BALTIC CLASSIFIEDS GROUP
PLC
FULL YEAR RESULTS FOR THE
YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2024
Baltic Classifieds Group PLC
("BCG" and the "Group"), the leading
online classifieds group in the Baltics,
announces full year results for the year ended 30 April
2024
Key highlights
· 2024
marked another year of delivering strong performance across all our
businesses lines, underpinned by our significant leadership
position1 versus competitors, record high individual
advertising volumes, and a growing customer base across key
verticals.
· Revenue grew 19% to €72.1 million (2023: €60.8 million). Core
classifieds revenue streams B2C and C2C, which together comprise
90% of total revenue, grew 22% and 18% respectively.
· EBITDA2 grew 20% to €55.3 million (2023: €46.0
million). Our EBITDA margin2 expanded by 1% pt to 77%
(2023: 76%). Accounting operating profit grew 32% to €38.3 million
(2023: €29.1 million).
· Adjusted basic EPS2 grew 20% to 9.2 € cents (2023:
7.7 € cents) while basic EPS grew 40% to 6.5 € cents (2023: 4.7 €
cents).
· Adjusted net income2 grew 18% to €45.0 million
(2023: €38.0 million) with adjustments to profitability being the
amortisation of acquired intangibles, the corresponding tax impact
and a one-off tax credit relating to 2021. Profit for the period
grew 38% to €32.0 million (2023: €23.2 million).
· Cash
generated from operating activities grew 23% to €59.0 million
(2023: €48.0 million), with cash conversion2 maintained
at 99% (2023: 99%).
· Voluntary repayment of €20 million of debt, to end the year
with a gross loan balance of €50.0 million (2023: €70.0 million).
Net debt2 reduced to €27.5 million (2023: €45.3
million), with a year-end Net debt / EBITDA of 0.5x (2023:
1.0x).
· Clear capital allocation framework, with €32.6 million
returned to shareholders by way of share buybacks (€19.3 million)
and dividends (€13.3 million) (2023: €16.7 million returned to
shareholders).
· The
Board has proposed a final dividend of 2.1 € cents per share (1.7 €
cents per share in 2023). If approved, the total dividends for the
year will be 3.1 € cents per share.
Financial highlights
€m
(unless stated otherwise)
|
2024
|
2023
|
Change
|
Auto
|
27.5
|
22.2
|
24%
|
Real Estate
|
18.0
|
15.0
|
20%
|
Jobs &
Services
|
13.8
|
11.8
|
17%
|
Generalist
|
12.6
|
11.7
|
8%
|
Group revenue
|
72.1
|
60.8
|
19%
|
|
|
|
|
Operating cost excluding
depreciation and amortisation
|
(16.8)
|
(14.8)
|
14%
|
EBITDA2
|
55.3
|
46.0
|
20%
|
EBITDA margin2
|
77%
|
76%
|
1% pt
|
|
|
|
|
Depreciation and
amortisation
|
(16.9)
|
(17.0)
|
(0%)
|
Operating profit
|
38.3
|
29.1
|
32%
|
|
|
|
|
Add back: amortisation of acquired
intangibles
|
16.2
|
16.2
|
0%
|
Adjusted Operating profit2
|
54.5
|
45.3
|
21%
|
|
|
|
|
Profit for the period
|
32.0
|
23.2
|
38%
|
Adjusted net income2
|
45.0
|
38.0
|
18%
|
|
|
|
|
Basic EPS (€ cents)
|
6.5
|
4.7
|
40%
|
Adjusted basic EPS2 (€ cents)
|
9.2
|
7.7
|
20%
|
Operational highlights
· We
maintained our significant leadership position over
our nearest
competitor across all our largest sites: Autoplius.lt at 7x (6x in 2023),
Auto24.ee at 36x (29x in 2023), Aruodas.lt at 17x (21x in 2023),
KV.ee plus City24.ee in Estonia at 19x (16x in 2023), CVBankas.lt
at 7x (9x in 2023) and Skelbiu.lt at 23x (19x in 2023).
· At
the start of the financial year, we implemented C2C pricing and
packaging changes across all business units, which combined with
rising market prices of the goods and services advertised on our
sites, have resulted in increased yields3 in all
business lines. It is worth noting that the yield per active ad is
arithmetically diluted due to ads staying on the site for longer
durations. Yields growth per active ad were: 0% in Auto4
and Real Estate, 11% in Services. In Generalist5 revenue
per listing grew 3%.
· In
September and October 2023, we implemented our annual B2C pricing
actions in Auto and Real Estate, accompanied by enhancements
in products and packaging. In Jobs6 this commenced in September 2023 and is
ongoing over the 12 months period.
· The
changes to our B2C packages and prices led to increased
ARPU3 in all verticals: Auto by 26%, Real Estate by 22%
and Jobs by 7%. Also, this year more business customers used our
platforms across all verticals: Auto dealers increased by 4%, Real
Estate brokers by 1%, and Jobs customers by 5%.
· Traffic to our sites averaged 56.0 million visits per month,
meaning that on
average, a resident in the Baltics visited one of our sites 10
times every month.
· During 2024, we introduced a number of
improvements to our products and services,
including:
· Auto:
On Autoplius, we launched a rating system for
top-tier car dealers. This system allows them to ask for feedback
from car buyers providing them an opportunity to build trust and
competitive advantage. The ratings encourage dealers to improve the
car buying experience and assist buyers in making better
choices.
· Real estate:
In Estonia, we introduced a new product for the
property rental market which allows
landlords and
tenants to execute rental contracts through our platform, benefiting both
parties. Background checks are done on potential tenants helping
landlords to make informed decisions. Tenants receive a balanced
rental agreement, 24/7 emergency service, insurance for property
damage, and rental payment protection in case of inability to
pay.
