\n\tSTOCKHOLM: Group sales were up 13 percent at a constant rate for Modern Times Group (MTG) in the first quarter of 2014, following growth in the Nordic and emerging market pay-TV operations and the Scandinavian free-TV business.<\/p>\n
\n\tOperating costs were up 17 percent at a constant rate, and 9 percent on an organic basis, following ongoing investments and the consolidation of acquired businesses. The organic investments included the coverage in Sweden and the Baltics of the Sochi Winter Olympics, the launch of a free-TV channel in Tanzania, the launch of TV6 in Norway and the continued expansion of MTGx. Group operating income, when excluding associated company income, therefore was down, to SEK 118 million ($17.9 million) with a corresponding operating margin of 3.3 percent. The group reported income before tax of SEK 260 million ($39.5 million).<\/p>\n
\n\tFree-TV Scandinavia had 4 percent sales growth, reflecting the combination of higher sales in Sweden and lower sales in Norway and Denmark. The Swedish and Norwegian TV advertising markets are both estimated to have grown, while the Danish TV advertising market is estimated to have declined. Pay-TV Nordic business had 7 percent sales growth, with an increase in Viaplay subscribers. Operating costs also increased, primarily due to the investments in the exclusive coverage in Sweden of the Sochi Winter Olympics, as well as the continued expansion of Viaplay.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn the Free-TV Emerging Markets segment, sales were down in the Czech Republic following the strong growth levels in 2013 and the increased competition in 2014. This was largely offset by sales growth in each of the Baltic markets, Bulgaria and Ghana. In Pay-TV Emerging Markets, there was 10 percent sales growth.<\/p>\n
\n\t"In terms of outlook, we continue to expect a higher Nordic pay-TV operating margin in 2014 given the positive sales and profit momentum that we are seeing," said Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, the president and CEO of MTG. "At the same time, we are carefully monitoring the effects of the geopolitical situation in Ukraine but we remain committed to our investments and operations in the region given the substantial market opportunity and our well-established business positions. Based on current exchange rates, we would not expect an increase in pay-TV emerging markets profits in 2014 at this stage."<\/p>\n
\n\t <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
STOCKHOLM: Group sales were up 13 percent at a constant rate for Modern Times Group (MTG) in the first quarter of 2014, following growth in the Nordic and emerging market pay-TV operations and the Scandinavian free-TV business. Operating costs were up 17 percent at a constant rate, and 9 percent on an organic basis, following …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","","category-top-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n