29.03.2017
Scout24 AG DE000A12DM80
DGAP-News: Scout24 AG announces record 2016 results and robust outlook for 2017
DGAP-News: Scout24 AG / Key word(s): Final Results
Scout24 AG announces record 2016 results and robust outlook for 2017
29.03.2017 / 07:30
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Scout24 AG announces record 2016 results and robust outlook for 2017
* Strong top-line growth with revenues up 12.3% to EUR 442.1 million
* Surge in profitability with ordinary operating EBITDA up 18.4% to EUR
224.5 million yielding a margin of 50.8%
* 20.4% increase in cash contribution supports deleveraging
* Positive outlook for the financial year 2017: high-single-digit revenue
growth and continued margin expansion
Berlin / Munich, 29 March 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,
announces its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2016.
According to the audited consolidated financial statements published today,
Group revenues for the financial year 2016 increased by 12.3% to EUR 442.1
million. Group ordinary operating EBITDA was up 18.4% to EUR 224.5 million,
representing an uplift in margin of 2.6 percentage points to 50.8%. Cash
contribution increased by 20.4%, further reducing leverage to 2.82x ordinary
operating EBITDA. These figures fully confirm the preliminary financial
results published on 13 February 2017.
"2016 was another very good year for Scout24. We maintained our growth
momentum, delivering not only world-class digital services but also
record-breaking financials. Next to top performance of our core verticals,
product innovations through Scout24 Media have begun to pay off. Based on
our proven ability to generate high cash flows, we were able to further
reduce debt reaching a leverage ratio of 2.82:1at the end of 2016. Against
the backdrop of the successful financial year, together with the Supervisory
Board we will propose our first post-IPO dividend payment to the Annual
General Meeting", said Greg Ellis, Chief Executive Officer of Scout24 AG,
commenting on the strong performance of financial year 2016.
Overview of Financial Results
The table below provides a summary overview of the Group's performance for
the fourth quarter and the financial year ended 31 December 2016.
(EUR Q4 2016 Q4 2015 +/- FY FY +/-
million) 2016 2015
(unaudited) (unaudited)
External 115.8 105.2 10.1% 442.1 393.6 12.3%
revenues
IS24 73.1 69.8 4.7% 284.6 266.7 6.7%
AS24 41.5 33.4 24.3% 152.0 120.7 25.9%
Corporate 0.2 1.2 (83.3)% 1.3 2.8 (53.6)%
Ordinary 57.0 45.0 26.7% 224.5 189.6 18.4%
operating
EBITDA
IS24 45.7 40.0 14.3% 179.2 159.2 12.6%
AS24 16.7 8.9 87.6% 64.2 43.8 46.6%
Corporate (1.7) (2.3) (26.1)% (7.1) (8.7) (18.4)%
Reconciliati- (3.7) (1.9) 94.7% (11.6) (5.5) 110.9%
on of
management
fee
Ordinary 49.2% 42.7% 6.5pp 50.8% 48.2% 2.6pp
operating
EBITDA -
margin %
IS24 62.5% 57.3% 5.2pp 63.0% 59.7% 3.3pp
AS24 40.2% 26.7% 13.5pp 42.2% 36.2% 6.0pp
EBITDA 53.1 41.2 28.9% 206.8 166.9 23.9%
IS24 42.3 35.8 18.2% 162.6 147.9 9.9%
AS24 14.1 8.1 74.1% 55.9 39.7 40.8%
Capital 5.8 5.5 5.5% 19.5 19.3 1.0%
expenditure
Cash 51.2 39.5 29.6% 205.0 170.3 20.4%
contribution
Cash and 43.4 70.6
cash
equivalents
Net 633.9 711.3
financial
debt
Equity 990.8 921.3
Equity ratio 46.5% 42.4%
Employees 1,135 1,120
(FTEs, end
of period)
The complete financial statements and management report for the financial
year 2016 is available at report.scout24.com/2016.
