Great Danes

Danish Bonnier Publications, the largest magazine publisher in the Nordic region, had sales of 2.022 billion DKK (approx. $340 million USD) in 2008, turning a profit (EBIT) of 239 million DKK (more than $40 million USD).   Bonnier Publications, headquartered in Copenhagen, is the third most profitable company in the Bonnier Group.

"We are absolutely satisfied with the result when you consider how the economy changed dramatically in 2008," says Michael Cordsen, CEO Bonnier Publications. "That we reached a margin of 12 percent is fantastic."

These are the third best results in company history, just edged out by 2007's healthy numbers. 2007 sales were 2078 million DKK, with a profit of 302 million DKK.

"That we have been able to maintain the high level of performance is mainly due to our most important source of income, the sale of magazines. In 2008, we sold more than ever, particularly because of the acquisition of a company in Russia and three new magazine launches," says Michael Cordsen.

The decline in earnings is largely due to lower advertising sales. But the year's profits were boosted by the launch of four new magazine titles.

"We launched Active Training in Denmark at the beginning of the year, and autumn came Sundsvalls Now. In Finland we launched Divaani, a local version of Bo Bedre, and in the autumn, we published the book series Vetenskapens Universum (The Universe of Science) in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The series consists of 12 volumes, and is probably the Nordic region's most ambitious book project right now," says Jens Henneberg, Executive Vice President and Editorial Director.

Bonnier Publications also broke ground with Illustrerad Vetenskap Världens Historia (Science Illustrated World History). A strong combination of a good concept and sound editing made it a hit.  "It shows that the magazine medium still attracts readers and that there is room for innovation. From the beginning of 2007 to 2008, we increased circulation from nearly 100,000 copies to over 125,000 in the Nordic countries," says Henneberg.

In the middle of the year, Bonnier Publications acquired Vkusnaja Zhizn, a Russian magazine publisher.

"It is one of our key strategic investments, and despite the current slowdown in the Russian economy, Russia is still the best market for journals over a slightly longer period of time. We have launch plans for 2009, and we are examining more buying opportunities," says Michael Cordsen.