Shaping the Future of Entertainment by Connecting Consumers with the Content That They Love in As Many Ways As Possible
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Modern Times Group MTG AB Annual Report 2017 Annual Report 2017 Shaping the Future of Entertainment Content 1 2017 in Brief 2 CEO statement 4 Who we are, what we do 9 Segmental performance 10 Nordic Entertainment 12 International Entertainment 14 MTG Studios 16 MTGx 18 Director’s Report 19 Business operations 20 Business review 22 Business segments 23 Other Group information 24 The MTG share 26 Financial policies and risk management 28 Governance and responsibilities 33 Internal control report 34 Board of Directors 36 Group management 39 Financial statements 50 Notes to the accounts 84 Audit report 88 Five year summary 90 Alternative performance measures 92 Financial calendar Corporate Responsibility and sustainability priorities are covered in MTG’s Annual Corporate Responsibility Report, published at www.mtg.com MTG is a leading international digital entertainment group and we are shaping the future of entertainment by connecting consumers with the content that they love in as many ways as possible. Our brands span TV, radio and next generation entertainment experiences in esports, digital video content and online gaming. Born in Sweden, our shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. Annual Report 2017 Sales, SEKm 17,537 +8% organic growth Operating income before IAC, SEKm 1,264 1 +19% growth Share price 31 Dec 2017, SEK 344.80 +33% total shareholder return 2017 was the best year yet. The Group’s sales, profits and margins all improved. It was also a year of continued digital transformation, with sig- nificant investments into our streaming services and esport businesses as well as active portfolio management that included acquisitions of two online gaming companies, InnoGames and Kongregate, and divestments of our broadcasting businesses in the Czech Republic and Baltics. Annual Report 2017 Annual Report 2017 CEO statement Shaping the Future of Entertainment 2017 was a fantastic year for MTG – the best ever! 8% organic sales growth, 19% profit growth and 33% total shareholder returns tell their own story. that 94% of our people are willing to make an extra effort to make MTG more suc- cessful; 88% are proud of working at MTG; and 84% say that it is fun to go to work. This is so important in a world where new talent is seeking an experi- ence and a purpose, not just a job and a salary. And rich and varied experiences are exactly what we offer our team mem- bers. Our shared purpose is to create responsible and sustainable entertain- ment, which is why we have clear strate- gic priorities based on media responsibil- 2 ity, social impact, business ethics, and environmental care. It is also why we launched a new code of conduct in 2017, which sets out who we are, what we stand for and how we do business. 30 years ago at the end of 1987, we launched the first commercial TV channel in Scandinavia and now our Viaplay, Viafree and I Like Radio streaming apps are avail- able to everyone on all devices, and Splay is helping next generation creators and advertisers succeed in social media. This adds up to millions of hours of entertain- ment content. We have the broadest live sports line-up of any broadcaster any- where; we have more movies and TV series than ever before; we have a pipe- line of more than 50 of our own original series; and we have launched our own We have lived and breathed our values to ESL and Viareal, to InnoGames and worldwide boxing tournament. And our – BOLD, SMART, FUN and ENGAGING – Kongregate! We have celebrated 30 years esports companies not only arranged over the past year and we have more rele- of TV3 with new streaming services, award more events than ever before around the vant, popular and available products winning original productions, the biggest world, but just hosted a demonstration today than ever before. We have brought live sports line-up in our history, esports tournament ahead of the Winter Olym- our customers closer to the entertain- viewing records, new online games, and pics in PyeongChang. That is quite a ment experiences that they love, and we cutting edge digital entertainment experi- transformation and we are just getting have continued to pioneer new areas at ences and social media campaigns. started… the very forefront of our industry – from And all of this has been made possible Transformation has always been part of Viasat to Viaplay, to Splay and Viafree, by our teams. Our annual survey showed our DNA and this is precisely because the Annual Report 2017 Annual Report 2017 CEO statement The success seen in 2017 is based on a clear strategy, modern “values, an empowered culture, focused exe- cution, and a firm commitment to the world around us is constantly