Change continues

During the past decade, digitalization and structural change in the business environment –combined with low economic growth – has challenged our business to constant transformation. Thanks to our ability to change, we have been able to meet our customers’ needs efficiently.

In transforming the business, our values – renewal, respect, responsibility – and responsibility program, have guided us to make ethically-sustainable decisions and strengthened us in this digital turbulence. In 2012, we created the group’s code of business ethics that will guide our employees in their everyday work. The code will be communicated in the spring 2013.

Strong cash is the king

In 2012, the average demand for communication services hardly grew, and most of the growth occurred in digital communications. The decline in demand for traditional printed matters was accelerated by the general economic downturn and was greater than ever. In these circumstances the group recorded a remarkable 7 percent growth.

Since in 2012 one third of the group’s business was still traditional print, the decline in this area had a strong effect on us. In order to safeguard profitable growth, we carried out considerable structural changes, generating one-time expenses that impaired the group’s result. One-time expenses totaled EUR 7.9 million, of which EUR 3.6 million was items without cash impact. Despite all the rationalizations and acquisitions the cash result was good: EUR 6.7 million.

Thanks to the measures carried out in 2012 and our good cash and gross margin, we will be able to develop our business operations efficiently and offer our customers a more versatile selection of communication services and products.

In our strategic focus areas of multichannel and digital communications, the business grew and profitability increased as expected. In 2012, these areas made up two thirds of the group’s net revenue, while only six years earlier they represented less than 10 percent of the net revenue. In 2013, we aim at 20 percent sales growth in these strategic focus areas.

Of the group companies, Klikki and Citat Oy, which provide almost exclusively digital services, grew relatively most in 2012. Also, in other group companies, the digital services were the most prosperous. We expect them to continue growing rapidly in 2013.

Active and agile development of the company portfolio plays a key role in the group strategy. In 2012, we acquired Klikki, the leading digital marketing company in the Nordic

region and Educode, specializing in teachers’ professional training in Finland. We also established operations in Norway and Denmark.

We focus on people

We want to serve our customers by providing them with innovative communication solutions that help them to succeed in an ever faster-changing world. To do this we have to make sure we have the right competences and that employees like to work with us.

In 2012, we created a new HR strategy that focuses strongly on competence development and leadership. In 2013, we will start business-specific competence development and group-level leadership programs.

We aim to be one of the most attractive places to work in the Nordic region’s communication industry. Everybody at Edita Group should have a right to personal and professional development and good leadership. These are also our key CR aspects that are regarded as being of high importance for our stakeholders, especially for our employees and customers.

Pioneer in environmental responsibility

We regard ourselves as being responsible for promoting environmental awareness among our staff and customers. We have advised them with regard to the environmental impact of different communication solutions. Environmental impact assessments can be included in our printed products in which the information also reaches the customers of our customers.

Since the early 1990s, we have worked systematically to reduce the environmental impact of our operations. The main effect of this has been seen in our printing houses, which are regarded as industry pioneers in environmental responsibility in the Nordic region. Most of the group companies’ offices are Green Office certified. In 2012, Citat AB, Citat Oy and JG Communication AB were granted the WWF’s Green Office certificate. The new companies acquired in 2012 are working towards their certification.

Our goal is that by 2015 our staff and customers will consider us to be forerunners in corporate responsibility in the Nordic region’s communication industry. In the staff survey carried out in the beginning of this year 2013, even 90 percent of the respondents considered it important for Edita to be a role model in corporate responsibility (2012: 74%).

Timo Lepistö
CEO, Edita Plc