnier. We have so many readers interested in good content within the segment, regardless of brand. For example, Do it Yourself has unique material that can be used in Vi i Villa, and Vi i Villa can help Do It Yourself get more subscriptions.

House & Home. Making the most of a segment.

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Erik Rimmer, editor-in-chief at Bo Bedre, and Helena la Corte, CEO at Vi i Villa.

3 QUESTIONS.

Frida Boisen on how to succeed in social media. Boisen is head of digital media for Bonnier Tidskrifter.

Dare to give of yourself. Be generous and positive ... ... and praise colleagues who’ve done something great. Share what you love. Write from the heart”

Riding the Custom WaveThe Bonnier Motorcycle Group in the U.S., with 11 brands and 8.3 million motorcycle, UTV and ATV enthusiast readers and viewers, opened its own in-house marketing agency, QuickShift, in 2015. With custom content more popular than ever, providing innovative and unique customer marketing has been a smart move, and client demand has been big.

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“Profits Up.”Bonnier News strengthened its profitability in 2015, despite declining circulations and lower print ad revenues. Profits increased from SEK 332 million to SEK 363 million, even with results affected by SEK 80 million in restructuring costs. Significant investments in digital development as well as optimization of the print newspaper business continued. Common organizations for circulation as well as advertising were created for Swedish news dailies Dagens Nyheter and Expressen and business daily Dagens industri.

Dagens Nyheter’s reader revenues increased for the sixth year in a row and profits amounted to SEK 122 million. The number of digital subscriptions more than doubled. The paper and its employees won a number of awards during the year, including the Swedish Grand Prize for Journalism. Dagens Nyheter still faced dropping print ad revenues, and digital ad sales far from compen-sated for the decline. A new payment system for online content was developed in partnership with leading payment service Klarna, and a new digital product offering was launched. The digital transformation in the ad sales business continued in full force at Expressen. Total ad sales increased 3 percent during the year. Digital ad sales increased 30 percent, making up 56 percent of total ad sales. Digital traffic increased substantially, with page visits up 17 percent for desktop and 91 percent for mobile, resulting in increased market shares. Large investments in video and a new robust strategy for Expressen TV were initiated. Profits for the year amounted to SEK 88 million.

Dagens industri’s profit margin remains strong and profits were SEK 136 million. The event business continued to grow with revenues of SEK 56 million. Even mobile revenues showed strong growth. A new site, Di Digital, was started, with a focus on the digital transformation and entrepreneurship.

It was the first full year for the combined group HD-Sydsvenskan in 2015, and profits were SEK 48 million, which was better than the acquisition budget. The year was marked by the hard work of integrating operations for the two papers, while continuing to focus on retaining the individual identities of the two brands.

After many years in the red, printer Bold Stockholm turned a corner in 2015 with a profit of SEK 13 million. Declining revenues from internal news-paper customers were successfully compensated for by external customers, while the entire production system was made more efficient and capacity utilization increased.

DID YOU KNOW?

NUMBERS.

Expressen has partnerships with Buzzfeed, CNN, Apple, Spotify, Google and Facebook.

of Dagens Nyheter’s subscribers have activated digital accounts.*

213,876

GUNILLA HERLITZ, Head of Business Area

(until summer 2016)

2013 2014 2015

NET SALES.

EBITA.

400

300

200

100

(SEK M)

NEWS.Digital is up and earnings improved for the Bonnier News business area, despite tough times for print ad revenues and circulations.


COMPANIES: DAGENS INDUSTRI, DAGENS NYHETER, EXPRESSEN, HD–SYDSVENSKAN, BOLD PRINTING GROUP

NEWS’ PRESENCE IN SWEDEN.

*AS OF JANUARY 2016

2013 2014 2015

(SEK M)

1,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

MALMÖLUND

STOCKHOLM

BORÅS

GÖTEBORG

HELSINGBORG


What customers – readers and advertis-ers – want and think are key to the daily newspapers that make up the business area. An insight-driven approach is the driving force. Charlotte Svensson, CDO and CIO for Bonnier News, explains why and how.

