Otava’s
Star Moments 2024

The idea behind Otava has remained unchanged ever since the company was established. More than a century ago, Alvar Renqvist said: Although our company is a regular limited liability company that must seek profit in order to continue operating, it also serves a higher purpose whose success is closely linked to the success of our nation as a whole.

It is very rare for a company’s founding mission, business and ownership base to remain unchanged for more than 130 years. However, updates and innovations have also been made around Otava’s core mission as required. The grounds for the award also highlighted the significant social role Otava plays in promoting culture, education and literacy.

Culture and education are strongly linked to wellbeing. The state’s role in creating wellbeing has grown too large, which can be seen in its financial difficulties. It is now time to open up new roads for Finland with the aid of education and culture.

According to economics Nobel Prize winner Bengt Holmström, who spoke at Otava Group Day event a few years ago, people in Finland mostly live very secure lives, but the system is built on an increasing amount of state-provided care. We are dependent on the state, but we are no longer so dependent on each other. Satisfaction with your life comes from taking responsibility for yourself and solving your own problems.

As a private company, Otava has its own role to play in finding solutions – and its own responsibility. The content we publish – our books, magazine articles and learning materials – are concrete evidence of this. Take, for example, some recent books by Risto Murto, Esko Aho and Mikko Hautala, which reflect on the future of both Finland and the world.

Otava also has its own role to play in developing the Finnish school system, and our message about the importance of teachers’ autonomy has also resonated with the Finnish National Agency for Education.

We have also been actively developing our own operations with bold innovations. These include overhauling Otava’s governance model and using artificial intelligence in our daily work. All Otava employees have the opportunity to experiment with artificial intelligence.

I would like to thank our personnel for their acumen in development and innovations. Let’s keep improving and innovating in 2025!

Henrik Ehrnrooth
Chairman of the Board of Directors

Otava achieved a good financial result for 2024. I would like to thank our entire staff, as every Otava employee has contributed to this achievement.

The targets and results that we have achieved have been earned mainly through our hard work, as there are currently no factors in our operating environment that would have been of help. On the contrary: there are still many uncertainties in both the economy and global politics, and the outlook for the future remains foggy.

According to the Bank of Finland’s forecast, the Finnish economy will begin a slow recovery in 2025, overshadowed by uncertainty in the global economy. The consumer confidence indicator published by Statistics Finland in December 2024 was the lowest it has been since spring 2024.

Finnish consumers are keeping their purse strings tightly closed, and are being very cautious when it comes to purchasing decisions. We must therefore monitor consumer behaviour closely and be able to react quickly to changes in consumer habits.

As Otava’s financial position is extremely stable, we are free to focus on doing our best work and making decisions about the future as we see fit.

Net sales of general literature remained on par with the previous year. Sales figures for printed books rose slightly, while growth in digital sales is starting to level off. Our publishing programme was successful in terms of both its scope and content. This was evidenced by the Finlandia Award for Fiction, which was awarded to Pajtim Statovci for A Cow Gives Birth at Night.

Otava Learning also achieved an excellent result: both net sales and earnings increased on the previous year. This success is the result of systematic efforts. Suomalainen Kirjakauppa succeeded in getting a good result which is a fine achievement. The most important sales season of the year, Christmas, was a success.

Otavamedia achieved good results in terms of both net sales and earnings. The move to Uudenmaankatu provided Otavamedia teams with new opportunities for collaboration and fruitful encounters. The awards won by Kotiliesi in the 2023 Editkilpailu competition are a sign of its success.

Winning the 2024 Family Business of the Year Award is a major testament to our significant contribution to education and literacy. In line with our strategy, we will nurture our core mission by sustainably linking it to the future. This has been a good path for Otava to date and we will be continuing on that road.

Alexander Lindholm
CEO, Otava Ltd

Read more about Financial Statement:

A strong year in book publishing both financially and content-wise

Otava’s book publishing business achieved a significantly improved year-on-year result in 2024. Otava Publishing Company’s direct operating profit totalled EUR 13.3 (10.4) million. 