·
Jobs and
Services: On GetaPro, we improved
content quality by encouraging service providers to add more
information to their profiles and to collect more feedback, helping
them achieve higher listing positions.
· Generalist:
On Osta, we launched a parcel self-service
platform that aggregates the most popular parcel delivery
providers. This tool is not limited to Osta users and can be used
to send items sold on any marketplace.
· We
also saw unprecented growth in the individual advertising volumes
on our verticals as numbers of C2C active ads in Auto were up 26%,
in Real Estate up 20% and in Services up 32%. Listings on our
Generalist platform also grew 5%.
· The
Estonian Competition Authority ("ECA") terminated its
investigations into our Real Estate and Auto platforms. During the
supervision procedure, the ECA came to the conclusion that KV.ee,
City24.ee and Auto24.ee "have not set unfairly high prices for the
services they offer".
· The
number of BCG employees during the 2024 grew to 140 FTEs (end of
2023: 134 FTEs). At the end of the period the split of women to men
was 50:50.
· We
have reduced our absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 70% from a
2022 base year and achieved our goal of
having at least 80% of used electricity derived from renewable
energy sources by 2025 by increasing the portion of electricity
derived from renewable sources from 63% in 2022 to 88%. We are
working toward our net zero target and as part of
our net zero journey we reported our Scope 3 carbon emissions for
the first time.
Justinas Šimkus, Chief Executive
Officer of Baltic Classifieds Group, said:
"2024
marked another year of solid financial, operational and strategic
execution for BCG, with strong momentum observed across each of our
business segments. We are in the early stages of our monetisation
journey, which underpins the resilience of our top line and EBITDA
growth, and, we are particularly pleased that our operational
leverage is once again flowing through to our EBITDA margin now
that public listed company costs have been normalised.
Our platforms have established
themselves as a key destination for those looking for transactions
in automotive, real estate, jobs, services and general merchandise.
The attractive business environment in which we operate - part of
the EU, the euro area and NATO - enhances our prospects for further
success and expansion. And the fact that we are based in Lithuania,
a country which, based on the World Happiness Report, is renowned
for having the happiest young people in the world reflects the joy
we have in running this company.
I would like to thank all of my
colleagues for their efforts over the last 12 months. The results
of our recent employee engagement survey reaffirm our belief that
the team's motivation is at an all-time high, with over 95% of
employees expressing pride in being part of BCG and would recommend
it as a great place to work."
Outlook
· The
Board is guiding to 15% revenue growth in 2025, with Auto, Real
Estate and Jobs & Services expected to grow marginally ahead of
this number and Generalists below the overall Group average. The
growth will be driven by B2C ARPU and C2C yield expansion,
expecting inventory levels to remain similar to those we have seen
this year.
· Going forward, the Board expects continued marginal EBITDA
margin expansion including continued investment in product
development.
· The
Board remains committed to the existing capital allocation policy
which remains focused on allocating excess cash towards reducing
gross debt and the share buyback programme, particularly in the
absence of M&A opportunities.
1 Leadership position based on
time on site except for Auto24. Auto24 has no significant vertical
competitor; next relevant player is Generalist portal; therefore,
relative market share is calculated based on time on site
proportion relating to the number of active automotive listings as
at the end of the reported period.
2 Alternative performance measure, see note 3 for further
details
3 Yield refers to the average
monthly revenue per active (Auto, Real Estate or Services) or
listed (Generalist) C2C listing or ARPU in B2C. ARPU is monthly
average revenue per user (in Auto - per dealer, in Real Estate -
per broker, in Jobs - per client).
4 Car listings only (excluding
listings of vehicle parts, vehicles other than cars and other
categories).
5 Skelbiu.lt only.
6 CVbankas.lt
Results presentation details
A presentation for analysts will
be held in person at the offices of Bank of America and also via
audio webcast and conference call at 9:30 am Wednesday, 3 July
2024. Details below:
Address: Bank of America, Financial
Centre, 2 King Edward Street, 6th floor, London EC1A
1HQ
A simultaneous live webcast will be
available at:
https://www.investis-live.com/balticclassifieds/664c87fa708182130074979e/fgdg
Participants joining via telephone:
United Kingdom
(Toll-free)
|
+44 800 358 1035
|
United Kingdom
|
+44 20 3936 2999
|
United States
|
+1 646 787 9445
|
United States
(Toll-free)
|
+1 855 979 6654
|
Lithuania
|
+370 521 40 826
|
All other locations
|
+44 20 3936 2999
|
Global Dial-In Numbers
|
|
Access code: 621122
Press *1 to ask a question, *2 to withdraw your question, or
*0 for operator assistance.
Accessing the telephone replay
A recording will be available until
Wednesday, 10 July 2024 11:59 pm
BST
United Kingdom (Toll-free): +44 808
304 5227
United Kingdom: +44 20 3936
3001
Access Code: 536807
For media inquiries:
Lina Mačienė
Chief Financial Officer
investorrelations@balticclassifieds.com
About Baltic Classifieds Group
PLC
Baltic Classifieds Group PLC
("BCG") is the leading online classifieds group in the Baltics,
which owns and operates fourteen leading vertical and generalist
online classifieds portals in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. BCG's
online classifieds portfolio comprises four business lines -
Automotive, Real Estate, Jobs & Services and Generalist. In the
year ended 30 April 2024, the Group's portals were visited on
average 56 million times a month (Source: Google Analytics), making
the Group one of the largest online companies in the region
(Source: Google Analytics).
The Group listed on the London
Stock Exchange in July 2021 and is a member of the FTSE 250
Index.
For more information, please
visit https://balticclassifieds.com/
Chair's Statement
Overview
The last twelve months have been
ones of considerable success for Baltic Classifieds Group. Our
relentless focus on the core business of each of our 14 portals
across the Baltic regions continues to reap rewards as does both
the quantum and consistency of our overall revenue and profit
growth in the three years since becoming a public
company.