What is the thinking behind an insight -driven approach to working, and what are the results?

Our way of working is data-driven, which means data is available for everyone within the organization. We follow our perfor-mance in real time, as well as various trends and patterns as they develop. We use the information we uncover in order to be proactive and to apply the correct focus on all the material we produce. The goal is to be consistently relevant, to both readers and advertisers. Traffic on our digital channels is increasing because we are able to adapt more quickly and produce content based on actual behavior. Readers’ behavior is part of what informs our deci-sion-making process; with this information we can build precise and relevant commu-nication, such as article recommenda-tion based on actual interest and time of day. We are increasing the number of digital subscribers, with well- defined offers based on behavior. Using good customer data, we are also improving accuracy for adverti-sers, enabling them to reach specific

target audiences. And we are creating new products based on real target audiences that marry interests to content.

Digital dashboards are an important element of this approach. How do you use them?Everyone within the organization has information about our traffic, and our customers’ interests are key to our success. We measure everything from quality of content to traffic patterns, interest areas to conversion rates. We A/B test what we do. A test-driven method of working allows us to focus consistently on what really reaches our readers within each brand.

What are your biggest successes?

Increased digital sales, in terms of both digital-ad revenues and the number of digital subscribers. Furthermore, during the past year we’ve seen strong growth in traffic on all channels. We’ve also see significantly less churn, while we’ve made sales more efficient and decreased the number of customer-service requests.

Data-Driven. Using customer behavior to make decisions.

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Charlotte Svensson, CDO and CIO for Bonnier News.

3 QUESTIONS.

#BeforeFleeingThe southern Swedish daily Sydsvenskan’s noted portrait series #föreflykten (Before Fleeing) shows the people behind the refugee numbers, and how life looked before it shattered. The series can be followed on sydsvenskan.se and in social media.

Lotta Edling, newly appointed editor-in-chief for Dagens industri, which turned 40.

With a print edition

that continues to be strong and an increase in reading... ... in our digital channels, we’re well equipped to create Dagens industri’s future news story.”

Pamela Abeja, from Kampala, Uganda, via from #föreflykten on Instagram.

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FINANCIAL RESULTS 2015.

Profitability on Track While Transforming. Bonnier AB’s operating profit (EBITA) for 2015 was SEK 1.01 billion* compared to SEK 1.10 billion the previous year, which was an EBITA margin of 3.9 percent (4.7 percent). The group’s revenues amounted to SEK 25.9 billion (SEK 23.7 billion).

ADJUSTED FOR C MORE’S performance, which halved losses compared to the previous year, Bonnier AB’s EBITA for 2015 was more than SEK 100 million better than for 2014.*

Says Bonnier AB’s CEO Tomas Franzén:

“I’m very pleased that during 2015 we achieved operating profits that were in line with what we had planned, while at the same time we made signif-icant investments in all our business areas. Behind the stable profits lies intensive work in developing services and products, so that we can meet our strategy goal of 50 percent of our revenues coming from new sources, primarily digital, by the year 2020.

During 2015-2018, we will save SEK 2 billion. In part, through cost-savings in our traditional businesses, in part by efficiency measures and lowered purchasing costs. The SEK 2 billion will be directly reinvested in services and products that increase our digital revenues, primarily from the end customer.

For 2015, I would especially like to mention growth in our smallest business area, Business to Business, with its continually improved margins and a track record of successful acquisitions. From being a business area dominated just a few years ago by traditional print business dailies, a majority of revenues now come from digital business media and services.

Just days after 2015 became 2016, we announced an agreement to sell the Danish business daily Børsen**. It’s a good deal for Bonnier, showing we are prepared to make the right business deals in the right circumstances. The sale will provide money for continued acquisitions of purely digital businesses.

Together, these measures – cost- savings, investments, acquisitions and divestments – contribute to our move toward more sustainable revenues and a stronger Bonnier over the long term. In the upcoming years, our new services in digital books and video, among others, will reach the market. We expect that 2016 will be a year where our digi-tal revenues show powerful growth.”

