Digital subscription results of AS Ekspress Grupp in the second quarter of 2023

The total number of digital subscriptions of AS Ekspress Grupp increased by 24% in the Baltic States year-over-year (2^nd quarter: 9%, 1^st six months: 20%) and totalled 175,379 at the end of June.

• The number of digital subscriptions of AS Delfi Meedia that publishes the news portal Delfi, newspapers Eesti Päevaleht, Maaleht, Eesti Ekspress and several popular magazines increased by 15% year-over-year (2^nd quarter: 5%, 1^st six months: 13%) and totalled 96,855.
• The number of digital subscriptions of AS Õhtuleht, 50% of which is owned by Ekspress Grupp, increased by 10% year-over-year (2^nd quarter: 2%, 1^st six months: 9%) and totalled 24,477.
• The number of digital subscriptions of Geenius Meedia OÜ increased by 40% year-over-year (2^nd quarter: 4%, 1^st six months: 13%) and totalled 6,323.
• In Latvia, the number of digital subscriptions of Delfi A/S increased by 65% year-over-year (2^nd quarter: 27%, 1^st six months: 55%) and totalled 21,851.
• In Lithuania, the number of digital subscriptions increased by 48% (2^nd quarter: 20%, 1^st six months: 38%) and totalled 25,873.

Comments by the Chairman of the Management Board of Ekspress Grupp, Mari-Liis Rüütsalu:

"In the 1^st half of the year, the number of digital subscriptions of Ekspress Grupp continued its fast growth as expected, making up an increasingly higher share of our revenue base. Over the last year, we have gained nearly 34,000 readers with digital subscriptions in the Baltic States, or 24% more than at the end of June last year.

We achieved the fastest growth in Latvia (65%) and Lithuania (48%), where similarly to Estonia, having digital subscriptions is becoming an increasingly accepted norm in society. In Latvia and Lithuania, we continue to see great growth potential, because their emerging market provides us an opportunity to be the main driver of digital subscription growth. The goal of Ekspress Grupp is to secure its position as a media company with the largest number of digital subscribers in the Baltic States.

With a strong digital subscriber base in Estonia, we continue our efforts to make Delfi's paid content package and our other products the first choice of readers. We carefully monitor and analyse the drivers contributing to faster subscription growth and we improve and modify the products accordingly. The key to success in growing subscriptions is to create the content that readers appreciate the most.”

Detailed overview of digital subscriptions

The Group considers only the subscriptions with the value of more than 1 euro per calendar month that are separately invoiced and separately cancellable at any given time as digital subscriptions.

Digital subscription revenue makes up an increasingly larger share of the digital revenue base of Ekspress Grupp. We are moving in the direction of the Group's long-term goals of increasing the volume of digital subscriptions to 340,000 subscribers in the Baltic countries by the end of 2026. The long-term goals of Ekspress Grupp were established and disclosed at the beginning of 2022.

Signe Kukin
Group CFO
AS Ekspress Grupp
Phone: +372 669 8381
E-mail address: signe.kukin@egrupp.ee

AS Ekspress Grupp is the leading Baltic media group whose key activities include web media content production, and publishing of newspapers, magazines and books. The Group also operates an electronic ticket sales platform and ticket sales offices in Estonia and Latvia. Ekspress Grupp launched its operations in 1989 and employs almost 1600 people.