We continue to have the most
visited portals in Lithuania and Estonia, as well as maintaining
our significant leadership position over the nearest competitor for
all our largest sites compared to 2023, despite only a modest
investment in marketing.
Our three verticals (Autos, Real
Estate and Jobs & Services) continue to lead the high growth
revenue charge across the business, and our fourth business unit
(Generalist) continues to both provide solid growth and an extended
competitive moat around all of our businesses allowing most of our
advertisers to dual list on the two best known portals for their
particular category.
Particularly pleasing this year
was to see the operating leverage of the business beginning to flow
through now that the ongoing costs of being a public company are
fully baked into the financial performance.
The resilience of the growth
despite a changed market backdrop in the Baltic regions (with a
mild decline in GDP and lower inflation than recent years) means we
will continue with our current strategy for the foreseeable future
- focusing on the core of our business, consistently improving the
consumer experience and constantly evolving the pricing and
packaging of our products.
Board
We are fortunate that our Board
and its committees enjoy great stability and consistency which is
the cornerstone to our effectiveness as a Board.
As a Board, we are acutely aware
of our obligations to ensure diversity and inclusion and are
actively seeking to expand our Board in a very considered fashion
with culture, fit, diversity and succession planning all part of
our priorities. We have been scanning the market for
potential diverse candidates to expand the Board, with a particular
focus on candidates who have a high appreciation of the business
environment in the Baltics, Scandinavia and/or Eastern
Europe.
On 11 June 2024, Rūta Armonė
joined the Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director and will
join all of the Board Committees. Rūta is based in Vilnius and has
worked at Ellex Valiūnas, one of the most prestigious legal firms
in the Baltic region for 13 years. As an M&A partner at Ellex
Valiūnas, her breadth of skills and experience will bolster the
regulatory, governance and M&A experience on the
Board.
As part of our succession
planning, we will continue to look out for other outstanding
candidates to further expand the Board in the years to come to
ensure we minimise the chances of needing to replace large segments
of the Board at any one time in the future.
Employees
Our people are critical to our
success and it's reassuring to see the results of our engagement
survey reflect back to us that our employees love working with us
too! This is particularly apparent in the average employee tenure
of 8 years, which in a business with such a high percentage of
technologists is nothing short of remarkable.
The Group is led by a deeply
knowledgeable management team, both at the Group level and the
individual Portal level, who are passionate, dedicated and
committed to building a long-lasting culture of rapid decision
making, lean operations, trust and fun. We recognise that culture
is a huge part of our success story.
We are proud of our employees and
know the strength they bring to our organisation.
Environment, Social and
Governance
There are some important
differences that come with a business listed in the UK with
operations purely in the Baltics region, so we do sometimes have to
look at matters such as diversity or remuneration through a
different lens. However, we are committed to being a responsible
business. Our priority is to protect and support our people,
customers and all of our stakeholders and the environment around
us.
We have reduced our absolute Scope
1 and 2 emissions by 70% from a 2022 base year and achieved our
goal of having at least 80% of used electricity derived from
renewable energy sources by 2025 by increasing the portion of
electricity derived from renewable sources from 63% in 2022 to 88%.
We are working toward our net zero target and as part of our net
zero journey we reported our Scope 3 carbon emissions for the first
time.
We ranked within the top 10 best
performers within FTSE 250 in the FTSE Women leaders review 2023
and maintained our average employee tenure at 8 years.
I am proud to sponsor the Group's
ESG working group and am actively involved with ESG
activities.
Returns to Shareholders and
dividends
The Board is confident in our
ability to continue our capital policy of returning all of our
surplus cash to shareholders, through a combination of paying
dividends and share buybacks. The total amount of cash returned to
shareholders since IPO through dividends and the share buyback
programme is c. €49 million and the leverage has reduced from 2.75x
at IPO in July 2021 to 0.50x at the end of this reporting
period.
We initiated a share buyback
program during the prior year with the purpose of returning cash to
shareholders. We are still actively engaged in this
programme.
We are recommending a final
dividend of 2.1 € cents per share for 2024. The final dividend will
be paid, subject to shareholder approval, on 18 October
2024.
- For
more details on our capital policy see the Financial review on page
13.
Looking ahead
I continue to be excited about
the future for BCG and the growth potential and opportunities to
create value not only for our shareholders but for all of our
stakeholders.
Our strategy remains consistent,
relevant and achievable and I look forward to reporting more
demonstrable progress against that strategy in the year
ahead.
I have personally enjoyed
reaching out and meeting with some of our investor base in person
and I hope to be able to build upon that in the coming
year.
On behalf of the Board, I want to
thank all of our employees for their remarkable contribution and
dedication this year, and for serving all of our stakeholders so
well.
Trevor Mather
Chair
3 July 2024
CEO's Statement
2024 marked another year of solid
financial, operational and strategic execution for BCG, with strong
momentum observed across each of our business segments. We are in
the early stages of our monetisation journey, which underpins the
resilience of our top line and EBITDA growth, and, we are
particularly pleased that our operational leverage is once again
flowing through to our EBITDA margin now that public listed company
costs have been normalised.
Our platforms have established
themselves as a key destination for those looking for transactions
in automotive, real estate, jobs, services and general merchandise.
The attractive business environment in which we operate - part of
the EU, the euro area and NATO enhances our prospects for further
success and expansion. And the fact that we are based in Lithuania,
a country which, based on the World Happiness Report, is renowned
for having the happiest young people in the world reflects the joy
we have in running this company.
