Viaplay Narrows Third-Quarter Loss to 30 Million Kronor as Sales Rise
Key Facts
Viaplay Group reported third-quarter results on October 22, posting a net loss of 30 million Swedish kronor, compared with a loss of 142 million in the same period last year. Sales rose to 5,251 million kronor from 4,018 million, while operating income increased to 122 million from 25 million. Adjusted EBITDA, excluding items affecting comparability, was 313 million kronor, compared with a negative 13 million a year earlier. The figures put operational improvement alongside a continued net loss, while the picture differs when looking at the first nine months of the year. In that period, sales rose to 16,043 million kronor from 12,705 million, but the net loss widened to 380 million from 316 million.
The group's free cash flow improved to a negative 32 million kronor in the quarter, compared with a negative 1,193 million a year earlier. Free cash flow from core operations was positive 58 million kronor, compared with a negative 1,154 million in the third quarter of 2025. The gap between the two figures shows that the group's cash flow remained negative even as cash flow from core operations turned positive. The chief executive said the group was moving toward its long-term targets, which include restoring cash generation and reducing borrowing levels. He added that the focus was returning to the Nordic markets as part of the transformation.
The company said organic sales at its core operations were flat year over year in the quarter, and it expects them to remain flat on the same basis in 2026. Streaming subscription sales rose 4% organically, while total subscription sales increased 1% and accounted for more than 80% of group sales. By contrast, advertising sales fell 1% organically. Growth in digital advertising almost offset the decline in linear advertising, according to the company. The divergence highlights the weight of subscriptions in sales, alongside continuing differences in the performance of advertising channels.
The company attributed part of the increase in operating costs at its core operations to investment in coverage of the men's FIFA World Cup and accumulated inflation in old, multi-year content contracts. It said savings from the Allente Group integration, broader savings in content and production, and favorable currency effects almost offset these factors. The company did not describe debt as an ongoing challenge; its chief executive said reducing borrowing was a long-term target. It reported that net debt was broadly stable compared with the second quarter. Items affecting comparability in the quarter mainly included restructuring and integration costs and currency translation effects.
In July, Viaplay announced the sale of its Dutch operations for 142 million euros, saying the deal was intended to focus the group on the Nordic countries and reduce net debt. Financial net debt stood at 5.12 billion kronor at the end of the second quarter, before accounting for the sale proceeds. The group said in its third-quarter report that it had received regulatory approvals for the sale of the Dutch operations, and that completion was expected in the weeks following the results announcement. This places the deal among steps to refocus the group's business, with the announced proceeds directed toward reducing debt. The company's targets for Allente integration savings and its cash cost were another focus of its plans for the coming period.
The group maintained its expectation that the Allente integration would deliver annual cash savings of between 300 and 400 million kronor when fully operational in 2027. It also expected the cash cost of integration to be between 270 and 330 million kronor. The company kept its estimate for 2026 core operating earnings, excluding items affecting comparability, within a range of 1 billion to 1.4 billion kronor. It left unchanged its ambition to reach a double-digit EBITDA margin in 2028. Viaplay is scheduled to publish its fourth-quarter 2026 report on February 18, 2027.