BOOKS’ REVENUES INCREASED, with an EBITA of SEK 422 million (437). Bonnierförlagen in Sweden had a very strong year with improved profitability. Bonnier’s German book publishing group, the business area’s biggest, again showed solid results. Bonnier Publishing, through organic growth as well as an ambitious acquisition agenda, grew into the U.K.’s fourth largest book publisher, with steadily improving profitability. In a still tough Finnish book market, Bonnier increased its position in retail sales, partially via strong growth for online retailer Adlibris, partially with the acquisition of the Academic Bookstore chain, with its base in Helsinki. During 2015, the new digital book service with a mobile focus, BookBeat, was developed and launched in beta; it will be fully launched on the market in 2016.

BROADCASTING’S EBITA was SEK 417 million (589*). The Swedish TV4 Group is strong and continues to invest heavily in content and technology. The successful focus on local content spurred an increase in linear viewing and digital consumption nearly doubled, resulting in both national and digital sales records. C More, through business deals in Norway and Denmark, reversed trends and showed improved results. C More will develop further from a Nordic pay network into a digital-first company, and continue to invest in content and technology. News production company Nyhetsbolaget achieved a new balance, showing positive numbers and working further at creating profitability through new customers and an increased digital focus. In a persisting tough macroeconomic climate in Finland, MTV improved its results through structural changes and cost-savings. The network sold its radio operations, Radio Nova, to Bauer Media in 2015. BUSINESS TO BUSINESS CONTINUED its strong growth curve during 2015. The business area improved its results for the seventh year in a row and broke new

profit records with an EBITA of SEK 171 million (132). The year was marked by a strong focus on the digital trans-formation of its core business and an increased pace of acquisitions. Among these were Poland’s biggest business site, Bankier.pl, one of Germany’s leading business news sites, DWN, as well as Clio Online, Denmark’s leading company for digital learning materials for elementary schools. During 2016, a number of key initiatives are planned for expansion into new markets, as well as continued acquisitions. GROWTH MEDIA, WITH ITS FOCUS on digital companies with global potential, in 2015 invested in podcasting plat-form Acast and virtual reality game studio Resolution Games. Ownership shares were increased in cash-back site Refunder and multi-channel network United Screens. Stockholm-based content agency Spoon made several in-vestments during the year, with the goal of broadening its offer digitally and geo-graphically. Kid’s app developer Toca Boca, Evoke Gaming, TV production company FLX and the newly started media company KIT are among other wholly or partially owned growth com-panies that are part of the business area. The EBITA was SEK -127 million (-189). The improved results are due primarily by Svensk Filmindustri’s turnaround to profitability, from a clear loss in 2014. Svensk Filmindustri has, since its merg-er with Swedish production company Tre Vänner in 2013, focused on devel-oping its production, illustrated by the success of the film En man som heter Ove (a man called Ove), seen by over 1.5 million Swedes in the cinema. MAGAZINE’S EBITA was SEK 250 million (310). The lower results were due in large part to changes in Danish value-added tax rules. Copenhagen-based Bonnier Publications’ home segment titles, Bo Bedre (better living) and Vi i Villa (living in houses), had mark-edly improved results, and the entire business area increased digital reveneus as well as revenues from adjacent services. Accelerated growth from these


revenue sources will continue to be in focus. Lars Dahmén became the new CEO for Bonnier Tidskrifter in Sweden in August, and took over as head of the business area in early 2016. In 2015, Eric Zinczenko took over as CEO for Bonnier Corporation in the U.S. and at the start of 2016, Jesper Buchvald took over as CEO for Bonnier Publications. NEWS DELIVERED VERY STRONG results for 2015, despite continued decreases in print ad sales and falling circulations. The EBITA increased to SEK 363 million (332) at the same time the business area increased investments in digital development by SEK 125 million over the previous year, as well as made continued investments in new competences. Swedish news daily Dagens Nyheter had record reader income for the sixth year in a row. Business daily Dagens industri successfully grew its event business and increased total income. The digital transformation of afternoon daily Expressen’s ad business continued in full force and resulted in an increase for total ad sales. HD-Sydsvenskan’s efforts in integrating the operations of the two newspapers in southern Sweden resulted in profits that exceeded the prognosis of the acquisition budget. After many years of negative results, printer group Bold made a turnaround, showing a profit with new income from external customers and increased capacity utilization. OTHER INCLUDES COMMON group activities and functions. The effect on EBITA from these activities was SEK -488 million (-508). GEARING RATIO (net debt in relation to shareholder’s equity) was 1.05 (0.82). The group’s available liquidity, in the form of liquid assets and undrawn credit reserves, continues to be very good and as of the end of December 2015, amounted to SEK 6.3 billion.