This year, I am pleased to report
that the strongest growth came from our core classified revenue
streams, B2C and C2C, which together account for 90% of BCG's
revenue. Notably, B2C performance saw the highest growth at 22%
year-on-year, driven by both an increase in customers and ARPU
growth across all our business units. Additionally, we observed a
steady recovery in C2C volumes due to a normalised selling time and
exceptional growth in Services. C2C growth was also remarkable,
achieving an 18% increase year-on-year, propelled by a 23% rise in
Auto, a 21% increase in Real Estate, and an impressive 45% growth
in Services. The remaining 10% of the Group's revenue comprise
ancillary and banner advertising revenue, which combined grew by
6%.
Throughout the year, we
successfully implemented pricing and packaging changes across all
our business units in both B2C and C2C. The outstanding results we
achieved this year have provided strong momentum as we move into
the next financial year.
I am happy to report that the
Estonian Competition Authority ("ECA") terminated its
investigations into our Real Estate and Auto platforms. During the
supervision procedure, the ECA came to the conclusion that KV.ee,
City24.ee and Auto24.ee "have not set unfairly high prices for the
services they offer".
Strong consumers numbers:
• On average, a
resident in the Baltics visits one of our sites 10 times per
month.
• Our site
leadership positions1 are as strong as ever for all of
our largest websites: Autoplius at 7x (6x in 2023), Auto24 at 36x
(29x in 2023), Aruodas at 17x (21x in 2023), , KV plus City24 in
Estonia at 19x (16x in 2023), CVBankas at 7x (9x in 2023) and
Skelbiu at 23x (19x in 2023).
Growth in both B2C and C2C number of
customers:
• The number of
business customers grew across all business areas: automotive
dealers +4%; real estate brokers +1%; customers in Jobs
+5%.
• All business
areas saw an increase in active C2C ads: in Auto +26%; Real Estate
+20%; Services +32% and Generalist listings grew
+5%.
The combination of increased
prices of goods and services being advertised on our sites,
normalised speed of sale and changes to our packages, has led to
increased yields across all business areas and in both the B2C and
C2C segments.
Market context:
• Similar to
trends in other countries, inflation has rapidly declined in Baltic
economies, reaching more normal levels. Prices in the underlying
markets of real estate and automotive have risen reflecting rising
salaries.
• The number of
used car market transactions over the last 12 months has grown by
6%. The average price per used car increased by 5% year-on-year,
while the speed of sale has normalised. This has led to a 28%
increase in the number of days a vehicle is advertised, providing a
tailwind for the stock of vehicles on our sites.
• The number of
real estate transactions declined 11% year-on-year, primarily due
to higher construction costs since 2023 (and consequent lower
supply of new build homes) and increase in the interest rates.
However, estate prices grew 6% and most of our customers operate in
the secondary market, therefore the commission pool remained
healthy. In the environment of a lengthening selling time, BCG was
able to double revenue from developers as a result of improvements
to our sites in terms of the presentation of new homes and the
associated changes in our pricing.
• The employment
market has been very active this year, with companies continuing to
face a significant labour shortage. The number of employers using
Cvbankas.lt increased by 5%. Average salary grew by over 12%,
prompting companies to increase their investment in employee search
and selection.
• More people
are seeking to find service providers online, leading to rapid
growth in our Services verticals. We now have 32% more service
provider advertisements on our platforms, and the yield has grown
by 11%.
• The continuous
growth of eCommerce activities has resulted in more transactions
moving online. This has supported the growth of our Generalist
platforms and ancillary products such as deliveries.
I would like to thank all of my
colleagues for their efforts over the last 12 months. The results
of our recent employee engagement survey reaffirm our belief that
the team's motivation is at an all-time high, with over 95% of
employees expressing pride in being part of BCG and would recommend
it as a great place to work.
Furthermore, we expect our
successes this year to continue, with healthy growth in B2C and C2C
both in terms of volumes and ARPU, as well as sustained strong
growth in Services. With an engaged and highly experienced team, we
remain focused on consistently delivering outstanding products and
services to our customers.
Justinas Šimkus
Chief Executive
Officer
3 July 2024
1 Leadership position based on time
on site except for Auto24. Auto24 has no significant vertical
competitor; the next relevant player is Generalist portal;
therefore, relative market share is calculated based on time on
site proportion relating to the number of active automotive
listings as at the end of the reported period.
Financial Review
Revenue
In 2024 Group's revenue grew 19%
to €72.1 million (2023: €60.8 million) as a consequence of a growth
in all four business lines, underpinned by strength in the core
business:
●
The Auto business line grew by 24%. B2C grew 31%
and C2C grew 23%.
●
The Real Estate business line grew by 20%. B2C
grew 24% and C2C grew 21%.
●
The Jobs & Services business line grew by
17%. B2C (Jobs) grew 12% and C2C (mainly Services) grew
45%.
●
Generalist business line, which is largely C2C,
grew 8%.
Over the past 3 years since the
IPO, revenue quality has improved as core classifieds revenue
streams, B2C and C2C, as a percentage of revenue, have increased
from 83% to 90%. B2C revenue, representing 50% of Group revenue,
grew 22% and C2C, representing 39% of Group revenue, grew 18%.
Ancillary revenue, accounting for 5% of total Group revenue, grew
by 13%, while advertising revenue, the most vulnerable revenue
stream and also accounting for 5% of Group revenue, declined by
1%.
The main drivers of revenue growth
continue to be the increase in the number of advertisements and
active C2C listings, the rise in the number of advertisers across
all business sectors, and the higher average spend per customer and
advertisement across our business.
