Adevinta ASA (ADE) – Adevinta announces its first quarter 2020 results

Adevinta announces its first quarter 2020 results

  • Total revenuesup 8% to €188 million 
  • Online classifieds revenue grew 13%
  • Display advertising revenues decreased 5%
  • EBITDA1 margin down 5.9pts yoy 
  • Traffic impacted in the first weeks of lockdown but already shows good recovery
  • Strong liquidity position to continue to invest for the LT

Oslo, 5 May 2020 – Adevinta ASA (ADE) completed the first quarter with a revenue increase of 8% compared to Q1 2019 (or 2% excluding l’Argus) strongly impacted by Covid-19 in March in all markets. The revenue growth rate was nevertheless driven by the solid performance in classifieds in France and Spain at the beginning of the year, as well as contributions from acquisitions, specifically L’Argus. Brazil revenues were up 8% year-on-year in local currency but negatively affected by foreign exchange variation. Classifieds revenue grew 13% (or 7% excluding l’Argus), while advertising revenue decreased by 5% (positive trend in January and February accumulated compared to the prior year was offset by strong drop in March).

Gross operating profit (EBITDA) decreased by 14% yoy due to investments in product & technology (at central and business levels), set up of central functions and corporate post IPO (in line with previously communicated expectations), and impact of Covid-19 in our main markets.

Rolv Erik Ryssdal, CEO, commented:

“Heading into 2020, no one could have anticipated the global disruption we are facing now due to Covid-19 pandemic. Our top priorities have been to ensure that our sites are fully operational, work proactively with our customers, and of course to ensure the health and safety of our employees. 

“We started the year with strong positive momentum. The classifieds revenues in our big European countries performed well as a result of our strong brands and the products we continuously develop for our professional customers. We saw a more positive development in display advertisement, particularly in France where we switched adserver during February. We were pleased to announce the acquisition of ZAP-VivaReal in Brazil, in line with our strategy of strengthening our position in our most important markets. We believe the combination of OLX and ZAP-VivaReal will be in a position to provide excellent products and services to buyers and sellers of real estate in Brazil. 

“The Covid-19 pandemic changed the business environment dramatically in all our markets in March. Traffic went down as much as 40-50% in some countries. As a result, our revenues showed limited growth in the first quarter, and EBITDA margin was down 590 basis points year on year. 

“Looking ahead, we have limited visibility on how quickly the economic conditions in our markets will recover, but we are optimistic about our own opportunities. In April, we are seeing a significant improvement in key performance indicators across the board. We are closely following new consumer trends and user behaviours which will emerge, and already planning how we can adapt and benefit from these. We continue to invest in developing products and technology at full speed to further improve our offerings for our users and customers. I am confident that we can continue to expand our strong market positions and also seize new opportunities as they arise.”

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1 –  Proportionate basis incl JVs For definition of EBITDA please see section Definitions and reconciliations. Adevinta implemented IFRS 16 from 1 January 2019

Q1 2020 Highlights 

Total Revenues1 up 8% to €188 million (+10% at constant currency) 
● Solid start to the year 
● March performance significantly affected by COVID-19 situation 
Online classifieds revenue grew 13% 
● France up 24% (or 11% excl. l’Argus) 
● Spain up 8% 
Display advertising revenues decreased 5% 
● Positive trend in Spain and France in Jan & Feb 
● Italy significantly impacted 
EBITDA1 margin down 5.9pts yoy 
● Revenue drop in March in main operations due to COVID-19 
● Dilutive impact of acquisitions in France 
● Sustained investment in product development (at central and business level) 
Product & technology achievements 
● Improvement of user experience and engagement with rollout additional smart features 
● Deployment of more efficient professional tools 
● Strong focus on P2P transactions 
Strong liquidity position to continue to invest for the LT 
● €489m available liquidity at the end of March 
● Further €225m term loan facilities raised in April to support Grupo ZAP acquisition

Key financial numbers 

  First quarter   Full Year
yoy% 2019 2020 (€ million)  2019
8% 174.4 188.0 Operating revenues incl. JVs 739.5
-14% 49.7 42.6 EBITDA incl. JVs 206.1
  29% 23% EBITDA margin incl. JVs 28%
      Cash flow  
-16% 51.0 42.8 Net cash flow from operating activities 134.1

You are cordially invited to participate in the presentation of Adevinta ASA’s Q1 2020 presentation today at 08:30 A.M. CEST. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Adevinta is taking a range of measures to prevent the spread of the virus and safeguard the health and security of our employees, customers and other stakeholders. Hence, the company is conducting the presentation as a live audio webcast and conference call, including a Q&A session. CEO Rolv Erik Ryssdal and CFO Uvashni Raman will present. The whole management team of Adevinta will participate in the Q&A session.

The webcast will be available on www.adevinta.com/ir and on this link: https://bit.ly/2ySh9Xm. Participants are also invited to ask questions using the dial-in numbers below.

Dial-in details:
Norway: +47 2100 2610
UK: +44 (0)330 336 9126
USA: +1 720-543-0197
Confirmation code: 7675077

A recording of the presentation will be available on our website shortly after the live webcast has ended.

-End-

Media contacts
Mélodie Laroche
Corporate Communications
T: +33 (0) 6 84 30 52 76
melodie.laroche@adevinta.com

Marie de Scobiac
Head of Investor Relations
ir@adevinta.com

About Adevinta
Adevinta is a global online classifieds company with generalist, real estate, cars, jobs and other internet marketplaces in 16 countries, connecting buyers seeking goods or services with a large base of sellers. Its portfolio spans 36 digital products and websites, attracting 1.5 billion average monthly visits. Leading brands include top-ranked leboncoin in France, InfoJobs and Milanuncios in Spain, and 50% of fast-growing OLX Brazil. Adevinta was spun off from Schibsted ASA and publicly listed as an independent company in Oslo, Norway in 2019. The Adevinta is majority owned by Schibsted ASA.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act 

 

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