Today, Schibsted Media Group released its Q1 2019 report. Schibsted delivered solid digital revenue growth and improved EBITDA margin in the quarter.
“After a successful demerger and separate listing of our international marketplaces operations in Adevinta, I am happy to report that our operations continued to develop well in Q1. Schibsted excluding Adevinta continues its track record of solid digital growth and the revenue from digital products in Schibsted excluding Adevinta grew with 6 percent. The growth is good in all our operating segments,” CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says.
“Nordic Marketplaces is our most prominent growth engine, and in this quarter the market leading marketplace Finn in Norway continued to produce excellent results. At the same time, I am equally glad to report that Blocket in Sweden has returned to growth after several quarters of negative revenue development. The verticals are the primary growth drivers, and both in Finn and Blocket, product development and innovation are key ingredients to drive growth,” CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says.
“News Media continued to grow their digital revenue in the first quarter, especially driven by good take-up in digital news subscriptions. Going forward we will continue to work on product development and to improve our ability to grow the average revenue per subscriber. As a foundation lies our relentless focus on trustworthy and important journalism. The cost control in News Media is good, and we have been able to deliver on our ambition to keep EBITDA margin stable,” CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says.
“This is the first quarter where we report Financial Services separately, as it has become a sizable business. It is also an area with great potential for expansion. Lendo has now been launched in three new markets, and the results are as planned affected by the investments related to this. Our operations in the Growth segment have significant potential, and in this quarter the development was particularly good in the price comparison service Prisjakt,” CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says.
“After the successful demerger of Adevinta and subsequent share sale by Schibsted, we have a strong financial position. Going forward we see interesting investment opportunities across our digital portfolio. For example, within marketplaces there may be opportunities for in-market consolidation. At the same time, we will seek to maintain an optimal capital structure, and over time seek to be within our communicated range of financial leverage, which is higher than the current level,” CEO Kristin Skogen Lund says.
Highlights of Q1 2019
- Digital revenue growth, excluding Adevinta, of 6% in Q1
- Nordic Marketplaces: Revenues continue to grow, increased EBITDA
- Revenues up 11 percent; EBITDA margin up 4%-points to 45 percent
- Marketplaces Norway with solid 18% revenue growth, in part helped by late Easter in 2019
- Marketplaces Sweden with 2% revenue growth, driven by verticals
- News Media: Growing online revenues driven by digital products
- 2 percent revenue decrease in Q1; 5% digital growth and increased EBITDA margin
- Financial Services: Softer top-line development due to regulations
- Continued growth for Lendo, but with a lower rate than in previous quarters. Recent launch in Denmark, Poland and Austria affects margins negatively in the ramp-up phase
- Schibsted Growth: Continues to expand
- Prisjakt with continued good development in Q1, 10% revenue growth and margin improvement
- Expansion investments in Lendo and innovation within Distribution affecting EBITDA with in total around 25 million in Q1
- Adevinta: Successfully listed on Oslo Stock Exchange on 10 April 2019
- Continued revenue growth driven by France and Spain. Margin expansion driven by reduced investment phase losses.
| Year | (NOK million) | First quarter | ||
| 2018 | Key figures | 2019 | 2018 | Δ % |
| Schibsted excluding Adevinta | ||||
| 12,511 | Operating revenues | 3,089 | 3,037 | 2 % |
| 7,367 | – of which online revenues | 1,842 | 1,739 | 6 % |
| 1,840 | EBITDA | 418 | 336 | 25 % |
| 15 % | EBITDA margin | 14 % | 11 % | |
| Consolidated Group Figures | ||||
| 18,059 | Operating revenues | 4,576 | 4,357 | 5 % |
| 3,268 | EBITDA | 856 | 610 | 40 % |
| 18 % | EBITDA margin | 19 % | 14 % | |
Schibsted invites to an analyst and press conference at Akersgata 55, Oslo, 15 May 2019 at 09:00 CET. The presentation will be held in English and transmitted live as a video webcast on https://www.schibsted.com/ir/. CEO Kristin Skogen Lund and CFO Trond Berger will present at the analyst and press conference.
A conference call with Q&A linked to the Q1 2019 numbers will take place 15 May 2019 at 14:00 CET. The session will be held in English.
NOTE: To avoid waiting time when connecting to the call, please use the below link 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: https://bit.ly/304BLVx
For manual dial-in, use the following number (note that this connection might take more time): +47 2100 2613. Passcode: 652122. For additional phone number, please visit https://www.schibsted.com/ir/.
Contact persons:
Trond Berger, CFO. Tel: +47 916 86 695
Jo Christian Steigedal, Head of IR. Tel: +47 415 08 733
Oslo, 15 May 2019
SCHIBSTED ASA
Jo Christian Steigedal
Head of IR
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