In May 2023, at the beginning of
the period currently reported on, we introduced C2C pricing and
packaging changes across most of our portals, impacting the entire
financial year. In September and October 2023, we introduced B2C
price and package changes for the Auto, Real Estate and Jobs
portals, reflecting improvements to our proposition. These
contributed to the second half of the year in both Real Estate and
Auto business lines and in Jobs, since the majority of our
contracts are year-long, it is rolling out throughout 12
months.
|
2024
|
2023
|
Change
|
Auto B2C - monthly number of
dealers
|
3,732
|
3,586
|
4%
|
Real Estate B2C - monthly number
of brokers
|
4,926
|
4,877
|
1%
|
Jobs1 B2C - monthly
number of companies
|
2,271
|
2,162
|
5%
|
|
|
|
|
Auto2 C2C - monthly
number of active ads
|
33,695
|
26,824
|
26%
|
Real Estate C2C - monthly number
of active ads
|
20,016
|
16,628
|
20%
|
Services1 C2C - monthly
number of active ads
|
8,560
|
6,461
|
32%
|
Generalist3 - monthly
number of listings
|
99,271
|
94,388
|
5%
|
|
|
|
|
Auto B2C - monthly
ARPU4 (€)
|
289
|
230
|
26%
|
Real Estate B2C - monthly ARPU
(€)
|
181
|
148
|
22%
|
Jobs1 B2C - monthly
ARPU (€)
|
412
|
384
|
7%
|
|
|
|
|
Auto2 C2C - monthly
revenue per active ad (€)
|
20
|
20
|
0%
|
Real Estate C2C - monthly revenue
per active ad (€)
|
23
|
23
|
0%
|
Services1 C2C - monthly
revenue per active ad (€)
|
24
|
22
|
11%
|
Generalist3 - revenue
per listing (€)
|
7
|
6
|
3%
|
1 In Jobs & Services business
line B2C revenue comes from Jobs only; C2C revenue principally
comes from Services portals, therefore only Services platforms'
information is presented.
2 Car
listings only (excluding listings of vehicle parts, vehicles other
than cars and other categories).
3 Skelbiu.lt only, which is our
main Generalist portal.
4 ARPU - average revenue per
user.
We continue seeing strengthening
network effects across all business units as a growing number of
customers drive content, which in turn encourages greater
engagement for our audience.
The number of B2C customers grew
across all business lines:
●
Automotive dealers grew by 4% (from 3,586 in 2023
to 3,732 in 2024) mainly due to small dealers switching to B2C
subscriptions rather than placing advertisements as C2C
customers.
●
Real Estate brokers grew 1% from 4,877 in 2023 to
4,926 in 2024.
●
Jobs' number of customers grew 5% from 2,162 in
2023 to 2,271 in 2024.
In C2C, the number of active
advertisements and listings grew across all business lines. In
Auto, Real Estate and Generalist the growth was primarily driven by
the underlying market conditions, i.e. longer selling time (which
means each advert is active for more time). The growth in Services
active advertisements number was driven by the growing client base
using our platform.
In terms of average revenue per
user (ARPU) in our B2C segment:
●
Auto ARPU was up 26% due to pricing and packaging
changes implemented mid-2023 (in September and October 2022) and
most recent price and packaging changes done in mid-2024 (in
September and October 2023). We also saw an upside from recovering
inventory levels as dealers were increasing their
packages.
●
Real Estate ARPU was up 22% due to subscription
fee and packaging changes which took place mid-2023 and mid-2024.
The changes implemented from September 2022 to January 2023 were
aimed at both growth in ARPU and incentivising customers to choose
individual and more expensive premium packages for brokers. This
year's annual pricing actions were implemented during September and
October 2023.
●
Jobs ARPU was up 7% due to reduced volume
discounts. CVbankas, being the market leader, is well-positioned to
take advantage of a vibrant employment market with low unemployment
rates, ensuring continued revenue growth. Price changes were
implemented on new and renewing customers in September 2022 and
were rolling out to the customers through the 12-month cycle until
autumn this year. This year the new prices were introduced in
September 2023, and like last year, are rolling out to the
customers through the 12-month cycle.
In terms of yield1 in
our C2C segment:
●
We implemented price changes and observed an
uptick in average transaction values which have a positive impact
on our revenues due to value-based pricing. However, arithmetically
the monthly revenue per active advertisement in Auto and Real
Estate remained unchanged, as a consequence of customers opting for
longer duration packages, leading to extended durations of
advertisements on our sites.
●
Services average monthly revenue per active
advertisement was up 11% mainly due to price changes and an
increased usage of our value-added services.
●
Generalist average revenue per listing was up 3%
due to price changes and rising average transaction values in the
automotive and real estate categories, partly offset by change in
mix of advertisement categories.
Operating costs
Our costs represent a relatively
small proportion of our revenue and, due to continued cost
management, inflation did not significantly affect our
profitability.
|
2024,
€m
|
2023,
€m
|
Change
|
Labour costs
|
11.3
|
9.6
|
18%
|
Advertising and marketing
services
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
7%
|
IT expenses
|
0.8
|
0.7
|
15%
|
Other
|
3.6
|
3.5
|
5%
|
Operating cost excluding depreciation and
amortisation
|
16.8
|
14.8
|
14%
|
Depreciation and
amortisation
|
16.9
|
17.0
|
0%
|
Operating cost
|
33.8
|
31.8
|
6%
|
Most of our operating costs are
people costs. It is close to 16% of Group revenue. During the year,
the BCG team expanded to 140 FTEs. The average number of FTEs
during the year has grown by 4% from 131 in 2023 to 136 in 2024.
Investment in our people increased by 18% to €11.3 million, up from
€9.6 million in 2023. Most of the increase in people costs was
driven by more people in the team, annual salary reviews and the
buildup cost of a performance share plan ("PSP") amounting to €2.2
million, compared to €1.6 million in 2023.
Our marketing costs amount to 1.4%
of revenue. As a portfolio of brands, we minimise spending on
external service providers by advertising on our own sites at no
cost. Other Group costs include IT, which are 1.2% of revenue, and
general administrative expenses, which are 5.0% of revenue. We have
supported several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) assisting
Ukraine during the war, a local teachers' development organisation
'Choosing to Teach' and other organisations with donations
totalling €0.2 million (2023: €0.1 million).
