Corporate News

Scout24 AG further reduces debt by making first voluntary prepayment towards new bank loan

DGAP-News: Scout24 AG / Key word(s): Miscellaneous/Financing17.08.2017 / 11:14 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.Scout24 AG further reduces debt by making first voluntary prepayment towards new bank loan Prepayment of EUR 30 million towards syndicated loan High cashflow

DGAP-News: Scout24 AG / Key word(s): Miscellaneous/Financing

17.08.2017 / 11:14
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.


Scout24 AG further reduces debt by making first voluntary prepayment towards new bank loan

  • Prepayment of EUR 30 million towards syndicated loan
  • High cashflow generation supports further deleveraging

Berlin / Munich, 17 August 2017 - Scout24 AG ("Scout24" or "the Group"), the leading operator of digital marketplaces specialising in the real estate and automotive sectors in Germany and other selected European countries, has made a voluntary prepayment towards its syndicated bank loan, further reducing debt by EUR 30 million.

This is the first voluntary prepayment by Scout24 since refinancing its debt in December 2016 and just two months after making the first dividend payment of EUR 32 million to its shareholders since the IPO. This proves once again the Group's strong cash generating abilities and underlines the financial flexibility under the new credit agreement.

The voluntary prepayment reduces the outstanding debt from EUR 680 million to EUR 650 million. Interest expenses will decrease by EUR 510 thousand per year at the current interest rate. The prepayment covers the annual mandatory repayment of EUR 30 million, which would have been due in December 2017, hereby increasing the financial flexibility for the year-end period.

With this voluntary prepayment, Scout24 takes a further step in improving its leverage ratio. Scout24's Management plans to further de-lever over time towards a target range of 1.5x to 1.0x net debt to ordinary operating EBITDA over the last twelve months. The interest rate is linked to the leverage ratio and decreases with the ongoing debt reduction. The next threshold is expected to be reached by end of the 3rd quarter, which will result in further interest savings.

About Scout24

With our leading digital marketplaces ImmobilienScout24 and AutoScout24 in Germany and across Europe we are inspiring people to make their best decisions on finding a home and a car. More than 1,000 employees are working on the success of our products and services, putting the consumers' needs first in order to create a connected network for living and mobility. Scout24 is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE000A12DM80, G24). For further information, please visit http://www.scout24.com/, our Corporate Blog and Tech Blog, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Investor Relations

Britta Schmidt
Vice President Investor Relations & Treasury
Tel: +49 89 44456 3278
Email: [email protected]

Media Relations

Marie Fabiunke
Director Corporate Communications & PR
Tel: +49 30 24301 1427
Email: [email protected]

Disclaimer:

All information contained in this document has been carefully prepared. However, no reliance may be placed for any purposes whatsoever on the information contained in this document or on its completeness. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by or on behalf of the Company or any of its directors, officers or employees or any other person as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this document and no liability whatsoever is accepted by the Company or any of its directors, officers or employees nor any other person for any loss howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of such information or opinions or otherwise arising in connection therewith.

The information contained in this release is subject to amendment, revision and updating. Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this document are forward-looking, which reflect the Company's or, as appropriate, senior management's current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. Statements contained in this document regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any information contained in this press release (including forward-looking statements), whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this document.

Scout24 also uses alternative performance measures, not defined by IFRS, to describe the Scout24 Group's results of operations. These should not be viewed in isolation, but treated as supplementary information. The special items used to calculate some alternative performance measures arise from the integration of acquired businesses, restructuring measures, impairments, gains or losses resulting from divestitures and sales of shareholdings, and other material expenses and income that generally do not arise in conjunction with Scout24's ordinary business activities. Alternative performance measures used by Scout24 are defined in the "Glossary" section of Scout24's Annual Report 2016 which is available at www.scout24.com/financial-reports.

Due to rounding, numbers presented throughout this statement may not add up precisely to the totals indicated, and percentages may not precisely reflect the absolute figures for the same reason.



17.08.2017 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Archive at www.dgap.de


Language:English
Company:Scout24 AG
Dingolfinger Str. 1 - 15
81673 Munich
Germany
Phone:+49 89 44456 - 0
Fax:+49 89 44456 - 3000
E-mail:[email protected]
Internet:www.scout24.com
ISIN:DE000A12DM80
WKN:A12DM8
Indices:SDAX
Listed:Regulated Market in Berlin, Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange; London

 
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2017-08-17
Scout24

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