Sanoma Corporation, Interim Report 1 January–31 March 2026: Improved adjusted operating profit in Learning and Media

Sanoma Corporation, Stock Exchange Release, 7 May 2026 at 7:30 a.m. EET

Sanoma Corporation, Interim Report 1 January–31 March 2026: Improved adjusted operating profit in Learning and Media

This release is a summary of Sanoma’s Interim Report 1 January–31 March 2026. The complete report is attached to this release and is also available at www.sanoma.com/en/investors.

Q1 2026

• Net sales were stable and amounted to EUR 221.1 million (2025: 221.1). In Learning, net sales grew, driven by the Netherlands, Spain and Poland. Net sales declined in Media Finland due to lower advertising sales. The Group’s organic net sales development was 0% (2025: 0%).
• Adjusted operating profit improved to EUR -16.1 million (2025: -18.8) while being negative in line with the typical seasonality of the learning business. In Learning, earnings were supported by higher net sales and improved cost efficiencies following Program Solar. Earnings increased in Media Finland as a result of higher subscription sales and robust cost containment.
• Operating profit improved to EUR -28.9 million (2025: -31.3). The items affecting comparability (IACs) amounted to EUR -5.3 million (2025: -3.7) and consisted of strategic development and technology transformation costs across operations. Purchase price allocations and amortisations (PPAs) amounted to EUR 7.5 million (2025: 8.8).
• Adjusted EPS was EUR -0.13 (2025: -0.17).
• EPS was EUR -0.16 (2025: -0.19).
• Free cash flow was stable and amounted to EUR -38.9 million (2025: -38.2) while being negative in line with the typical seasonality of the learning business. Sanoma has amended the definition of free cash flow to include payments of lease liabilities.
• Net debt/Adj. EBITDA was 2.6 (2025: 2.4), being close to the target level of ‘below 2.5’. The leverage was impacted by the repayment of the EUR 150 million hybrid bond in March 2026 and the typical annual seasonality of the learning business.
• On 30 April, Sanoma strengthened its position in Spain by acquiring Vicens Vives, one of the major local learning content providers.

Outlook for 2026 (unchanged)

In 2026, Sanoma expects that the Group’s net sales will be EUR 1.29‒1.34 billion (2025: 1.30) and the Group's adjusted operating profit will be EUR 205−225 million (2025: 188).

The outlook is based on the following assumptions:

• Demand for learning content will increase, driven by curriculum renewals in some of the Group's operating markets.
• The advertising market in Finland will be relatively stable.

President and CEO Rob Kolkman:

• Improved adjusted operating profit in both businesses in an increasingly volatile operating environment
• Well-positioned for accelerated growth in Learning
• Acquisition of Vicens Vives on 30 April further strengthens our position in Spain
• Outlook for 2026 unchanged

”We had a good start to the year resulting in improved adjusted operating profit in Learning and Media. The increasingly volatile operating environment was reflected particularly in the advertising demand, where we expect the softness to continue. In the first quarter, we were successful in mitigating its impact.

In a seasonally small quarter, Learning’s net sales grew driven by a larger spring order in the Netherlands, phasing between quarters in Spain and continued growth in digital learning platform sales in Poland. Learning’s adjusted operating profit improved as a result of the net sales growth and cost efficiencies following Program Solar, which will become fully visible this year. The positives were more than offsetting the slightly higher cost base in Poland and Spain, which is typical ahead of curriculum renewals.

At the end of April, we strengthened our position in Spain by acquiring Vicens Vives, a highly respected K12 learning content provider. The acquisition is in line with our strategy to grow our K12 learning business in current operating countries and to build on our existing scalable foundation. We have a well-established market leading position in Spain, and we continue to see great potential there, supported by the new funding cycle of the ongoing curriculum (more information on p. 9 of the report).

Looking closer at our growing learning business, the Sanoma Learning European Teacher Survey – with a record of more than 20,000 participants – continued to show stable and consistent value placed on high-quality learning materials throughout our markets. In the latest survey conducted early this year, 84 % of teachers agreed that Sanoma’s learning materials help students reach curriculum objectives. The teachers are at the helm when choosing the learning materials used. And they have a strong preference in working with well-curated blended materials, with the benefits of digital tools on improved inclusiveness among different learners, for instance.

In both Learning and Media, AI has become an increasingly integral part of the way we work and we always emphasise its responsible use and human oversight. Across Learning, we see great opportunities for AI to enhance the way we support teachers, students and parents through increasingly personalised learning pathways and resources. This spring, we have launched our AI Teacher Assistant in seven markets, helping teachers create exercises, tests, lesson plans and other materials grounded in our trusted content and pedagogy. Our AI Student Assistant will be enhanced with Mr. Chadd, a Dutch tutoring platform combining AI-based guidance with academically trained coaches, that we acquired in March. In Media Finland, we have for example built a set of B2B sales AI agents that support sales representatives throughout different phases of sales pipeline management and free up more time for meaningful customer engagement. In journalism, we continued to leverage AI both to automate processes – such as news detection and transcription – and to augment the high-value journalism through customised AI tools for teams. AI also plays a growing role in increasing customer value: article summaries and text-to-speech are already well-established ways for our audiences to consume media.