Net finance expense
Our finance expenses primarily
consist of interest expenses, calculated at a 1.75% margin plus
Euribor, totalling €3.5 million, compared to €2.6 million in 2023.
Additionally our finance costs include commitment fees related to a
€10.0 million unsecured and undrawn Revolving Credit Facility
("RCF"). Finance expenses are partly offset with finance income
from cash balances held in banks, resulting in a net finance
expense of €3.4 million, compared to €2.7 million in
2023.
Net debt and leverage
In 2024, we voluntarily repaid
€20.0 million of the existing debt.
Compared to the end of 2023, net
debt2 decreased by €17.8 million to €27.5 million (from
€45.3 million in 2023). We ended the year with leverage2
ratio of 0.5x, down from 1.0x in 2023.
€m
|
30-Apr-24
|
30-Apr-23
|
Bank loan principal
amount
|
50.0
|
70.0
|
Customer credit
balances3
|
2.4
|
2.4
|
Total debt
|
52.4
|
72.4
|
Cash
|
(24.9)
|
(27.1)
|
Net
debt
|
27.5
|
45.3
|
EBITDA2 LTM
|
55.3
|
46.0
|
Leverage
|
0.5x
|
1.0x
|
Tax
The Group tax charge for the year
was €2.9 million (compared to €3.2 million in 2023), representing
an effective tax rate of 8% (down from 12% in 2023). This tax
charge comprises:
●
Current tax expense of €4.1 million (2023: €4.9
million). The decrease in current tax expense in 2024 is due to a
one-off tax credit of €1.8 million. This credit, an adjusting item
to our profitability measures, relates to 2021 and resulted from a
new interpretation of the Corporate Income Tax law by the Tax
Authority in Lithuania, following a court ruling.
●
Unwind of deferred tax of €1.2 million, mainly
from deferred tax on acquired intangibles (2023: €1.8 million,
including €1.4 million deferred tax from acquired
intangibles).
Profitability and Alternative Performance
Measures
The Group has identified certain
Alternative Performance Measures ("APMs") that it believes provide
additional useful information on its performance. These APMs are
not defined by IFRS and are not considered to be a substitute for,
or superior to, IFRS measures. These APMs may not be directly
comparable to similarly titled measures used by other
companies.
Directors use these APMs alongside
IFRS measures for budgeting, planning, and reviewing business
performance.
For APM descriptions and
reconciliation to IFRS measures, see note 3.
|
2024
|
2023
|
Change
|
EBITDA2
|
55.3
|
46.0
|
20%
|
EBITDA margin2
|
77%
|
76%
|
1% pt
|
|
|
|
|
D&A
|
(16.9)
|
(17.0)
|
(0%)
|
Operating profit
|
38.3
|
29.1
|
32%
|
|
|
|
|
Add back: amortisation of acquired
intangibles
|
16.2
|
16.2
|
0%
|
Adjusted operating profit2
|
54.5
|
45.3
|
21%
|
|
|
|
|
Net finance costs
|
(3.4)
|
(2.7)
|
27%
|
Profit before tax
|
34.9
|
26.4
|
32%
|
|
|
|
|
Income tax expense
|
(2.9)
|
(3.2)
|
(9%)
|
Profit for the period
|
32.0
|
23.2
|
38%
|
|
|
|
|
Add back: corporate income tax
credit from 2021
|
(1.8)
|
-
|
n/m
|
Add back: deferred tax impact on
acquired intangibles amortisation
|
(1.4)
|
(1.4)
|
-
|
Adjusted net income2
|
45.0
|
38.0
|
18%
|
|
|
|
|
Basic EPS (€ cents)
|
6.5
|
4.7
|
40%
|
Adjusted basic EPS2 (€ cents)
|
9.2
|
7.7
|
20%
|
There were no add-backs to our
EBITDA in the periods reported. Our EBITDA grew 20% to €55.3
million (2023: €46.0 million). The EBITDA margin expanded by 1%
point to 77% (2023: 76%).
Adjusted operating profit
increased by 21% to €54.5 million (2023: €45.3 million), while
reported operating profit grew by 32% to €38.3 million (2023: €29.1
million).
BCG intends to return one third of
adjusted net income each year via dividend. For this purpose, we
show amortisation of acquired intangibles and the associated tax
effect along with the adjusting items in the table above. Adjusted
net income grew 18% to €45.0 million (2023: €38.0 million). Profit
for the period increased to €32.0 million (2023: €23.2
million).
Earnings per share ("EPS")
Basic EPS grew 40% and was 6.5 €
cents based on the weighted average number of shares of 489,975,882
(2023: 4.7 € cents based on weighted average number of shares of
496,082,891). Diluted EPS also round to 6.5 € cents (2023: there
was no dilution effect on EPS from the employee share
arrangements).
Adjusted basic EPS grew 20% to 9.2
€ cents (2023: 7.7 € cents).
Cash flow and cash conversion
Cash generated from operating
activities grew 23% to €59.0 million (2023: €48.0 million). Cash
conversion2 continues to be maintained at 99% (2023:
99%). Net cash inflow from operating activities grew 20% to €51.2
million (2023: €42.7 million).
Capital allocation
Net cash generated from operating
activities was used for:
• Paying the
final dividend for the year 2023 of 1.7 € cents per share in
October 2023, totalling €8.4 million.
• Paying the
interim dividend for the year 2024 of 1.0 € cents per share in
January 2024, totalling €4.9 million.
• Buying back
Company shares for cancellation for €19.3 million (2023: €5.7
million).
• Reducing the
loan liability by paying down debt by €20.0 million (2023: €14.0
million).
The capital allocation policy
remains unchanged. Our plan is to use all the cash we generate in a
year, within that same year or shortly thereafter. We intend
to:
• Return one
third of adjusted net income each year via an interim and final
dividend, split approximately one third and two thirds,
respectively. If approved at the AGM, the final dividend for the
year 2024 will be paid on 18 October 2024 to members on the
register on 13 September 2024. Dividends are declared and paid in
euro. Shareholders can elect to have dividends paid in British
Pound Sterling. Currency election deadline for 2024 final dividend
is 27 September 2024.