In general literature, sales figures for printed books were slightly higher than in the previous year. Growth in digital book sales has levelled off and is no longer the growth driver it once was.

Printed fiction books in particular sold well, and net sales remained on par with the previous year. Other publishers experienced similar trends in sales.

Otava’s publishing programme was successful in terms of both its scope and content. Otava’s publishing houses received a total of five Finlandia award nominations, three of which were for fiction and two for non-fiction. Pajtim Statovci’s novel A Cow Gives Birth at Night won the Finlandia Prize for Fiction. Pajtim Statovci was also one of the winners of the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Finland Prizes. This award was given in recognition of Statovci’s distinguished career.

Kalevi Jäntti’s award for young writers was awarded to Carlos Lievonen for his anthology Vain heteitä.

In April, Otava launched a new project to promote reading and literature when two reading ambassadors embarked on a journey to spread the joy of reading. The new advocate for children’s and young adult literature was Henriika Tulivirta (a library professional and reading activist), while the reading ambassador for fiction and nonfiction was Kirsi Ranin (a book industry influencer and founder of the Kirsin Book Club blog, reading circles and podcast).

The reading ambassadors for Otava’s publishing houses inspire people to read and give them tips for great new books. They visit literary events, and also raise awareness of authors and their valuable work on social media channels.

The Star Owl competition was launched in autumn 2023 with the aim of inspiring primary schoolchildren to read. The first winners were announced in January 2024, with the winning class reading a total of 2,394,870 pages. The competition was so popular that it was organised again in autumn 2024. 356 classes from all across Finland took part in the second competition, reading a total of more than 35 million pages – twice as many as in the first year.  

2024 was a successful year for Otava Learning, as both its net sales and result increased on the previous year. Growth was seen at all levels of education, but particularly in secondary education (about 10 per cent).

In 2024, Otava Learning published The Everyday Life of Teachers, an extensive study of teachers’ experiences of their work. The study raised concerns about teaching work becoming so complex that teachers have no time left to focus on their core task. Teachers need more support.

One key solution would be to increase resources – smaller class sizes, more special education teachers and fewer administrative duties would free up teachers’ time and allow them to focus on teaching. Educational materials must also be of high quality, support differentiated instruction, and be accessible to everyone.  

At society level, we must also restore appreciation for teachers’ work.

Otava Book Printing celebrated its 70th anniversary in December. Although Otava Book Printing’s net sales decreased on the back of a fall in volume, its operating result improved. Otava Book Printing produced 3.8 (4.2) million books.

Suomalainen Kirjakauppa’s sales are growing in the capital region         

Suomalainen Kirjakauppa’s net sales decreased to EUR 85.0 (85.7) million. The direct operating result improved to EUR -0.3 (-1.2) million. Consumers’ confidence in their own finances has been at a record low, and purse strings have been tight. The bookstore’s most important sales season, Christmas, went well. 

Sales rose both online and in stores in the capital region. However, although customer numbers in downtown Helsinki have recovered slightly, they have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. 

On the other hand, air travel has increased and is being reflected in sales at the airport store.  Suomalainen Kirjakauppa’s smallest store is headed for a very good result for the third year in a row.  Holidays and literature go hand in hand – when people have free time, they want to relax with a good book.

Three stores were closed in 2024.Suomalainen Kirjakauppa had 55 stores at the end of the year.

Sales of fiction rose at Suomalainen Kirjakauppa. Growth has also been seen in sales of foreign-language titles – in practice, English-language books. Consumers are reading an increasing number of books in English. Internationalisation is also contributing to the popularity of English-language books, as we have more and more people in our country whose native language is not Finnish.

Recommendations made in the booktok and kirjatok communities also have a positive impact on sales of English-language books. Booktok is a Tiktok social media community in which people discuss and recommend books.