Business Development and Group results
The strategy of consistently focusing on users' needs, boosting the listings
base, improving service commitment through additional products, as well as
further development from a classifieds portal to a market network, have set
the base for our sustainable growth and high profitability. Scout24 remains
on its growth track, in both revenues and profitability. This growth is
mainly attributable to a higher number of customers and increasing
penetration of visibility products at AS24, programmatic advertising, and an
improved offering of services along the real estate selling and rental
process. Acquisitions also contributed to growth in 2016, especially the
acquisition of the Dutch digital automotive classifieds platform European
AutoTrader B.V. ("AutoTrader.nl").
The Group-wide Scout24 Media function, which bundles all activities in field
of consumer services and supports activities in display advertising sales ,
extended its position in 2016 and further strengthened the positioning of
Scout24 as a leading data-driven digital marketer in Germany and Europe.
Ordinary operating EBITDA increased by 18.4 % from EUR 189.6 million to EUR
224.5 million. This translates into a significantly increased ordinary
operating EBITDA margin of 50.8 % (2015: 48.2 %), further underlining our
profitability.
Reported Group EBITDA for the financial year 2016 was affected by
non-operating costs of EUR 17.8 million. The non-operating costs essentially
consist of personnel expenses as well as costs in the context of M&A
transactions. Personnel expenses include personnel expenses from share-based
compensation for management equity programs totalling to EUR 4.1 million as
well as performance-based remuneration from share purchase agreements
totalling to EUR 2.8 million.
The Management Board together with the Supervisory Board will propose a
dividend of EUR 0.30 per share for the year 2016 to the Annual General
Meeting on 8 June 2017. This corresponds to an overall payment of EUR 32.28
million. In relation to the share price at 30 December 2016, this represents
a dividend yield of 0.9 %.
ImmobilienScout24 (IS24)
External revenues in the IS24 segment grew by 6.7 % in the reporting period
compared to 2015. As in the previous year, the largest revenue share is
attributable to revenues from core agents, which were up by 4.9 %. This
revenue growth was driven by strong ARPU growth of 18.1 % to EUR 711 for the
full 2016 year (2015: EUR 602), partially offset by a declining number of
core agents. The number of core agents decreased by 1,944 to 17,411 at the
end of December 2016 due to churn and shifts to the professional pay-per-ad
model, as well as some agents leaving the market in response to the so
called "Bestellerprinzip" introduced in June 2015 and market conditions in
Germany. As customer migration to the membership model continues, 86.9 % of
the approximately 90.0 % of core agents to which the membership model was
offered in 2016, have already switched. Initiatives in the field of services
across the entire real estate selling and rental process, driven by the
Group-wide Scout24 Media function, contributed primarily to the 10.7 %
growth in other revenues. Most important, IS24 further expanded its market
position during the past financial year. Though the overall number of
listings on the IS24 platform reduced slightly in 2016 (around 466 thousand
listings vs. 504 thousand listings) in line with the market trend, market
share expanded and the number of listings compared with the next competitor
went up from 1.4 x in 2015 to 1.6 x in 2016. Based on its extensive content
offering, IS24 also maintained its leading position in terms of consumer
traffic and engagement. An average of 72 million visits per month (2015: 72
million) resulted in an average of 477 million minutes monthly time spent
(desktop and mobile, 2.6 x vs. closest competitor). Supported by the
"mobile-first" approach the average number of visits via mobile devices grew
by 9.6 % now accounting for 68.6 % of total visits (63.2 % in 2015).