In Media Finland, growth in digital subscription sales continued driven by Ruutu+ and digital news media subscriptions, while our advertising sales decreased. A great example of our innovativeness in adding value for our digital subscribers was including access to The New York Times in all Helsingin Sanomat Digi+ subscriptions as of March this year. Media Finland's adjusted operating profit improved as a result of higher subscription sales and continued successful cost containment, including in personnel expenses.

During the seasonally small first quarter, our free cash flow was relatively stable, and as anticipated, our net debt and leverage (net debt / adjusted EBITDA) increased as we refinanced the EUR 150 million hybrid bond with senior debt.

At this early stage of the year and particularly given the importance of the third quarter in the learning business, we keep our Outlook for 2026 unchanged, managing the emerging implications of higher inflation and interest rates, and indicating a significantly improving adjusted operating profit compared to 2025.

After the first three months, we are in a great position to leverage the exciting growth opportunities across our business, deliver increasing adjusted operating profit and create value for all our stakeholders. I would like to extend my warmest thanks to all Sanoma employees for their work in delivering this good performance in the first quarter, and for their strong commitment and passion in supporting our customers.”

Key indicators

EUR million	Q1 2026	Q1 2025	Change	FY 2025
Net sales	221.1	221.1	0%	1,302.5
Adjusted EBITDA 1)	26.5	26.0	2%	366.1
Margin 1)	12.0%	11.7%		28.1%
Adjusted operating profit 2)	-16.1	-18.8	14%	188.2
Margin 2)	-7.3%	-8.5%		14.4%
Operating profit	-28.9	-31.3	8%	48.6
Result for the period	-24.1	-28.4	15%	19.9
Free cash flow 3)	-38.9	-38.2	-2%	128.6
Equity ratio 4)	34.5%	42.7%		47.1%
Net debt	685.8	617.0	11%	486.1
Net debt / Adj. EBITDA 5)	2.6	2.4	9%	1.8
Adjusted EPS, EUR 1)	-0.13	-0.17	22%	0.57
EPS, EUR	-0.16	-0.19	16%	0.06
Free cash flow per share, EUR 3)	-0.24	-0.23	-2%	0.79
Average number of employees (FTE)	4,507	4,594	-2%	4,645
Number of employees at the end of the period (FTE)	4,500	4,604	-2%	4,554

1) Excluding IACs
2) Excluding IACs and purchase price allocation adjustments and amortisations (PPAs)
3) Definition amended in 2026 to include payments of lease liabilities. Using the previous definition, free cash flow was EUR -29.6 million in Q1 2025 and EUR 159.7 million in FY 2025 and free cash flow per share was EUR -0.18 in Q1 2025 and EUR 0.98 in FY 2025.
4) Advances received included in the formula of equity ratio were EUR 159.7 million in Q1 2026 (2025: 148.6).
5) The adjusted EBITDA used in this ratio is the 12-month rolling adjusted EBITDA, where acquired operations are included and divested operations excluded, and where programming rights and prepublication rights have been raised above EBITDA on the basis of cash flow.

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting 2026 is held today at 10:00 a.m. EET in Helsinki. The meeting can be followed online via webcast at https://sanoma.videosync.fi/agm-2026/.

Analyst and investor conference

An analyst and investor conference will be held in English by the President and CEO Rob Kolkman and CFO Alex Green today at 3:00 p.m. EET at Sanomatalo, Flik Studio Eliel, 1st floor, Töölönlahdenkatu 2, Helsinki.

The conference can be followed as a live webcast at https://sanoma.events.inderes.com/q1-2026.

Management presentation is followed by a Q&A session. Questions can be placed through the webcast chat function or by phone. To ask questions by phone, the participant is required to register at https://events.inderes.com/sanoma/q1-2026/dial-in. After the registration you will receive the phone number and conference ID to access the conference. If you wish to ask a question, please press *5 on your telephone keypad to enter the queue.

An on-demand replay of the webcast will be available shortly after the conference at www.sanoma.com/en/investors.

Interview opportunities for media by Teams or by phone are available after the conference. Media representatives are asked to book interviews via email at ir@sanoma.com.

Additional information
Kaisa Uurasmaa, Head of Investor Relations and Sustainability, tel. +358 40 560 5601

Sanoma

Sanoma is an innovative and agile learning and media company impacting the lives of millions every day. Across Europe, we support teachers and students with the best-in-class learning content and solutions to help all students reach their potential. We combine pedagogical expertise with quality content and innovative educational technologies to help shape the future of K12 education.

Our Finnish media provide independent journalism and engaging entertainment also for generations to come. Our unique cross-media position offers the widest reach and tailored marketing solutions for our business partners.

We have a clear organic growth pathway in K12 education and aim to accelerate growth through value-creating M&A. Across our business, we are responsibly harnessing the opportunities of AI, always emphasising human oversight. Our Sustainability Strategy is designed to maximise our positive ‘brainprint’ on society and to minimise our environmental footprint. We are committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and signatory to the UN Global Compact.

Today, we operate across Europe and employ close to 5,000 professionals. In 2025, our net sales amounted to approx. 1.3bn€ and our adjusted operating profit margin was 14.4%. Sanoma shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. More information is available at sanoma.com.

Attachment

• Sanoma Q1 2026 Interim Report