Schibsted Results 2nd Quarter 2020

Q2 2020 Documents and Links

Q2 2020 Presentation
Q2 2020 Financials and analytical info (MS Excel)
Q2 2020 Report
Q2 2020 Webcast recording (Link)
Q2 2020 Q&A conference call recording (MP3)

Comments from the CEO

“Schibsted has been clearly affected by COVID-19 in Q2. I am pleased to report that we, despite these circumstances, delivered solid financial results and that our measures enabled us to safeguard our employees and to continue to deliver fully functional, relevant services for our customers and clients. Revenues have improved throughout the quarter and EBITDA for Schibsted excluding Adevinta was NOK 498 million, significantly better than Q1,” CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says.

“Furthermore, I am excited that Schibsted has come to an agreement with Sanoma to acquire their Finnish multi-vertical online marketplace Oikotie. With this acquisition, we are strengthening our position in Jobs and Real estate in Finland. Owning Tori and Oikotie, two highly complementary online marketplaces with strong brands, will enable us to create better services for Finnish customers. We are confident that this acquisition will help us create more value for all our stakeholders going forward,” CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says.

“During Q2, our Nordic Marketplaces have seen a revenue decline driven by lower volumes, specifically in April and May, while temporary savings and cost control secured solid margins. In June, volumes have continued to recover in all verticals and Motor seems to be rather resilient showing year-on-year volume growth for June in both Norway and Sweden,” CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says.

“In our News Media businesses, revenues from digital subscriptions showed strong growth. Advertising revenues declined significantly year-on-year driven by COVID-19, yet performance was strong given the market environment due to focused product development and higher sales activity than last year. This was enabled by our decision to not do Group wide temporary layoffs but rather focus on possibilities in the mid-term. EBITDA is down year-on-year but improved significantly compared to Q1 with a strong margin of 8% for the quarter. The announced cost program to adapt the cost base to the market development, while ensuring leading online product offerings, is on track and implementation has started,” CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says.

“Lendo has seen an underlying revenue decline this quarter, but trends have improved in June. Finally, our e-commerce enabling businesses Distribution and Prisjakt had a tailwind from changed consumer behavior due to COVID-19 and recorded strong revenue growth in Q2,” CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says.

Highlights of the quarter

• EBITDA of NOK 498 million for Schibsted excluding Adevinta; -11% YoY while significantly higher than Q1 2020. 
• Acquisition of Finnish online marketplace Oikotie from Sanoma announced on 16 July 2020
• Nordic Marketplaces: Revenues declined 11 percent YoY (currency adjusted) due to COVID-19 while trends have improved throughout the quarter. Cost savings led to EBITDA margin of 52 percent in Norway and 42 percent in Sweden.
• News Media: Continuous good trend for digital subscriptions, advertising revenue decline has improved throughout the quarter. Cost savings led to an EBITDA margin of 8 percent. Cost program implementation on track. 
• Financial Services: Underlying revenue decline in Lendo due to COVID-19 while marketing spend has been reduced to curb EBITDA decline. Stable EBITDA margin YoY.
• Growth: Solid revenue growth driven by Distribution and Prisjakt with tailwind from COVID-19 and social distancing. EBITDA improvement quarter-on-quarter.
• Adevinta: Revenues decreased by 16 percent due to COVID-19, EBITDA decrease of 15 percent driven by the revenue shortfall (based on Adevinta’s stand-alone reporting in EUR, on a proportionate basis including JVs).

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Q2 2020 presentation will be held as an English language webcast only on 17 July 2020 at 09:00 CET. Consequently, it will not be possible to attend the presentation in person. Participants can send in written questions through the webcast player.

The presentation will be webcasted live at: Schibsted ASA Webcast Q2 2020

• You may also follow the presentation on YouTube: Schibsted ASA YouTube Q2 2020
• CEO Kristin Skogen Lund, CFO Ragnar Kårhus and EVP Nordic Marketplaces & CEO of FINN.no Christian Printzell Halvorsen will present.
• A recording of the presentation will be available on the IR website shortly after the live webcast has ended.

Conference call for investors and analysts – Q&A session

Time: 17 July 2020 at 14:00 CET
Questions relating to the results will be answered in a conference call. The session will be held in English.

NOTE: To avoid waiting time when connecting to the call, please use the link below 5-10 minutes prior to start time, where you will be asked to type in your phone number and registration details. The event conferencing system will automatically call you back on the phone number you provide and place you into the event. Please note that the link will become active 15 minutes prior to the event: Link to join call: Click to join

For manual dial-in, use the following number (note that this connection might take more time):

Norway: +47 2350 0187
Sweden: +46 (0)8 5033 6546
UK: +44 (0)330 336 9401
US: +1 323-701-0223
Passcode: 23 19 88

Contact persons:

Ragnar Kårhus, CFO, +47 917 91 752
Jann-Boje Meinecke, Head of IR, +47 941 00 835
Malin Langtvet, IR Officer, +47 916 86 710
Nathalie Kåvin, Head of External Communications & Brand Management, +47 934 01 363