Viaplay made big losses in Q4, mainly down to the full acquisition of Allente Group, as sales slipped for full year 2025 but CEO Jørgen Madsen Lindemann said “we are in a more competitive position than a year ago.”
The Scandi entertainment giant, which is still in recovery mode following a major recapitalization and layoffs, posted operating losses of SEK 637M ($860M) last quarter. However if associated company income and items affecting comparability weren’t taken into account, the company would have made an operating profit of SEK 158M.
Overall, sales for the quarter were up slightly. For the full year, sales slipped by around 5% to 17.6B SEK.
The previous quarter saw the completion of the purchase of the 50% stake Viaplay didn’t own in satellite firm Allente. Following the deal, the under fire Scandi major had revised full-year outlook for 2025.
Synergies with Allente are incoming. Lindemann, Viaplay President and CEO, said he expects between SEK 300M ($33M) to SEK 400M of “full run-rate annual cash synergies” in 2027 between the two companies.
Lindemann said sales should be “stable on an organic basis” in 2026 “in line with our previous stated long-term ambition.” “Growth in streaming and digital ad sales will be offset by declining linear and traditional ads,” he added. He still expects annual EBITDA of between SEK 1B and SEK 1.4B.
“Some of our content costs will continue to increase in 2026 due to the legacy multi-year agreements with in-built inflation that were entered into before the recapitalisation of the Group,” he added. We are negotiating the extension of legacy content and distribution agreements where the commercial terms can be improved, and exiting or replacing agreements where this is not possible.”
He was referring to the period following 2023 when he replaced Anders Jensen amid an economic downturn and overspend on content. He has since instituted major strategic rethinks and a big layoffs plan.
“We are in a more competitive position than a year ago, but we still have much to do to deliver on our transformation agenda and goals,” added Lindemann. “Together, we are building a more focused, more relevant and more resilient Group, which will create long-term value for our owners, customers, teams and partners.”
Viaplay executives are in London next week for the London TV Screenings selling shows like Nigel Havers-starrer Golden Boy, as the major continues to chart a course to recovery.