• Continue
considering value-creating M&A opportunities. All options for
financing attractive acquisition opportunities remain open,
including using our cash, increasing our debt and even seeking
additional equity capital. However, using own cash is the most
likely and would most likely not affect dividends but might reduce
capacity for share buy-backs.
• Use a
combination of share buy-backs and debt repayment for the balance
of cash.
We keep our capital policy under
review and may revise it from time to time.
Going
concern
The Group generated significant
cash from operations during the period. As of 30 April 2024, the
Group had not drawn any of the €10.0 million unsecured Revolving
Credit Facility ("RCF") and had cash balances of €24.9 million. The
€10.0 million RCF is committed until July 2026.
Lina Mačienė
Chief Financial Officer
3 July 2024
1 Yield refers to the average
monthly revenue per active C2C ad (in Auto, Real Estate, Services),
per C2C listing (in our Generalist) or ARPU in B2C. ARPU is monthly
average revenue per user (in Auto - per dealer, in Real Estate -
per broker, in Jobs - per company).
2 Alternative performance measure,
see note 3 for further details.
3 Customer credit balances relate
to amounts held by customers in e-wallets and are included within
trade and other payables as well as cash and cash
equivalents.
Principal risks and uncertainties
A description of the principal
risks and uncertainties faced by the Group in the year ended 30
April 2024, together with the potential impact and monitoring and
mitigating activities is set out in the table below.
Geopolitical risk
|
Description & impact
|
Mitigation
|
Developments in 2024
|
Risk trend
|
Further escalation of the war in
Ukraine could result in the unrest and instability in the Baltic
countries, potentially impacting consumer behaviour (e.g. reducing spending
or investing), seller
activity (e.g. disrupting
retail), and
investor perception of the business.
|
● Maintaining a flexible cost base that can respond to changing
conditions
● Maintaining a flexible capital allocation policy, with limited
debt
|
Despite concerns over increased
geopolitical tensions, the Group's portals experienced sustained
growth throughout the year. This
resilience underscores both the strength
of our Company and the Baltic economies
amidst heightened
geopolitical uncertainties in the
region.
|
Increasing
|
Political and macroeconomic situation
|
Description & impact
|
Mitigation
|
Developments in 2024
|
Risk trend
|
Economic conditions (whether due to
economic cycle or supply chain disruption) could lead to a
retraction in the underlying markets, a reduction in stock,
consumer wallets and a reduction in advertisers budgets
or appetite to spend,
which all have the potential to reduce revenue. Economic conditions
can also impact the cost pressures (such as wage growth, price
inflation, interest rates, etc.).
|
●
Maintaining a flexible cost base that can respond
to changing conditions
●
Maintaining a flexible capital
allocation policy, with
limited debt
|
After a year of high
inflation in 2023, consumer prices have stabilised during the year.
The speed of sale in the underlying markets has slowed down, which has a positive impact on the Group's performance due to an
increase of active advertisements on our portals.
|
Stable
|
Disruption to our customer and / or supplier
operations
|
Description & impact
|
Mitigation
|
Developments in 2024
|
Risk trend
|
Disruptions to the operations of
the Group's customers and suppliers in
their day-to-day business may
affect the Group's
ability to achieve desired results.
|
● Maintaining
market leadership in our
main verticals while offering
value-added products and packages
● Continuous improvements to our platforms
● Enhancing
our product offerings to continue meeting our
customers' needs and adapting to evolving business
models
● Maintaining a healthy liquidity headroom with
an unused revolving
credit facility of €10 million as at 30 April
2024,
along with
significant headroom against debt
covenant
● Maintaining
diversified revenue streams
● Working with
well established and reliable third parties
● Having incident
management process
|
The Group continued to strengthen
its offering during the year, including an upgrade and
expansion of car history reports and the launch of property rental
services, which further
diversified our
customer base.
|
Stable
|
Competition
|
Description & impact
|
Mitigation
|
Developments in 2024
|
Risk trend
|
The Group may face new
competition in
existing markets or in new areas
of activity. Additionally, changes in technology
or consumer behaviour can influence
how people search for cars, real estate,
jobs or general products, potentially leading to a loss of
consumer audience. There is also a risk of new entrants with
innovative business
models, such as offering
services for free, impacting the Group's audience,
content and revenue. Furthermore, as the Group diversifies into new
and adjacent markets, the competitive landscape widens.
|
● Investment into customer experience
● Development of cross-linkages between Group's horizontal and
vertical platforms
● Development of our offering to provide value-for-money
and differentiated services to advertisers
|
During 2024, the Group's leading
portals maintained very strong leadership
positions. The number of
advertisers
increased year on
year across all business areas.
|
Stable
|
Laws & regulations
|
Description & impact
|
Mitigation
|
Developments in 2024
|
Risk trend
|
The Group is subject to
competition and antitrust laws,
which may limit the market
power, pricing or
other actions of any firm within the Group.
Companies can be subject to legal
action, investigations and proceedings by national and supranational
competition and antitrust authorities, as
well as claims from clients and business
partners for alleged infringements of competition and antitrust
laws. These actions could result in fines, other forms of liability or damage
to the companies' reputation. Additionally, such laws and
regulations could limit or prohibit the ability to grow in certain
markets.
Future acquisitions by the Group
could be affected by applicable antitrust laws and may be unsuccessful if the
required approvals from competition authorities are not obtained.
|
Having a dedicated internal
expertise within the business, responsible for identifying,
assessing and responding to upcoming changes in laws and
regulations, and the use of external specialists where
necessary
|
In April 2024, Estonian
Competition Authority terminated excessive
pricing investigations against the Group's Real Estate and Automotive portals in Estonia.
