Alma Media > Investors > Financial information > Accounting principles

Basic information on the Group

Alma Media Corporation (1944757-4) is an innovative media group focusing on digital services and journalistic content. The company’s best-known brands are Kauppalehti, Talouselämä, Iltalehti, Etuovi.com, Nettiauto and Jobly. Alma Media generates sustainable growth from media to services, providing content and services that benefit users in their everyday lives, work and leisure time. Alma Media operates in 13 European countries. The Group’s parent company Alma Media Corporation is a Finnish public company established under Finnish law, domiciled in Helsinki at Alvar Aallon katu 3 C, PL 140, FI-00100 Helsinki, Finland. A copy of the consolidated financial statements is available online at www.almamedia.fi or from the parent company head office.

The Board of Directors approved the financial statements for disclosure on 15 February 2023. According to the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act, shareholders have the opportunity to approve or reject the financial statements at the General Meeting of Shareholders held after publication. It is also possible to amend the financial statements at the General Meeting of Shareholders. The figures in the financial statements are independently rounded.

Accounting principles
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards, IFRS. The IAS and IFRS standards and SIC and IFRIC interpretations in effect on 31 December 2022 have been applied. International Financial Reporting Standards refer to the standards and their interpretations approved for application in the EU in accordance with the procedure stipulated in EU regulation (EU) no 1606/2002 and embodied in Finnish accounting legislation and the statutes enacted under it. The notes to the consolidated financial statements also comply with Finnish accounting and company legislation.

The consolidated financial statements are based on the purchase method of accounting unless otherwise specified in the accounting principles below. The figures in the tables in the financial statements are presented in millions of euros except where presenting the figures at a greater level of accuracy is deemed to be appropriate.

Changes in accounting principles
The changes in IFRS standards that entered into effect in the financial year 2022 mainly consisted of amendments to existing standards, and they had no material effect on Alma Media’s consolidated financial statements.

Translation of items denominated in foreign currencies
Figures in the consolidated financial statements are shown in euro, the euro being the functional and presentation currency of the parent company. Foreign currency items are entered in EUR at the rates prevailing at the transaction date. Monetary foreign currency items are translated into EUR using the rates prevailing at the balance sheet date. Non-monetary foreign currency items are measured at their fair value and translated into EUR using the rates prevailing at the balance sheet date. In other respects, non-monetary items are measured at the rates prevailing at the transaction date. Exchange rate differences arising from sales and purchases are treated as additions or subtractions respectively in the statement of comprehensive income.

Exchange rate differences related to loans and loan receivables are taken to other finance income and expenses in the profit or loss for the period. The income statements of foreign Group subsidiaries are translated into EUR using the weighted average rates during the period, and their balance sheets at the rates prevailing on the balance sheet date. Goodwill arising from the acquisition of foreign companies is treated as assets and liabilities of the foreign units in question and translated into EUR at the rates prevailing on the balance sheet date. Translation differences arising from the consolidation of foreign subsidiaries and associated companies are entered under shareholders’ equity. Exchange differences arising on a monetary item that forms part of the reporting entity’s net investment in the foreign operation shall be recognised in the balance sheet and reclassified from equity to profit or loss on disposal of the net investment.

Operating profit and EBITDA
IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements does not include a definition of operating profit or gross margin. Gross margin is the net amount formed when other operating profit is added to net sales, and material and service procurement costs adjusted for the change in inventories of finished and unfinished products, the costs arising from employee benefits and other operating expenses are subtracted from the total. Operating profit is the net amount formed when other operating profit is added to net sales, and the following items are then subtracted from the total: material and service procurement costs adjusted for the change in inventories of finished and unfinished products; the costs arising from employee benefits; depreciation, amortisation and impairment costs; and other operating expenses. All other items in the profit or loss not mentioned above are shown under operating profit. Exchange rate differences and changes in the fair value of derivative contracts are included in operating profit if they arise on items related to the company’s normal business operations. Otherwise they are recognised in the financial items.