* C MORE WAS NOT PART OF BONNIER AB IN 2014.** THE AGREEMENT IS SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY DANISH COMPETITION AUTHORITIES,A PROCESS EXPECTED TO TAKE APPROXIMATELY SIX MONTHS.

NET SALES BY BUSINESS AREA. [SEK M]

Books Broadcasting Business to Business Growth Media Magazines News Other

Bonnier AB total EBITA BY BUSINESS AREA. [SEK M]


Bonnier AB total

EBITA MARGIN BY BUSINESS AREA.


Bonnier AB total EARNINGS. [SEK M]

Sum Net sales EBITA EBIT Net financial items Earnings before tax Loss/Profit for the year OPERATING CAPITAL. [SEK M]

Tangible & intangible fixed assets (excl. Goodwill) Working Capital Taxes Other financial assets Goodwill

Operating capital

Net Debt Shareholder's equity and minority interest

Financing of operating capital

2015

6,969 7,738 1,319 2,159 4,045 4,675 –999

25,906

2015

422 417 171

–127 250 363

–488

1,008

2015

6.1 % 5.4 %

13.0 % –5.9 % 6.2 % 7.8 %

n/a

3.9%

2015

25,906 1,008

939 –230 709 43

2015

3,730 –1,317 1,687

579 8,245

12,924

6,613 6,311

12,924

497 1290 177 197 101 –30 –28

2,204

–15 –172

39 62

–60 31 20

–95

–0.6 % –3,7 % 1.5 %

–3.7 % –1.6 % 0.7 %

n/a

–0.8 %

2,204 –95 47

135 182

–267

2014

6,472 6,448 1,142 1,962 3,944 4,705 –971

23,702

2014

437 589 132

–189 310 332

–508

1,103

2014

6.7 % 9.1 %

11.5 % –9.6 % 7.8 % 7.1 %

n/a

4.7 %

2014

23,702 1,103

892 –365 527 310

2014

3,043 –1,400 2,154

389 7,816

12,002

5,395 6,607

12,002

in %

7.7 % 20.0 % 15.5 % 10.0 % 2.6 %

–0.6 % n/a

9.3 %

in %

–3.4 % –29.2 % 29.5 % 32.8 %

–19.4 % 9.3 %

n/a

–8.6 %

in %

–9.0 % –40.7 % 13.0 %

–38.5 % –20.5 %

9.9 % n/a

–17.0 %

in %

9.3 % –8.6 % 5.3 %

–37.0 % 34.5 %

–86.1 %


Some 130 years ago, book publisher Albert Bonniers Förlag supported August Strindberg's fight for free speech in his books. Free speech remains a core value for Bonnier.

BUST OF STRINDBERG AT BONNIERFÖRLAGEN'S OFFICES.

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31

MEDIA IS OUR

BUSINESSFrom Bonnier’s beginnings

in a bookstall in 1804, storytelling and journalism

remain the heart of the business as we transform into a leading

digital media group.


e have several goals as Bonnier’s owners. One is that our business should be financially success-ful. But that goal is balanced with the

idea of what our companies should be.Bonnier’s business has roots in book

publishing and journalism. This has meant our companies play a role in the development of literature, entertain-ment, information and public opinion in those countries where we have opera-tions. From our beginning, entrepreneur-ship and building businesses have been as much a natural part of Bonnier as our literary and journalistic expertise. OUR VISION FOR THE FUTURE continues to focus on both commercial success and content produced by our companies. We want Bonnier to continue to develop over the long term as a profitable family- owned company, while our businesses should include leading journalism companies that contribute to an open, inclusive society with free speech. While our colleagues in the industry are abandoning journalism and storytelling for other online businesses, we have chosen to continue as a media company. WE BELIEVE THAT ENGAGEMENT by the owners, and the values that the company is based on, continue to be important for the company, and that the family’s and company’s histories are closely tied.