AutoScout24 (AS24)
External revenues in the AS24 segment showed a strong growth of 25.9 %
compared to the 2015 financial year. This dynamic growth was mainly due to a
higher-than-expected rise in revenues from core dealers in Germany of 28.9 %
and Benelux/Italy of 35.8 % as well as the acquisition of AutoTrader.nl in
February 2016 which accounted for some four percentage points of the revenue
growth. Both regions are benefiting from a growing number of core dealers as
well as strong ARPU growth (average revenue per core dealer per month). The
ARPU growth is largely attributable to increasing penetration of visibility
products. The number of core dealers in Germany grew by 9.5 % to 24,421 and
in Benelux/Italy the number of core dealers was up 7.6 % to 18,747. ARPU in
Germany rose by 16.4 % to EUR 199, in Benelux/Italy ARPU grew by 27.1 % to
EUR 225. By executing further on its strategic focus to increase the
listings base and enhance user-friendliness, an improved offering for mobile
devices, as well as continuing the strategy of acquiring new dealers over
the past twelve months, AS24 achieved a further increase in its total
listing base in Germany of 6.6 % to 1,286 thousand in December 2016 (1,206
thousand in December 2015). Driven by mobile functionality enhancements,
mobile visits in Germany increased to 63.0 % of total visits up on a
year-average basis in 2016 (2015: 49.7 %). Moreover, AS24 successfully
defended its market leadership based on numbers of listings in Belgium
(including Luxembourg), the Netherlands and Austria, and further expanded
its market leadership in Italy. The average share of visits via mobile
devices in relation to total visits in Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy
was up from 53.1 % to 63.5 % over the same period.
Outlook
The trend in ordinary operating EBITDA reflects the success of Scout24's
overall strategy of focusing on sustainable and profitable growth. Revenue
growth of 12.3 % was mainly driven organically, but also through targeted
acquisitions that bolster the leading market positions. Based on margin
quality, strong cash contribution, solid balance sheet structure and good
leverage ratio, Scout24 is in an outstanding position to progress the
transformation of the Company from a provider of digital classifieds portals
to a sector-leading provider of digital marketplaces, as well as to further
grow profitability. Moreover, Scout24 continued to streamline its
organisational structure, leveraging on synergies across the businesses.
The Management Board is therefore confident that the Group's growth momentum
will continue also in 2017. Specifically, organic Group revenues are
expected to record a growth rate in the high single-digit area, while the
cost base should grow at a disproportionally lower rate. The Management
Board therefore expects ordinary operating EBITDA margin to increase by
around one percentage point.
In particular, the Management Board expects IS24 to achieve a
mid-single-digit percentage organic revenue growth rate. Revenue growth will
be weighted towards the second half, where the Management Board expects an
acceleration to a mid to high single-digit percentage rate. As in previous
years, underlying costs are expected to grow at a disproportionately lower
rate than revenues. However, IS24 is stepping up investment in marketing and
product innovation for both customers and consumers. These investments are
expected to have a positive impact on top line growth, starting in the
second half of 2017. As a result, the Management Board expects an ordinary
operating EBITDA margin at a similar or slightly lower level than in 2016
(but at least 61%). The number of core agents as of December 2016 declined
by 10.0 % compared to December 2015 with a stabilization of agent numbers in
the fourth quarter 2016, mainly in line with the general market development.
Core Agent numbers are assumed to remain stable excluding any potential
impact of agents leaving the business as a result of prevailing market
conditions throughout the year. As a result, we expect revenues from core
agents to increase by a low single-digit percentage rate with an accelerated
growth rate in the second half of 2017.
At AS24, the Management Board expects revenues to grow by a mid-teens
percentage growth rate and for ordinary operating EBITDA margin to expand
further by at least five percentage points.
Total non-operating costs are expected to amount to approximately EUR 10.0
million, of which approximately EUR 6.0 million relate to share-based
compensation for management equity programs and performance-based
remuneration from share purchase agreements. A non-recurring charge for
reorganisation of approximately EUR 4.0 million is anticipated. Finally, the
Management Board expects capital expenditure to be on a comparable level to
2016, further improving the cash conversion potential of the group.
Conference Call
On Wednesday, 29 March 2017, 1:00 p.m. CEST, Scout24 will host a conference
call and webcast for financial analysts and investors. You may dial in using
the following numbers:
DE: +4969222229043
UK: +442030092452
USA: +18554027766
Participant PIN code: 82438614#
The webcast, as well as a replay, will be made available at:
http://scout290317-live.audio-webcast.com
Next reporting
Scout24 expects to report results for the first quarter of the 2017
financial year on Wednesday, 10 May 2017.
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
Fon: +49 89 44456 3278
Email: [email protected]
Media Relations
Marie Fabiunke
Head of Corporate Communications & PR
Fon: +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.
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29.03.2017 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,
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Archive at www.dgap.de
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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
End of News DGAP News Service
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