Schibsted media group posts high losses

TALLINN (BNS) - The Norwegian media group Schibsted lost 28 million Norwegian kroner ($3 million) in its operations in Estonia from January to September this year.

In the first half of 2000, Schibsted posted 18 million kroner in losses on a turnover of 99 million kroner in Estonia.

Schibsted owns 92.5 percent of Eesti Meedia (Estonian Media), which runs the daily Postimees and other publications, and a majority stake in the Kanal 2 (Channel 2) television station.

Overall, the company earned 602 million kroner in net profits on a turnover of 6 billion kroner during the period, the group informed the Oslo Stock Exchange. Board chairman of Eesti Meedia Mart Kadastik said the group's loss in the third quarter this year was 5.4 million kroons ($295,000).

Schibsted reported to the Oslo Stock Exchange Nov. 9 that the losses on Eesti Meedia was 3 million Norwegian kroner or nearly 5.9 million Estonian kroons at the present exchange rate.

Eesti Meedia's nine-month sales totaled 258 million kroons, and the group's loss was 16 million kroons as of the end of September. Of the total loss, depreciation of the company value accounted for 11 million kroons.

In Kadastik's opinion, the group's results were significantly better than planned in the budget and he added that the loss was much smaller than during the same period last year.

After breaking even in the second quarter this year, Eesti Meedia's loss in the third quarter was mainly caused by one-time expenses as a result of the merger of the dailies Sonumileht and Ohtuleht and Ajakirjade Kirjastus (Magazines Publishing House) and Ajakirjade Grupp (Magazines Group).