In fact, there are many ‘booktok books’ among Suomalainen Kirjakauppa’s best-selling titles, including Amy Huang’s Kings of Sin series.

Children’s and YA books have sold well for many years at Suomalainen Kirjakauppa, and a further increase was seen in 2024.

Conversations about how to inspire children to read are had in stores every day. Parents and grandparents are trying to find ways to get children to read. It should be noted that children have varying degrees of literacy, and age is not the only factor in determining book recommendations. The staff at Suomalainen Kirjakauppa will find the right books for readers of all ages and levels.

Another good result for Otavamedia

Otavamedia Ltd achieved a good financial result in 2024. Although net sales declined in 2024 on the back of a fall in magazine volumes, the company’s operating profit remained at a good level: EUR 8.5 (11.0) million, or 11.9 per cent (14.6%) of net sales. Streamlining and restructuring helped to maintain good profit levels.

 Otavamedia’s net sales decreased by five per cent to EUR 71.2 (75.0) million. Sales of magazine subscriptions declined, but media sales were up in spite of the tough market. Otavamedia outperformed both the market and its competitors in media sales.

All of Otavamedia’s teams except Erikoismedia moved to Uudenmaankatu in January 2024. Otavamedia had already drawn up a set of rules for multi-location working when moving to Tripla. Now that multiple companies are working under one roof, a shared set of Group-level rules was created for Uudenmaankatu.

In 2024, Otavamedia developed products and services to reach new audiences. There are many different ways to consume media, and people may use several within a single day.  Younger audiences in particular can be reached through video and audio content.

Fuelled by the success of Kotiliesi’s short video service, Toukola, introduced in late 2023, Anna launched its own new video channel, Keidas, in autumn 2024. An inspiring short video about beauty, style and wellbeing is released every weekday. Keidas publishes both journalistic and commercial content. The videos are available for free on both Anna’s social media channels and the Keidas website.

Tekniikan Maailma will also be launching a video service in 2025.

Suomen Kuvalehti subscribers can listen to the entire magazine if they wish. Subscribers can listen to either individual articles or the entire weekly magazine as a playlist. The audio version is available both online and via the SK app. The user experience has been designed to be as clear and intuitive as possible. Artificial intelligence is used to turn the entire magazine into audio. Using a human reader for a fast-paced weekly magazine would not be feasible.  However, quality assurance is always carried out by humans. 

In addition, Suomen Kuvalehti launched a new podcast in October. This week in politics discusses current news topics in a relaxed and expert manner. The podcast’s popularity exceeded expectations in less than a week after the first episode was released. During the release week of the first episode, the podcast became the most popular podcast in Finland on Spotify.

The magazine Seura, which celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2024, reached 408,100 Finns every week in print or digital form, according to the National Media Research published in September. The total reach increased by over 70,000 from the previous year, which was the largest growth figure in the entire periodical media.

Otavamedia was successful at Editkilpailu, winning awards in three different categories. Riikka Lehtovaara of Naistenmedia won Magazine Journalist of the Year, freelancer photographer Aapo Huhta won Magazine Photographer of the Year, and Kotiliesi’s Toukola won Video or Audio Magazine Media of the Year. The jury’s grounds were: “Toukola is a beautiful and delicious concept that has managed to build a community around Kotiliesi’s core topics, and especially on Instagram.” Popular short videos support the magazine’s content and have succeeded in reaching an enthusiastic new audience.

Otava recognised as a responsible promoter of education and literacy

The Otava Group creates economic wellbeing through forward-looking and profitable business activities.

We create economic wellbeing by ensuring the continuity of our forward-looking and profitable business activities. We want our business to benefit Finnish society, and we pay taxes in Finland.

Promoting culture, literacy and freedom of speech is our core mission.

Otava received the Family Business of the Year Award in November 2024. The Finnish association for family businesses, Perheyritysten liitto, wanted to highlight the importance of family in the company’s success. The grounds for the award noted that Otava is a family business that combines strong traditions with sustainability and an innovative vision. Otava’s selection for the award also focused on the significant social role that the company’s plays in promoting education, culture and literacy.

