The outcome of Alma Media Corporation's impairment tests

Alma Media Corporation                       Stock Exchange Release              22 December 2014, 9:00 a.m. (EET)

THE OUTCOME OF ALMA MEDIA CORPORATION'S IMPAIRMENT TESTS

Alma Media has completed its regular annual impairment tests covering the entire Group. As a result, in its consolidated financial statements, the company will write down its goodwill and intangible assets by a total of EUR 2.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2014. The write-down to be made to goodwill and intangible assets is mainly related to the northern regional newspapers and the customer magazine business.

The write-down will be reported in Alma Media's fourth quarter financial result as a non-recurring item. Alma Media will publish its financial review of the fourth quarter and of the full-year 2014 on 13 February 2015. The company maintains its outlook given in the interim report published on 24 October 2014, according to which it expects the revenue in 2014 to remain at the same level as in 2013. The operating profit excluding non-recurring items for 2014 is expected to be lower than in 2013.

At the same time, Alma Media writes down the book value of the shares of its subsidiaries by EUR 44.7 million in the separate financial statements of the parent company, Alma Media Corporation. In the financial statements of 31 December 2013, the shareholders' equity of the parent company, Alma Media Corporation, was EUR 393.9 million and distributable funds EUR 23.9 million. By the decision of the Annual General Meeting held on 20 March 2014, EUR 200 million was transferred from the restricted equity of the parent company, i.e. the share premium reserve, to the reserve for invested non-restricted equity. This means that Alma Media will have distributable funds in its 2014 financial statements even after the write-down to be recorded for the parent company.

ALMA MEDIA CORPORATION

Rauno Heinonen
Vice President, Corporate Communications and IR

For more information, please contact:
Juha Nuutinen, CFO, Alma Media Corporation, tel. +358 50 438 0984

Distribution: NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
main media

Alma Media in brief

Alma Media is a media company focusing on digital services and publishing. In addition to news services, the company's products provide useful information related to lifestyle, career and business development. The services of Alma Media have expanded from Finland to the Nordic countries, the Baltics and Central Europe. The company employs 1,965 professionals (excluding deliverers), of whom approximately one third work outside Finland. Alma Media's revenue in 2013 totalled approximately MEUR 300. Alma Media's share is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. Read more at www.almamedia.com.