Continued delivery of transformation plan
Highlights
- Consolidation of 100% of Allente Group from 14 November 2025, following completion of acquisition of remaining 50% share of Allente Group, added SEK 578m of net sales and SEK 31m of operating income to Q4 results. Integration expected to yield full annual run-rate cash synergies of SEK 300m to 400m from 2027.
- Q4 reported net sales of SEK 4,978m (4,837) and total operating income before associated company income (ACI) and items affecting comparability (IAC) of SEK 158m (174).
- Q4 reported operating income of SEK -637m (-92) including ACI of SEK -154m (38) and IAC1 of SEK -642m (-304), net income of SEK -951m (-230) and basic earnings per share of SEK -0.21 (-0.05).
- Full year pro forma2 Core operation net sales, when including Allente Group as if it had been consolidated from 1 January 2025, of SEK 21,494m, with pro forma Core operation EBITDA before ACI and IAC of SEK 1,144m and pro forma adjusted operating free cash flow of SEK 804m. All in line with, or exceeding, previously provided guidance ranges.
- 2026 full year Core operation net sales expected to be stable year-on-year on an organic basis, and Core operation full year EBITDA before ACI and IAC expected to be between SEK 1.0bn and 1.4bn.
Financial summary
| Q4 | Q4 | Full year | Full year | |
| (SEKm) | 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 |
| Net sales | 4,978 | 4,837 | 17,682 | 18,490 |
| Operating income before ACI and IAC | 158 | 174 | -41 | -269 |
| Associated company income (ACI) | -154 | 38 | -26 | 151 |
| Items affecting comparability (IAC)1 | -642 | -304 | -420 | -439 |
| Operating income | -637 | -92 | -486 | -558 |
| Net income for the period | -951 | -230 | -1,267 | 106 |
| Basic earnings per share (SEK) | -0.21 | -0.05 | -0.28 | 0.03 |
1 Items affecting comparability in Q4 2025 comprised write-downs of scripted content, currency effects related to previous content provisions, and transaction costs related to the acquisition of the remaining 50% of Allente Group. Please see page 22 for more information regarding items affecting comparability.
2 Pro forma financials are calculated as if Allente Group had been consolidated from 1 January 2025. Viaplay Group acquired the remaining 50% of Allente Group and assumed full ownership of Allente Group on 13 November 2025. Allente Group was reported as an associated company until the acquisition and, thereafter, fully consolidated into Viaplay Group. Please see pages 24-25 for more information regarding the acquisition and pro forma financials.
Alternative performance measures used in this report are explained and reconciled on pages 19-25.
A word from our President & CEO
Q4 marked another quarter of continued delivery of our transformation strategy. We have met, or exceeded, our full year guidance ranges for sales, profits and cashflow, as the performance of the Viaplay business reflected the product enhancements and cost savings that we have made, and the Allente business performed as anticipated. The completion of the acquisition of the remaining 50% of Allente Group has strengthened our product offering and ability to monetise our content portfolio. All of this is securing our position as one of the Nordic region's largest and most relevant media houses. Our guidance for 2026 reflects this progress, and we still have plenty of work to do.
Our Q4 results include half a quarter of results for Allente Group, after we completed the acquisition of the remaining 50% of the Group's shares in mid-November.
Our Viaplay subscription sales were up 2%, with higher ARPU levels for both our D2C and B2B products. Our D2C subscriber base continued to grow, while the decline in our B2B base reflected our prioritisation of value over volume. Our D2C premium sports product performed particularly strongly, and the growth in D2C streaming revenues more than offset the decline in B2B streaming revenues. We have also now renegotiated a number of our legacy B2B partner agreements onto a commercial and sustainable basis.
Linear channel subscription sales were up slightly, while our advertising sales were flat, as the continued strong growth in digital advertising sales continued to offset the decline in linear advertising sales.
Sublicensing and other sales were sharply down again and reflected the normalisation after the exceptionally high scripted content sales and sports rights sublicensing in Q4 2024. This was the primary reason for the 2% organic decline in the sales of our core operations.