Adjusted items
Adjusted items are income or expense arising from non-recurring or rare events. Gains or losses from the sale or discontinuation of business operations or assets, transaction costs arising from business acquisitions, gains or losses from restructuring business operations as well as impairment losses of goodwill and other assets are recognised by the Group as adjusted items. Adjusted items are recognised in the profit and loss statement within the corresponding income or expense group. Adjusted items are described in the Report by the Board of Directors.

Accounting principles requiring management’s judgement and key sources of estimation uncertainty
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires management to make estimates and assumptions which may differ from actual results in the future. Management is also required to use its discretion as to the application of the accounting principles used to prepare the statements.

The management of the Group makes judgement-based decisions pertaining to the selection and application of the accounting principles used in the financial statements. This particularly applies in cases where the existing IFRS regulations allow for alternative methods of recognition, measurement and presentation.

Alma Media has identified subscription products and customer loyalty products in accordance with the provisions of IFRS 15. As the item prices of these products are not material, they are not treated as separate performance obligations based on the management’s assessment of materiality. The revenue derived from such products is recognised as part of the main products.

According to IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers, an entity shall recognise revenue when it satisfies a performance obligation by transferring a promised good or service to a customer. Alma Media’s exception to the revenue recognition practices required by IFRS 15 is the recognition of revenue from credit packages associated with the recruitment business. In credit package transactions, the customer buys credits against which Alma Media provides advertising sales services during the validity of the credits, subject to an agreed-upon price list. According to the management’s assessment, recognising revenue evenly over the contract period instead of a revenue recognition model based on actual use leads to essentially the same outcome as recognising revenue based on the use of the credits.

The estimates made in conjunction with preparing the financial statements are based on the management’s best assessments on the reporting period end date. The estimates are based on prior experience, as well as future assumptions that are considered to be the most likely on the balance sheet date with regard to issues such as the expected development of the Group’s economic operating environment in terms of sales and cost levels. The Group monitors the realisation of estimates and assumptions, as well as changes in the underlying factors, on a regular basis in cooperation with the business units, using both internal and external sources of information. Any changes to these estimates and assumptions are entered in the accounts for the period in which the estimate or assumption is adjusted and for all periods thereafter.

Future assumptions and key sources of uncertainty related to estimates made on the balance sheet date that involve a significant risk of changes to the book values of the Group’s assets and liabilities during the following financial year are presented below.

The management has considered these components of the financial statements to be the most relevant in this regard, as they involve the most complicated accounting policies from the Group’s perspective and their application requires the most extensive application of significant estimates and assumptions—for example, in the valuation of assets. In addition, the effects of potential changes to the assumptions and estimates used in these components of the financial statements are estimated to be the largest.

The determination of the fair value of intangible assets in conjunction with business combinations is based on the management’s estimate of the cash flows related to the assets in question. The determination of the fair value of liabilities related to contingent considerations arising from business combinations are based on the management’s estimate. The key variable in the change in fair value of contingent considerations is the estimate of future operating profit.

Impairment tests: The Group tests goodwill and intangible assets with an indefinite useful life for impairment annually and reviews any indications of impairment in the manner described above. The amounts recoverable from cash-generating units are recognised based on calculations of their fair value. The preparation of these calculations requires the use of estimates. The estimates and assumptions used to test major goodwill items for impairment, and the sensitivity of changes in these factors with respect to goodwill testing is described in more detail in the note which specifies goodwill.

Useful lives: Estimating useful lives used to calculate depreciation and amortisation also requires management to estimate the useful lives of these assets. The useful lives applied for each type of asset are listed in the notes under 2.2 Property, Plant and Equipment and 2.1 Intangible Assets.

Other estimates: Other management estimates relate mainly to other assets, such as the current nature of receivables and capitalised R&D costs, to tax risks, to determining pension obligations and to the utilisation of tax assets against future taxable income.

For leases that are valid with a reasonable level of certainty but have a short period of notice, the financial statements also include an assumption of the period of time the premises in question will be used in business operations. This estimate affects the balance sheet amount of lease liability for the leases for the premises in question.