We are now in a period of intense upheaval. We have a goal to quickly in-crease the share of our revenues coming from digital sources, from today’s 20 percent to 50 percent by the year 2020. Can we combine fast change with a long-term perspective? Yes, we are convinced we can. As owners, we want to contribute

by never choosing short-term profits over long-term strength.

DURING 2015, we made big investments in the future, not least in technology development. To ensure Bonnier’s future, we are even considering acquisitions and divestments that complement the trans-formation we are undertaking within our companies. The first week of 2016, the sale of Denmark’s leading business daily, Børsen, was announced. The paper is a successful business, which has contin-ually delivered improved earnings and is the unchallenged No. 1 Danish business daily. Despite this, we decided that selling the paper would strengthen Bonnier, by creating resources for growth in more digital-only businesses.

DURING THE UPCOMING YEARS, Bonnier will invest in and grow in areas where we haven’t been present before. Not least within knowledge-intensive services. During 2015, we acquired majority shares in the Danish e-learning company Clio Online, a success story that delivers digital learning materials to 90 percent of Denmark’s grade schools. Our hope is that Clio can quickly expand in Sweden and as it does, change Swedish schools, where digitalization has so far had surprisingly little impact.

IF THIS SUCCEEDS, it would be a fantastic expression of what we want Bonnier to be: a mix where entrepreneurship combines with a desire to contribute to an inclusive and knowledge-based society, where every individual has the opportunity to take part and make her or his voice heard. Carl-Johan Bonnier Chairman of the Board, Bonnier AB

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OUR CORE VALUES

What we want.


FROM THE OWNERS.

“As owners, we never choose short-term profits over long-term

strength.”

Family owners in New York City in 2012.

Our core values.

PASSION FOR MEDIA.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

POWER OF THE INDIVIDUAL.

COMMITMENT OF A FAMILY COMPANY.


OUR CORE VALUES

Berättarministeriet – the ministry of storytelling – is a nonprofit organization that provides writing workshops for children and young adults in disadvantaged areas of Sweden. As the nonprofit describes its reason for being, “all children have dreams, ideas, thoughts, opinions and experiences. Being able to express these is vital. An environment that shows engagement with children’s thoughts strengthens their abilities."

Says Dilsa Demirbag-Sten, author, journalist and head of Berättarministeriet's workshops: “Bonnier förlagen has supported Berättarministeriet from idea to an organiza-tion with three writing workshop spaces with more than 17,000 children participating in the various programs. Our cooperation with Bonnierförlagen and now Bonnier’s Family Foundation will make it possible for even more kids to conquer the written word.”

Nurturing Kids’ Passion for WritingA place to write with adults who care. Sweden’s Berättarministeriet aims to give disadvantaged kids a leg up.

Dilsa Demirbag-Sten

Living the Values. Activities throughout Bonnier reflect the company’s core values, including a wide range of social responsibility initiatives.

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A Unique Owner:

In April 2016, Jeanette Bonnier died. For many years, she was one of Bonnier’s most dedicated, active and brilliantly intense shareholders, and board member for Bonnier AB, Expressen, Dagens Nyheter and SF, among others. She was also founder of Bonniers Konsthall and one of Sweden’s most important patrons for young artists. Her legacy will live on through a foundation focused primarily on supporting artistic creativity, something central to Jeanette Bonnier’s life and achievements.

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Welcome With BooksAt Carlsen Verlag in Germany, a handful of employees wondered how they could support refugees arriving into the country using their expertise as a chil-dren’s book publisher. The result was a special edition of one of Carlsen’s most beloved series, Pixi, published in Arabic, Serbian, Kurdish and Farsi, with 50,000 copies going to 50 refugee camps.