Our Q4 programming slate was more attractive and relevant than ever - combining the very best in premium sports, local storytelling and international formats. English Premier League football, Formula 1 motor racing, Darts and winter sports have continued to drive viewer engagement, and we will have even stronger products with even more coverage in 2026 and beyond. We also had the latest local productions of well-known international reality formats such as Paradise Hotel and Expedition Robinson, alongside a wide range of established and newly released series and movies.
The 4% reduction in operating expenditure for our core operations, when excluding the consolidation of Allente Group for half of the quarter, reflected the measures that we have taken to adjust the overall cost base and improve efficiency levels, as well as positive FX effects. Content accounts for approximately 80% of our total costs, and these costs have continued to rise due to legacy agreements that are yet to expire. We continue to allocate capital where appropriate to drive the positive viewing and subscription trends that we have seen.
Our core operating Income before ACI and IAC, when excluding the consolidation of Allente Group, was therefore down year-on-year and reflected the embedded inflation in legacy content agreements, and the impact of negative FX effects. We have now also written down the balance sheet value of certain non-sports content as a non-cash IAC.
We are in the process of integrating the Allente business. It is a business that we know well as a long-term owner, operator and partner. We currently expect the integration to yield SEK 300 to 400 million of full run-rate annual cash synergies in 2027. Some of these synergies will be realised in 2026 when the integration has been finalised. The cash cost of the integration is expected to be between SEK 270 and 330 million, and will be reported as an IAC during 2026.
Looking forward into 2026, we expect our sales to be stable on an organic basis, which is in line with our previously stated long-term ambition. The anticipated growth in our streaming subscription and digital advertising sales will continue to be offset by declining linear channel and advertising sales, and the decline in Allente's DTH subscriber base. On the profitability side, we expect annual EBITDA of between SEK 1.0 and 1.4 billion, as we continue to execute on the transformation of Viaplay Group, and benefit from the integration of Allente Group. 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. 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.
We have put in place new financing arrangements, and have now consolidated the cash flow generative Allente business. Our operating free cash flow in 2026 will continue to include the cash drag from the discontinued non-core businesses. We confirm our expectation for a Group double-digit EBITDA margin in 2028, which will increase our cash flows and ability to reduce our debt levels over time.
Overall, Q4 was another important quarter for us. 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. 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.
Jørgen Madsen Lindemann
President & CEO
Shareholder information
2026 Annual General Meeting
The 2026 Annual General Meeting of Viaplay shareholders will be held on Tuesday 12 May 2026 in Stockholm. Shareholders wishing to have matters considered at the meeting should submit their proposals in writing to agm@viaplaygroup.com or to the Company Secretary, Viaplay Group AB, BOX 17104, 104 62 Stockholm, Sweden, at least seven weeks before the meeting in order that such proposals may be included in the notices to the meeting. Further details of when and how to register will be published in advance of the meeting. The Board of Directors will propose to the Annual General Meeting that no annual cash dividend be paid for 2025.
Financial calendar
Publication of 2025 Annual & Sustainability report: Week commencing 30 March
Publication of Q1 2026 report: 23 April 2026
Annual General Meeting: 12 May 2026
Publication of Q2 2026 report: 17 July 2026
Publication of Q3 2026 report: 22 October 2026
Conference call
A conference call will take place today, Thursday 19 February at 09.00 Stockholm local time, 08.00 London local time and 03.00 New York local time.
The webcast can be accessed here
Or, register for the conference call here
About Viaplay Group AB (publ)
Viaplay Group is the Nordic region's leading entertainment provider. Our Viaplay streaming service is available in every Nordic country, as well as in the Netherlands and our Viaplay Select branded content concept has been added to partner platforms around the world. We also operate TV channels across most of our markets, as well as commercial radio stations in Norway and Sweden. Allente, a leading Nordic provider of TV and broadband services, is part of Viaplay Group and strengthens our position across the Nordic media landscape. Our talented people come to work every day with a shared passion and clear mission to entertain millions of people with our unique offering of locally relevant storytelling, which spans premium live sports, films, series and music. Viaplay Group is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm ('VPLAY B').
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This information is information that Viaplay Group is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 2026-02-19 07:30 CET.
Image Attachments
Jørgen Madsen Lindemann Viaplay Group President And CEO Photo Hans Berggren
