In 2003, Sanoma focused on improving its profitability and implemented a number of major operational enhancements. The distribution company, Leijonajakelu, was sold to Finland Post, and a new four-colour printing press was commissioned at Helsingin Sanomat’s Sanomala printing plant. The high-points of the year in terms of journalism included the Finnish general elections and the Iraq war, as well as the related aftertalks.
In 2004, Sanoma will focus on growth, while consolidating its strong editorial content.
The Helsingin Sanomat product family includes the core daily paper, the weekly supplement, Nyt, the monthly magazine, Kuukausiliite, and online products: Verkkoliite, the On line news service, and Nyt.fi.
The introduction of the new four-colour printing press allowed an editorial redesign of Helsingin Sanomat’s structure. The result is a modern newspaper that meets readers’ expectations better than ever. Verkkoliite, which publishes the contents of the print daily in full on the Web, was also revamped and became a chargeable service.
The circulation of Helsingin Sanomat started to rise in August. The number of visitors at Oikotie, a web site for classified ads, also increased. In November, for example, the site had half a million visitors.
In 2004, Helsingin Sanomat will continue to enhance the efficiency of its operations. The aim is to boost the newspaper’s share of the media market and continue the favourable growth in circulation that began in autumn of 2003.
The main brands of the IS Business Unit – the tabloid, Ilta-Sanomat, the IS product family for sports and sport betting, and the free-ad publication, Keltainen Pörssi, with their supplements and web services – are all market leaders in their own areas.
2003 was a good year in journalistic terms for Ilta-Sanomat, with features on issues such as the Iraq information leak, which caused a lot of concern in Finnish domestic politics. Veikkaaja magazine became IS Veikkaaja, and IS Urheilulehti and IS Veikkaaja expanded their cooperation. The free-ad publications, Keltainen Pörssi and Palsta, and their web services, were also renewed.
In 2004, Ilta-Sanomat’s weekly supplement, Plussa, will be switched from tabloid to magazine format. The IS product group for sports and sport betting centred on IS Urheilu and IS Veikkaaja will be developed. Ilta-Sanomat’s sport editors and TV channel Nelonen’s Sport News will combine their efforts to provide IS Sports News, which will be broadcast on Nelonen.
Kymen Lehtimedia publishes and prints dailies and local newspapers. Its titles include the regional newspapers, Etelä-Saimaa, Kouvolan Sanomat, and Kymen Sanomat, as well as six local and two free distributed papers in Southeastern Finland.
Kymen Lehtimedia extended its internal cooperation within the Group in 2003. Editorial cooperation between its dailies increased, and advertisement production and some administrative activities were centralised.
In 2004, Kymen Lehtimedia will further enhance the efficiency of its operations. Digital advertising material, for example, will be concentrated in a single access point. At the beginning of the year, Kymen Lehtimedia sold its majority shareholding in its Russian agent, Baltic Media Oy.
Startel publishes Taloussanomat, provides news agency services, and supplies financial information. In 2003, the new theme supplements of Taloussanomat and the revamping of its Saturday issue were received positively. Advertising and circulation sales moved up during the latter part of the year and profitability improved. In 2004, Startel will continue to develop Taloussanomat into a strong finance media for corporate decision-makers, and invest in new digital solutions for financial information.
Lehtikuva is Finland’s leading picture agency. In 2003, it concentrated on enhancing its visibility and developing its image search capabilities. Foreign demand for images for illustration needs grew significantly. In 2004, Lehtikuva’s largest project will be the Olympic Games in Athens.
The Sanoma Group also includes Esmerk, which provides customised news analysis and summary services.