Viaplay Group AB (publ)

Reported figures included core operations sales up 0.7% year over year on an organic basis, streaming subscription sales up 7% organically, non-streaming subscription sales down 3% organically, and other sales down 15% organically. Johan said Q2 EBITDA was higher year over year versus the pro forma comparison and included an approximate SEK 110 million currency tailwind; he also said the quarter included SEK 152 million of D&A, SEK 52 million of items affecting comparability, SEK 145 million of operating cash flow, SEK 113 million of free cash flow, SEK 32 million of CapEx, and financial net debt of SEK 5.12 billion with SEK 1.3 billion of cash. Guidance and outlook: management reiterated prior integration cost guidance of SEK 270 million-SEK 330 million, said annual cash interest costs are running at approximately SEK 450 million, CapEx is expected to be at or about SEK 150 million for the combined group, working capital should be broadly neutral for the year excluding non-core cash drag, and the non-core cash drag is expected to be approximately SEK 500 million this year, SEK 400 million next year, and SEK 200 million in 2028. They also said net debt will fall once the Dutch divestment for EUR 142 million closes, and debt amortization related to Allente will total SEK 420 million this year and next year.

Jørgen Lindemann framed the quarter as another step in the transformation, emphasizing that the Allente combination gives Viaplay a larger base with more customers, more content monetization potential, and more cash flow capacity. He stressed disciplined capital allocation, saying the company will not chase uneconomic sports rights and will instead look for alternatives and better market terms. His tone was constructive but cautious, repeatedly noting that there is still a lot to do to reach the 2028 margin goal.

Johan Johansson focused on the mechanics behind the quarter’s financials: approximately SEK 80 million of FX benefit to reported sales, about SEK 30 million of FX benefit to costs, and roughly SEK 110 million of FX benefit to EBITDA. He highlighted SEK 203 million of integration-related IAC in the first half, with total integration costs still guided at SEK 270 million-SEK 330 million, and said working capital will be negative in Q3 and positive in Q4, while the full-year working capital should be broadly neutral excluding the non-core drag. He also said leverage improved to 4.5x net debt to trailing 12-month pro forma EBITDA from 4.7x in Q1, with the balance sheet helped by the planned Dutch divestment and by debt amortization.

Analysts pressed on why the Dutch sale happened now, regulatory approval risk in the Netherlands, the impact on leverage, the subscriber decline, and the non-core cash drag. Management said the sale was driven by transformation priorities, a desire to focus on the Nordic business, unsolicited offers, and the need for speed before key rights periods; they declined to comment on past regulator decisions and said they are following the formal process. On subscribers, management attributed the decline to seasonality and league timing, said sports customers are still growing in both D2C and B2B, and confirmed the SEK 400 million H2 cash drag estimate; on the post-sale sales base, they said organic comparisons will simply exclude the Netherlands and that the overall sales outlook remains around stable.