Finland-based media company Alma Media which operates a number of job boards, reported second-quarter revenue today of €78.2 million, down 1.4% from last year.

The group said the effects of Russia’s war of aggression and dwindling economic growth were reflected in the operating environment in the first half of the year. The European economy continued to be adversely affected by sanctions, supply chain disruptions and problems associated with the availability of raw materials, among other things.

Furthermore, Alma Media said high inflation continued while market interest rates increased year-on-year, which challenged consumer confidence and the real purchasing power of households.

Alma Media also announced today that Taru Lehtinen has been appointed as the new CFO and member of the group executive team of Alma Media. Lehtinen will take up the position on 1 November 2023. She will report to the President and CEO of the Group. Juha Nuutinen, CFO and Group Executive team member, announced earlier he will leave Alma Media to assume a new position outside the company.

Lehtinen will transfer to position from Alma Talent, where she has acted as the Director of Alma Talent Services. Previously she has worked in the group`s finance team in various leading positions responsible of financial reporting and business controlling. Prior to Alma Media, Lehtinen held the position of an Auditor in Ernst & Young Oy and qualified as an authorized public accountant in 2007.

In the Alma Career segment, Q2 was the second-best on record in terms of both operating profit and profitability. Revenue was on a par with the comparison period at €28.4 million, while adjusted operating profit increased by 3.8% to €12.2 million, representing 43.1% of revenue.

Sales of recruitment services remained at a good level in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Croatia, the group said. The continued high level of activity in the recruitment market is driven by intense competition for skilled labour.

Consumer segment revenue decreased by 3.1% to €26.3 million in Q2. Adjusted operating profit declined by 15.9% to €5.6 million.

In the Alma Talent segment, the market situation in the second quarter remained challenging for financial media, with revenue declining by 2.9% to €23.4 million. The segment implemented cost saving measures across its business operations and costs turned to a decrease. Adjusted operating profit grew by 9.2% to €4.7 million. The segment’s strong digital transformation continued, the group added.

The group also published H1 revenue of €153.5 million, down 1.3% over the same period a year ago.

In June, Alma Media announced Alma Career agreed to acquire a 70% stake in Vrabotuvanje Online, a North Macedonian online job board.

On 29 June 2023, Finland-based media group Otava announced a mandatory public tender offer for all the issued and outstanding shares in Alma Media Corporation that are not held by Otava, the company or any of the company’s subsidiaries. Otava then cancelled the acquisition of the remaining 70% stake in Alma Media on 5 July 2023. The board of directors of Alma Media who participated in the decision-making unanimously decided not to recommend that the shareholders of Alma Media accept the tender offer.

Looking ahead, Alma Media expects its full-year revenue and adjusted operating profit of 2023 to remain at the 2022 level or to decrease from the 2022 level. The full-year revenue for 2022 was €308.8 million and the adjusted operating profit was €73.4 million.

The outlook is driven by an estimate that Alma Media’s revenue and operating profit will decline in the first half of the year as a result of declining advertising sales and increased costs in the recruitment business. The outlook for the national economy is expected to improve in the second half of the year, it added.

“We estimate demand for recruitment services to remain strong and advertising sales to rebound during the year,” Alma Media stated. “Operational efficiency measures initiated by the company will improve profitability in the latter half.”

Kai Telanne, President and CEO, said, “We will continue to accelerate growth by continuously developing our operations and pursuing new initiatives. In the marketplace and service business, we are moving towards more advanced digital trading platforms and seamless purchasing paths. We want to help our customers easily and smoothly interact on digital platforms, and to offer them additional services at different stages of the transaction process.”

Alma Media shares last traded at €9.16, no change on the day and 11.58% below its 52-week high of €10.36, set on 20 July 2022. The company has a market cap of €754.63 million.