“We really wanted to demonstrate a gesture of comfort to people who had left every thing behind,” says Franzicka Dettke, part of the group behind the initiative.

Jeanette Bonnier 1934-2016


Recognizing and honoring the best in journalism, Bonnier’s independent journalism awards in Sweden, Finland and Estonia are among the most prestigious

in each country. The awards go to the heart of Bonnier’s core values and the importance of protecting free speech and supporting a pluralistic media landscape.

Front Page for FreedomExpressen Editor-in-Chief Thomas Mattsson on the newspaper’s unique front page supporting Charlie Hebdo following the 2015 attacks in Paris:

"It was a terrible act, not just against Charlie Hebdo’s journalists and their families, but also against everyone – police as well as journalists – who cherishes freedom of the press. For Expressen, which sees the protection of freedom of expression as part of its duty, showing our support and solidarity with Charlie Hebdo was a given.

"The cartoons in this case were clearly of interest to the general public and particularly news worthy, and Expressen chose to publish them and further more – for the first time – the entire front page of the newspaper was hand-drawn in honor of Charlie Hebdo's cartoon-ists. The caricature featured on our first page was drawn by Philippe Honoré, who previously had worked for Expressen."

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Johanna Bäckström Lerneby, Storyteller of the Year

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Thomas Mattsson, Editor-in- Chief at Expressen

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Grand Prizes in Journalism

Public Debate Takes Center Stage

Jointly coordinated by broadcasting network MTV and the city of Pori, Suomi Areena is Finland’s biggest public forum for social discussion. Government, private and special interest groups meet to discuss the biggest topics of the day with panels and talks, held in conjunction with the Pori Jazz Festival.

MTV not only is a driving force behind the event but also broadcasts 20 hours of programming, and it provides streaming of more than 200 hours of discussion on its on- demand service, Katsomo. Suomi Areena TV has grown over the years, and in 2015 it had record numbers with 1.7 million viewers, 160 individual events, 800 speakers and almost 60,000 visitors to Pori.

SuomiAreena provides a public forum for decision makers to discuss key issues of the day.

In October 2015, TV4 together with Nyhets- bolaget and Folkspel, started up the aid campaign #geborttillsport (give for sports), where the channel traveled around Sweden and broadcast live from its morning news program Nyhetsmorgon, on-demand service TV4 Play and Expressen’s web TV program Vardagspuls.

The purpose of the campaign was to collect unused sports equipment and get it to chil-dren who could really use it. In the five cities the channel visited, 9.5 tons of equipment was donated. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mats Sundin, Annika Sörenstam and a range of Sweden’s other biggest sports stars also contributed, both with equipment as well as selling their expertise in the form of lessons and talks that were sold to the highest bidders, bringing in SEK 500,000 during the week. The money went straight to Save the Children’s “High Five” sports for everyone initiative.

Gear for GoodTV4’s #geborttillsport collects sport equipment for kids who need it.


BOARD. The Bonnier Board of Directors.

BACK ROW

1 Peder Bonnier Member of the Board. 2 Christian Caspar Member of the Board. 3 Sara Stenman Member of the Board, Employee Representative. 4 Arne Karlsson Member of the Board.

5 Kerstin Mogull Member of the Board. 6 Carl-Johan Bonnier Chairman of the Board.

7 Pontus Bonnier Vice Chairman of the Board. FRONT ROW

8 Maria Curman Member of the Board. 9 Martin Harris Member of the Board. Employee Representative.10 Mikael Falk Member of the Board. Employee Representative.

GROUP. Bonnier Executive Management.

BACK ROW

1 Jacob Dalborg Head of Business Area, Books. 2 Lars Dahmén Head of Business Area, Magazines. 3 Gunilla Herlitz Head of Business Area, News. 4 Tomas Franzén CEO. 5 Göran Öhrn CFO.

