Viaplay names Duffy Interim Chair; withdraws guidance
July 13, 2023
The Board of Viaplay Group has announced that, due to ill health, Pernille Erenbjerg has notified the Nomination Committee that she is standing down from the Board with immediate effect.
The Board, after discussion with the Nomination Committee, has appointed existing non-executive Board Director Simon Duffy as Interim Chair while they search for a permanent successor.
In a press statement, Viaplay said: “The Board thanks Pernille for her service to the Company over the past few years and wishes her a speedy recovery.”
Additionally, Viaplay has announced the withdrawal of its previously communicated full year 2023 outlook. This follows a review of the Group’s operations and performance by the recently appointed CEO and new management team. There is no change to the Group’s Q2 2023 guidance. The Group says it will provide an update on its strategy and medium-term outlook in conjunction with the announcement of its Q2 results on July 20th, and will not therefore be able to make any further comments until that time.
Jørgen Madsen Lindemann was appointed as the new President and CEO on June 5th and immediately initiated a review of the Group’s operations. The withdrawal of the 2023 outlook is one outcome of this review, and reflects a significantly weaker forward revenue and earnings outlook for the Nordic operations in particular, as the increase in largely fixed content costs in particular is not matched by sufficient revenue growth or cost savings.
As announced on June 28th, the Group’s new management team is taking a broad range of actions to address the underlying deterioration in earnings. These measures will be presented on July 20th and include an ongoing redundancy programme, content savings initiatives, a review of the international operations and non-core assets, and discussions with distribution partners.