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.
The Finnish association for family businesses, Perheyritysten liitto, gave its Family Business of the Year Award to Otava in November 2024. Consistency with regard to Otava’s core mission was one of the grounds for the award. Other noteworthy points included Otava’s commitment to Finland and social impact, and its long history as a fifth-generation family business.
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.
229.9
Otava’s net sales
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.
17.0
Otava’s EBITA
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