Latvia’s AS Delfi, the company behind one of the country’s largest digital media platforms, has published its 2025 results. At first glance, the figures look strong: profit rose sharply, and digital subscriptions exceeded 40,000 by year-end. A closer reading, however, points to a more complex story.
The results come against a difficult backdrop for Latvian media: a small national market, demographic decline, pressure on advertising budgets and limited room for paid digital content. In this context, Delfi’s figures matter not only as a company result, but also as a signal about the structure of Latvia’s digital media market.
Data card: AS Delfi Latvia, 2025
| Indicator | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Turnover | EUR 5,249,034 |
| Change vs 2024 | -5.2% |
| Profit | EUR 1,780,020 |
| Advertising revenue in Latvia | EUR 3,751,623 |
| Advertising revenue abroad | EUR 286,898 |
| Content subscription revenue | EUR 716,188 |
| Digital subscriptions at year-end | over 40,000 |
| 2024 turnover | EUR 5,534,651 |
| 2024 profit | EUR 594,281 |
The first important point is that Delfi’s turnover declined. Revenue fell by 5.2% compared with 2024. This is in line with the company’s own assessment that the advertising market in 2025 was slightly weaker.
At the same time, profit almost tripled, rising from EUR 594,281 in 2024 to EUR 1,780,020 in 2025. This is the figure that requires the most careful reading. Higher profit on lower turnover does not automatically mean that the core media business became significantly more profitable. It may also reflect lower costs, changes in accounting structure, one-off effects or income outside ordinary media operations.
Advertising remained the main source of income. In 2025, advertising services in Latvia generated EUR 3.75 million, while advertising services abroad added EUR 286,898. Together, advertising-related income accounted for roughly 77% of turnover. Despite the growth of paid content, Delfi Latvia therefore remained primarily an advertising-driven media business.
Subscription income was visible, but not dominant. Content subscriptions generated EUR 716,188, or about 13.6% of turnover. The fact that Delfi had more than 40,000 digital subscriptions at the end of the year confirms that there is paying demand for digital content in Latvia. However, subscription revenue alone does not explain the sharp rise in profit.
Audience scale also needs context. According to Gemius data, DELFI media group had 802,400 real users in January 2026, 807,000 in February and 830,100 in March. This means that Delfi’s monthly digital reach in Latvia is roughly twenty times larger than its paid subscription base. The company has strong domestic reach, but the gap between audience and paying users remains substantial.
A separate factor is the sale of Delfi’s stake in SIA Altero, the Latvian financial comparison platform. Ekspress Grupp previously stated that the transaction was expected to generate a one-off net gain of around EUR 2 million for the group. This is highly relevant when reading AS Delfi’s 2025 profit.
The Altero effect is not visible in the ordinary revenue breakdown between advertising and subscriptions. It would normally appear outside regular turnover – for example, as income or gain from the sale of a financial asset, other operating income or a separate financial result. This helps explain the apparent paradox: turnover declined, but profit increased sharply.
A cautious reading is therefore:
AS Delfi’s 2025 profit should not be seen simply as evidence of sharply improved profitability in the core media business. The result appears to have been materially influenced by a one-off asset transaction, while the underlying revenue base remained under pressure.
Market comparison: TVNET
A limited comparison can be made with SIA TVNET GRUPA, Latvia’s other major private digital media group. Its latest available financial year, from 1 May 2024 to 30 April 2025, showed EUR 4.584 million in turnover, 10.77% growth and profitability of about 1%, with 91 employees.
The period is not directly comparable with Delfi’s 2025 calendar-year result, but it supports the broader point: Latvia’s largest digital media groups have significant reach, while operating profitability remains limited.
Audience data for early 2026 also show that TVNET is a comparable market player. In January and February 2026, TVNET group led the Latvian media-group ranking with 861,600 and 834,800 real users respectively, while DELFI media group had 802,400 and 807,000. In March, DELFI moved ahead with 830,100 real users, compared with 806,200 for TVNET group.
This comparison is important. The issue is not whether Delfi has audience strength – it clearly does. The issue is how that reach converts into revenue, subscriptions and operating profitability in a small market.
Ownership and transparency
AS Delfi is part of Ekspress Grupp, which in 2025 underwent a process of ownership concentration. Structures linked to majority shareholder Hans Luik increased control of the group, and after the voluntary takeover offer the holding was expected to exceed 96%.
This matters because Ekspress Grupp has been a publicly listed company. If the group leaves the stock-exchange reporting environment, 2025 may become one of the last years in which its structure, transactions and performance can be analysed through relatively detailed public disclosures.
The key question is not whether Delfi performed “well” or “badly”. The more important question is what the 2025 figures actually measure: operating media performance, one-off asset effects, or a broader transition in the business model and ownership structure.
Working conclusion
Delfi Latvia’s 2025 results show strong reported profit, but not a straightforward story of a booming media business. Turnover declined, advertising remained the dominant revenue source, subscription income was meaningful but limited, and the sharp increase in profit should be read together with the Altero transaction.
For Latvia’s media market, this is an important signal. Even leading digital media brands are moving beyond the classic “advertising plus subscription” model. Scale still matters, but scale alone does not guarantee high operating profitability in a small and demographically shrinking market.
Data basis: Firmas.lv data on AS Delfi 2025 results; AS Delfi management report; Ekspress Grupp public disclosures on Altero and ownership changes; Gemius audience data for January-March 2026; latest available TVNET GRUPA financial data.
Comparison method: AS Delfi Latvia figures are separated from consolidated Ekspress Grupp figures. TVNET financial data are used only as a limited market comparison because the reporting period differs.
Interpretation: Profit growth is read together with the one-off Altero transaction and should not be treated as a stand-alone indicator of core media profitability.