changing. Nordic region is a key differentiator and fact that responsible We always aim to invest our time, energy competitive advantage. and money in those areas where our cus- The MTGx businesses generated 37% entertainment is tomers spend most of theirs. Online video organic sales growth and were EBITDA better entertainment. consumption rises every year and is soon profitable for the full year basis for the set to be 50% mobile, as well as 50% first time. If we had consolidated on-demand. This is why we are investing InnoGames and Kongregate since the so much in our streaming services and in beginning of the year, MTGx would have original content, including our most reported sales of SEK 3.7 billion and an recent move into the world of virtual real- EBITDA profit of SEK 180 million! ity with Viareal. MTG’s performance in 2017 shows just The formation of MTGx in 2013 marked how well positioned we are in the highly the start of our strategic transformation competitive and rapidly evolving content path from a traditional national broad- and communications landscape. We have 3 caster into a global digital entertainer. the best and broadest content offerings This then accelerated in 2014 with the and streaming services in the Nordics, launch of the new MTG brand and values, and we have closer and deeper partner- which reflected a number of similar stra- and led to the acquisition of the esports ships with content creators, owners and tegic priorities. and digital video content businesses in distributors than ever before. We also Thank you for taking the time to read 2015, and the acquisition of our online offer next generation entertainment ser- this and for your support, which has ena- gaming businesses in 2016 and 2017. In vices on a global basis through our MTGx bled all that we have achieved together, order to finance this expansion, we have businesses. So the model is working and as well as our exciting plans for the year sold a number of territorial businesses our strategic transformation continues, ahead. I have worked at MTG for over 24 along the way, including the Czech and which is why we are now taking the next years now, and I am more excited than Baltic operations in 2017, and we have step by initiating work in order to be in a ever today because we have simply never announced the sale of Trace and our position to propose a split of MTG into had so many opportunities in front of us! Bulgarian operations in 2018. In each two listed companies. The plan is to cre- case, we have found new owners for ate a Nordic entertainment champion by #wearemtg these companies that will invest in their combining Nordic Entertainment, MTG futures. Since 2015, we have spent SEK Studios and Splay Networks, and distrib- 3.7 billion on buying companies and sold uting shares in this business to MTG Jørgen Madsen Lindemann businesses for SEK 6.0 billion. As a result shareholders later this year. The remain- President & Chief Executive Officer of this transformation, our digital sales ing MTG would then be a pure digital grew by 68% and accounted for 31% of entertainment play focused on esports total group revenues in 2017. and online gaming. This will create even The Nordic Entertainment business greater focus and flexibility and enable performed very well in 2017, delivering 7% further growth, higher profits and organic sales growth and 15% profit increased shareholder value. This pro- growth in a highly competitive industry. posal is of course conditional on the ter- Our ability to develop, utilise, promote mination of the earlier proposed combi- and monetise programming content nation of our Nordic Entertainment and through so many windows across the Studios businesses with TDC Group, Annual Report 2017 Annual Report 2017 Who we are, what we do Who we are, what we do A stronger and more Our ongoing transformation from a tra- MTG’s operations comprise four seg- relevant MTG ditional broadcaster into a leading global ments that generated total net sales of digital entertainer is a natural evolution as SEK 17.5 billion in 2017, corresponding to MTG was born 30 years ago as the opera- consumer behaviours change. Today, an increase of 17% for continuing opera- tor of Scandinavia’s first commercial TV MTG operates leading linear and tions. Digital revenues increased by 68% channel, TV3. Since then, MTG has con- streamed TV, radio and content produc- compared with last year, and now repre- tinually challenged ourselves to make tion businesses, while offering next gen- sent 31% (22%) of total revenues. Operat- extraordinary things possible. This eration entertainment experiences in ing income before IAC increased by 19% approach has become a key competitive esports, online gaming and digital video to SEK 1,264 million, corresponding to an advantage. content around the world. operating margin of 7%.