6 Anders Eriksson Head of Business Area, Business to Business. 7 Casten Almqvist Head of Business Area, Broadcasting.

MIDDLE ROW

8 Niklas Hydén Head of Group Program Management and Chief Procurement Officer. 9 Fredrik Linton Head of Corporate Development and M&A. 10 Ulrika Saxon Head of Business Area, Growth Media.

FRONT ROW 11 Anki Ahrnell Chief Digital & Technical Officer. 12 Jan Lund Director of Strategy and Business Development.


12 Great Moments in the History of Bonnier

Want to know more about Bonnier's history? Visit www.bonnier.com/history

1 Beginning With Books1804 | Gerhard Bonnier publishes an anthology of crime stories called Underfulde og sandfærdige kriminal historier (Strange and true criminal histories) in Copenhagen. The name on the cover of the book was that of German writer Henrik Spiesz, but Spiesz claimed he didn’t actually write it. The true identity of Bonnier’s first published author remains a mystery to this day.

9 On Into E-Commerce2005 | Bonnier acquires online Nordic book retailer Adlibris, which has since branched out into other segments.

10 Big in the U.S. 2005 | Bonnier becomes part-owner of magazine publisher World Publi-cations and the following year, acquires Time4Media and The Parenting Group. Together they become Bonnier Corporation.

11 Kid’s Play 2011 | Children's app maker Toca Boca launches and within four years, has 100 million downloads.

12 Journalism for the Age of Social Media 2015 | Kit.se launches in Sweden, a new concept for high-quality journalism online that uses reader data in new ways.

2 New Way to Get News1888 | Bonnier buys shares in Dagens Nyheter, Sweden’s first morning newspaper, one of the 19th century’s most popular media innovations. (Full ownership came in 1924.)

3 Major Magazine Maker 1929 | Bonnier purchases Sweden's largest magazine publishing company, Åhlén & Åkerlund. Albert Bonnier Jr., is just 22 years old and living in New York when he receives news of the purchase through a telegram from his father, Tor Bonnier. The text of the telegram reads: "Today we bought Åhlén & Åkerlund. Vogue la galère [roughly, ‘Make it or break it’].”

4 Voice Against Fascism1944 | Bonnier leaders found evening newspaper Expressen in an effort to counteract Nazi propaganda. The paper gains a reputation for being the “little man’s” voice against those in power, and quickly became the largest daily in the Nordic area—a position it maintains for more than 50 years.

6 Business Must-Read 1976 | Bonnier starts Swedish business daily Dagens industri, forming the basis of a successful group of financial news papers in countries throughout Northern and Eastern Europe.

7 Founding a Free Press 1989 | Bonnier creates business daily Äripäev to assist the democratic movement in Estonia. B ecause freedom of speech was still a rare commodity in the Baltics at that time, Äripäev was printed in Stockholm and shipped to Estonia for secret, free distribution.

5 Big Screen Buy1973 | Bonnier acquires major Swedish film company Svensk Filmindustri, SF. The company was best known for producing most of the films by Ingmar Bergman and movie adaptations of Astrid Lindgren’s children’s books Pippi Longstocking and Karlsson on the Roof.

8 Broadcasting in the Picture I997 | BBonnier becomes co-owner of TV4, Sweden's largest commercial TV channel, eventually acquiring 98.9 percent. In 2005, it became co-owner of MTV, Finland's No. 1 commercial TV station.


The Bonnier Annual Review 2015

Editor and Project ManagerBert MenningaPhoto Editor and Assistant Project ManagerElin ErikssonDirector of CommunicationsDavid Salsbäck

Production Spoon

Contributing writers, photographers and illustratorsLinda Alfvegren, Magnus Bergström, Hussein El-Alawi, Steen Evald, Karl Gabor, Johan Jarnestad, Peter Jönsson, Kai Mueller, Karin Strand, Rune T and Elisabeth UbbeTranslationTranslation ScandinaviaPrinterTrydells

Bonnier AB113 90 StockholmSwedentel. +46 8 736 40 [email protected]

www.bonnier.com

With Customers in Mind. - Bonnier

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