Capital Markets Day: Scout24 AG announces strengthening of verticals to shape the networked marketplace of the future

Capital Markets Day: Scout24 AG announces strengthening of verticals to shape the networked marketplace of the future

- Scout24 details its strategic roadmap to strengthen its two leading verticals tapping into a larger total addressable market
- Accelerated product innovation, streamlining of organizational structure and optimization of cost base will drive profitable growth
- Confident to grow group revenues in the mid-teens by 2022, with group operating EBITDA margin to reach up to 58% in 2022
- AutoScout24 with continued strong growth and profit expansion; strategic review ongoing

Munich/Berlin, 26^th November 2019 - Scout24 AG ("Scout24") is pursuing a successful profitable growth path. The company shares a positive outlook for 2020 and beyond at its Capital Markets Day in Munich. The Management Board expects Scout24's dynamic and highly profitable growth to continue for its two leading verticals ImmoScout24 and AutoScout24. Group revenues are projected to increase by 8% to 11% in 2020. Revenue growth is expected to accelerate further to low- to mid-teens in 2021 and mid-teens in 2022. Group EBITDA margin from ordinary operating activities is expected to increase to up to 56% by 2020 and up to 58% by 2022.

As part of its strategic roadmap announced this summer, the Management Board outlines its key initiatives to benefit from industry trends driving the European digital classifieds markets. ImmoScout24 and AutoScout24 will offer a whole suite of new products and services designed to increase their total addressable markets, simplify the consumer journey, strengthen customer relationships, thereby resulting in attractive profitable growth for the group.

In addition, Scout24 is driving operational excellence, currently executing a cost optimisation program for its two verticals to operate in a leaner and more agile structure. This includes the reintegration of Consumer Services. All measures are fully on track to deliver an expected EUR 20 million of annual cost savings by 2021.

Scout24 is committed to a value-accretive capital allocation, by reinvesting into growth and returning cash to its shareholders through its dividend policy and announced share buy-back programme, whilst targeting a long-term leverage of up to 3.5x.

"We are the leading online classifieds group in Europe. With our two verticals, we are building on very strong brands. We are shaping the networked marketplace of the future by enhancing our product offering, driving monetization and improving operational excellence. Scout24 has consistently been and will be at the forefront of technological innovation as well as customer and consumer centricity. We have a proven track record of uninterrupted double-digit growth. We will further expand our market leadership of ImmoScout24 in Germany and AutoScout24 across Europe through a number of new product and service launches. We are building the ecosystem for real estate in Germany whilst also driving innovation across the consumer and customer journey for AutoScout24."

Tobias Hartmann, CEO of Scout24 AG

"We are improving scalability and efficiency for the whole group to drive margin improvement and strong cash flow generation. Therefore, we maintain a positive outlook for 2020 and beyond. We strongly believe the strategic direction and corresponding initiatives will be beneficial to our customers and consumers. Our actions will strengthen our overall investment proposition and enhance growth and profitability. This will create attractive long-term value for our shareholders."

Dirk Schmelzer, CFO of Scout24 AG

ImmoScout24: Building the ecosystem for real estate in Germany
ImmoScout24 continues to be a highly profitable growth driver for Scout24. The leading German classifieds platform serving home owners, agents and customers through its proven track-record of more than 20 years in the German real estate market and its ability to drive innovation, is at the forefront of building a comprehensive ecosystem for sale, rent and business real estate in Germany. Future growth will be supported by continued increase in the number of agents, ARPA and penetration of on-top products, in addition to a strengthened position in Private Listings.

AutoScout24: Driving innovation across the consumer and customer journey
AutoScout24 has established and maintained a leading position across its key European markets over the last ten years, consistently delivering double-digit growth and margin expansion. Today, it is well placed to lead the next phase of an evolving European car classifieds marketplace. AutoScout24 has a clear value proposition based on innovation, access to all relevant markets, and being a trusted partner to market participants. It will continue to leverage this position to benefit from trends in mobility and digitization. With concrete initiatives to create value, AutoScout24 has an excellent foundation for its next phase of profitable growth.

Regarding the strategic review of AutoScout24, Scout24 has defined an organic value creation plan and concurrently initiated a process to explore a potential sale or separation of the business. This process is ongoing and Scout24 is carefully and diligently weighing options for AutoScout24 to maximise long-term shareholder value creation.

From November 27^th on, you can find a recap of today's Capital Markets Day presentations and speeches on: https://www.scout24.com/en/Investor-Relations/events/capital-markets-day/Capital-Markets-Day.aspx

About Scout24
With our leading digital marketplaces ImmoScout24 in Germany and Austria and AutoScout24 across Europe, we are creating a networked marketplace for living and mobility. With more than 1,500 employees we empower our users to find their new home or their new car quickly and easily. Besides, we offer additional services, such as the brokerage of relocation services or housing and car financing. Scout24 AG is a publicly-listed stock corporation and member of the MDAX. For further information, please visit www.scout24.com, our Corporate Blog and Tech Blog or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.


Investor Relations
Ursula Querette
Head of Investor Relations
Tel.: +49 89 44456 3278
Email: [email protected]
 

Media Relations
Jan Flaskamp
Vice President Communications & Marketing
Tel.: +49 30 24301 0721
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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 and/or completeness of the information 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, assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results, including but not limited to the Company's financial position or profitability, to differ materially, also adversely, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. 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 document (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 press release.

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 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 Group Interim Report 2019 which is available at www.scout24.com/finanzberichte.

Due to rounding, numbers presented throughout this document may not add up precisely to the totals indicated, and percentages may not precisely reflect the absolute figures for the same reason.Information on the quarterly financials has not been subject to audit and is thus preliminary.