This has been at the heart of Otava’s business ever since its establishment. For more than a century, Otava has highlighted and taken responsibility for Finland’s shared values by promoting culture, growth and learning through its publications, such as books, learning materials and magazine articles.  

Otava is firmly committed to Finland and social impact. The company is already a fifth-generation family business, which underlines its long-term commitment to family entrepreneurship and ownership. This kind of long-term ownership is very rare.

Only one in ten family businesses is able to continue in the same family into the third generation.

Otava has been a forerunner in sustainability since the outset: everything the company does revolves around fostering education and culture. Otava has also made significant strategic investments in Finnish businesses, thereby strengthening its position as a supporter of domestic ownership and the Finnish economy.

Otava is not only an example of four successful generational changes, but also of renewal through each new generation. 

“We aim to lead Otava sustainably and in a target-oriented manner, so that it will remain a noteworthy company for another 130 years. By introducing new governance models, we want to involve and engage future generations in the company’s mission. By keeping our owners close, we strengthen their emotional connection to Otava,” says Henrik Ehrnrooth, Chair of Otava’s Board of Directors. 

This was the 21st Family Business of the Year Award. It is awarded annually to a successful family business with at least one generational change behind it and a strong investment in the future. The Family Business of the Year Award shows that owners matter. A company needs skilled and committed owners, and Finland needs companies that invest in the future.     

Perheyritysten liitto gave the first award in 2004. In 2012, it was named the Peter Fazer Award. Otava has been a member of Perheyritysten liitto since the association was founded.

AI is for everyone

It is skilled employees who achieve Otava’s targets. Our main ways of developing competence include everyday learning and cooperation with colleagues and partners. Competence and working methods can be developed through task rotation. There are also a variety of learning opportunities available, such as coaching programmes, training and online courses.

For example Otavamedia has been closely monitoring the changes and opportunities that have been brought about by the digitisation of work. Machine learning and artificial intelligence have already been in use for some time, for example, in the automation of marketing. The potential of generative AI has also been boldly tested, and many people have enjoyed smoother workflows or received help from a tireless assistant. The aim is to find the work stages in which AI will be of the greatest assistance.

The Digital Learning Path is a Teams channel that was established in 2019 to provide training and enable personnel to share information, and it has been in use ever since.

Everyone is encouraged to try and test how AI could be helpful in their own work.

“At an organisational level, we have been carefully monitoring the digitisation of work and the kinds of digital tools that exist. Since generative AI broke through in early 2023, our training sessions have been themed so that all of the tips and introductions have related to AI in one way or another,” says Marjatta Leino, Senior Specialist.

Six Elements of AI study paths were organised at Otavamedia during 2024. It is a module that consists of meetings, self-study and a final assignment. Study paths are organised also 2025.

Since the beginning of 2023, AI-themed training sessions have been attended over 700 times.

The final assignments for the Elements of AI course were also presented to colleagues. These courses have identified many uses for AI that will streamline and speed up our work, and also free up time from routine tasks.

In editorial work, AI helps with tasks such as article headings and leads, and social media posts. Artificial intelligence is now part of the toolkit for magazine ADs, that is, the people who create infographics. Photos can be edited, and their backgrounds can be extended as required. Artificial intelligence can also help with creative illustrations.

But whatever you do with AI, you need to tell people about it. Fact checking is likewise always the responsibility of a human.

Tekniikan Maailma’s AI, Tuuma, and the ability to listen to Suomen Kuvalehti are additional services for readers that have been enabled by AI. Plussalaiset, Kaksplussa’s new service for parents, is another service that harnesses AI. The content displayed to readers will be adapted on the basis of their children’s ages.

Consumer customers and consumer sales have been at the forefront of AI utilisation, and its use has benefited the company’s business. For example, AI is used to predict the likelihood of customers placing an order. The unit programmes its own forecast models in-house.