Scout24 AG significantly increases revenues and earnings
Berlin / Munich, 8 May 2018 -
First Quarter 2018
- Strong revenue growth of 10.3% to 123.4 million euros
- High profitability: ordinary operating EBITDA margin at 51.6%
- CFO Christian Gisy: "In the new Scout24 Consumer Services segment we are further expanding our range of services for our users.“
- Positive outlook for the 2018 financial year
According to the unaudited consolidated interim financial statements for the first quarter of 2018, the Group revenues increased by 10.3% year-on-year to 123.4 million euros. Group ordinary operating EBITDA grew by 12.7% to EUR 63.7 million. The EBITDA margin from ordinary activities increased accordingly to 51.6%. Cash contribution increased by 6.3% to EUR 55.7 million, underlining the Group's potential to generate high cash flows. Investments resulting from the first-time application of the new international accounting standard IFRS 16 were not taken into account.
"With the results for the first quarter of 2018, we are well on the way to achieving our targets for 2018. We achieved strong sales and earnings growth and further improved our financial position with our first promissory note issue in March 2018. In the new Scout24 Consumer Services segment we are further expanding our range of services for our users. What today costs a lot of time around car and real estate offline, such as relocation planning or car price comparison, we offer online – and make the decision easy and convenient for our users", says Christian Gisy, CFO of Scout24.
Growth of ImmobilienScout24, AutoScout24 and Scout24 Consumer Services
Scout24’s successful start into the year 2018 was driven by the sustained positive momentum in the ImmobilienScout24 segment and sustained growth in the AutoScout24 and Scout24 Consumer Services segments.
In the reporting period, revenues of ImmobilienScout24 rose by 6.0% to EUR 60.5 million compared to the first quarter of 2017. The strong growth resulted primarily from revenue with residential real estate partners and business real estate partners. ImmobilienScout24 also increased the number of partners in these segments, in particular through strong customer recovery and new acquisition as well as a low customer churn. With its extensive range of products and services, ImmobilienScout24 consolidated its strong competitive lead in listings share as well as visitor numbers ("traffic") and user activity in the first quarter of 2018.
AutoScout24 increased revenues in the first quarter of 2018 by 16.1% year-on-year to EUR 42.2 million. This sustained dynamic development is primarily the result of revenues to dealers in Germany and in the core European markets, including Austria. Revenues were driven by the successful implementation of price adjustments and the gradual introduction of the 360-degree product in European countries. The number of dealer partners in Germany and the core European markets remained largely stable compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. AutoScout24 maintained its market leadership in terms of the number of listings compared to competitors in both the general classifieds and automotive classified competitors in Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Austria and is continuing to close the gap with its competitor in Germany.
Scout24 Consumer Services generated external revenue of EUR 20.7 million in the first quarter of 2018. This corresponds to an increase of 12.6% over the same period last year. The increase was mainly driven by services revenues and revenues with finance partners. Scout24 Consumer Services comprises all activities in the area of services along the value chain of the real estate or automobile market and around online advertisements of third parties. Scout24 established Consumer Services as an independent segment with effect from 1 January 2018. It is reported for the first time in the first quarter of 2018.
Outlook
At Group level, the Management Board expects sales growth of between 9.0% and 11.0% for 2018, unchanged from the expectations set out in the 2017 Annual Report. The Group expects an EBITDA margin from ordinary activities of between 56.0% and 57.5% and confirms therefore the expectation as communicated with the Annual Report (adapted for effects resulting from changes in accounting regulations) .
Overview of key financial figures
The following table provides a detailed overview of the Group's key financial figures for the first quarter as of March 31, 2018.
(EUR millions) | Q1 2018 | Q1 2017* | % change |
External revenues | 123.4 | 111.9 | 10.3% |
IS24 | 60.5 | 57.1 | 6.0% |
AS24 | 42.2 | 36.3 | 16.1% |
CS24 | 20.7 | 18.4 | 12.6% |
Ordinary operating EBITDA | 63.7 | 56.5 | 12.7% |
IS24 | 39.6 | 38.1 | 3.8% |
AS24 | 18.9 | 14.8 | 28.1% |
CS24 | 6.7 | 6.2 | 7.6% |
Ordinary operating EBITDA-margin- in % | 51.6% | 50.5% | 1.1pp |
IS24 | 65.4% | 66.8% | (1.4)pp |
AS24 | 44.9% | 40.7% | 4.2pp |
CS24 | 32.3% | 33.8% | (1.5)pp |
EBITDA | 60.8 | 53.3 | 14.1% |
Capital expenditure (adjusted) | 7.9 | 4.1 | 95.1% |
Cash contribution | 55.7 | 52.4 | 6.3% |
Cash conversion | 88% | 93% | (5)pp |
* The following change has been made compared to the reported figures for 2017: IFRS 15 was applied as of January 1, 2018, the figures for 2017 were adjusted retrospectively.
The quarterly statement including financial statements is available at www.scout24.com/financial-reports.
Next events
The Annual General Meeting of Scout24 AG will take place on 21 June 2018 in Munich.
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. Additional services, such as credit information, the brokerage of relocation services or construction and car financing, are bundled in the Scout24 Consumer Services business division. More than 1,200 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 www.scout24.com, our Corporate Blog and Tech Blog, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Media contact
Jan Flaskamp
Vice President Communications & Marketing
Phone: +49 30 24301 0721
E-mail: [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 2017 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.