The Group has one remaining
supervisory proceeding ongoing at Estonian Competition Authority
regarding the failure to supply. Since 2022 autumn there are no
updates nor actions in this proceeding.
The proceeding cannot lead to
imposition of fines to any Group company, however, a precept
ordering the Group companies to end any ongoing infringements could
be imposed or the Estonian Competition Authority could potentially
initiate misdemeanour proceedings that would entitle the imposition
of a fine of up to €400 thousand per case. See note
20 for further
detail.
In February 2024 the Estonian
Parliament initiated the legislative process to adopt
the new draft law of the Law on Competition
implementing the ECN+ Directive ((EU) 2019/1). The draft law is
subject to further discussions in the Parliament, but it is
strongly likely that the current law will be amended, and it might
be relevant for the proceedings against the Group company. If
proceedings against Allepal are still ongoing on the date of the
act taking force, the Competition Authority could have the power to
impose a fine of 10% of the whole Group's turnover under the new
law.
|
Decreasing
|
Technology
|
Description & impact
|
Mitigation
|
Developments in 2024
|
Risk trend
|
Cyber-attacks. The Group is
at greater risk from cyber threats due to its large scale and
prominence. As the business is entirely dependent on
information technology to provide its services, successful attacks
have the potential to directly impact revenue.
Major data breach. A
cyber-attack or internal failure, resulting in
disabling of platforms or systems, or a major data breach, could
adversely impact the Group's reputation, erode trust and lead to a loss of
revenue and / or profits. Data breaches, a common form of
cyber-attack, can have a significant negative business impact
and often arise from insufficiently protected data.
Disruption to availability of services.
The availability and reliability of
services for the
Group's customers are of paramount importance. Any downtime or disruption to
consumer or advertiser services can adversely impact
the business through customer complaints,
credits, decreased consumer usage, and potential
reputational damage.
Therefore, the availability of
third-party services, such as internet provision
and mobile
communication, which are essential for using the
Group's services, is also crucial.
|
● Ongoing investment in security systems to ensure our systems
remain robust
● Continuous
monitoring of external threats
● Regular testing of the security of IT systems and platforms,
including penetration testing
● Disaster recovery plan is in place and is reviewed and tested
regularly
● Internal audit reviews
|
Having in mind the Geopolitical
risk, the risk trend of cyber-attacks is considered to be
increasing.
During the year, an internal audit
has reviewed the Group's disaster recovery plan.
The Group continued to strengthen
its systems and processes following a cyber security assessment performed by the Group's
outsourced internal audit last year, along
with increasing awareness of both cyber security and data
protection across the Group.
|
Increasing
|
Acquisition risk
|
Description & impact
|
Mitigation
|
Developments in 2024
|
Risk trend
|
The Group might make an unsuccessful
acquisition or face challenges in
integrating
an acquisition, which could lead to reduced profits and impairment charge.
|
● Acquisitions are focused on businesses, operating in sectors where the Group has
or can develop a competitive advantage and that offer good growth
opportunities
● Conducting
detailed pre-acquisition due diligence by
in-house
personnel and external advisers
● Retaining and motivating key personnel
|
The Services business
acquired in 2022 has reached break-even this year.
Whilst there have been no
acquisitions made recently, the Board regularly considers potential
opportunities.
|
Stable
|
Climate change
|
Description & impact
|
Mitigation
|
Developments in 2024
|
Risk trend
|
From a long-term perspective, the
Group is subject to physical climate risks, directly related to
climate change, and transitional climate risks, which may arise due
to transitioning to a lower-carbon economy. Increased severity of
extreme weather events due to accelerating global warming may
result in disruption to provision of services from our service
providers, affect the availability of websites and change
commercial customers' behaviour.
New regulations relating to the
reduction of carbon emissions and increasing climate change
awareness may affect the Group's operations and the volume of
listings and encourage us to adapt our business to the new
regulations and changing market tendencies.
|
● The Group is committed to contributing to the climate change
cause by being environmentally responsible, reducing carbon
emissions, shifting to renewable energy and offsetting carbon
emissions
● We are taking actions to adapt to the increasing climate
change awareness and are ready to adapt if new environmental
regulations arise: adopt the platforms for eco-friendly products,
introduce necessary filters, educate visitors, enrich ad data with
environmental impact related information
|
In 2024, we
completed our Scope 3 carbon emissions assessment, reduced our
total Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 46% and achieved our goal
to have at least 80% of used electricity derived from renewable
energy sources ahead of the target date of 2025 by increasing the
portion of electricity derived from renewable sources from 73% to
88%.
|
Stable
|
Forward-looking statement
Certain Statements made in this
results announcement are Forward-looking Statements. Such
Statements are based on current expectations, forecasts and
assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from
any expected future events or results expressed or implied in these
Forward-looking Statements. They appear in a number of places
throughout this results announcement and include Statements
regarding the intentions, beliefs or current expectations of the
Directors concerning, amongst other things, the Group's results of
operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth,
objectives, strategies and the business. Nothing in this results
announcement should be construed as a profit forecast. All
Forward-looking Statements in this results announcement are made by
the Directors in good faith based on the information and knowledge
available to them as at the time of their approval of this results
announcement. Persons receiving this report should not place undue
reliance on Forward-looking Statements. Unless otherwise required
by applicable law, regulation or accounting standard, the Group
does not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any
Forward-looking Statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, future developments or otherwise.
All Intellectual Property Rights
in the content and materials in this results announcement vests in
and are owned absolutely by Baltic Classifieds Group PLC unless
otherwise indicated, including in respect of or in connection with
but not limited to all trademarks and the results announcement's
design, text, graphics, its selection and arrangement.
Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss and Other
Comprehensive Income
For the year ended 30 April
2024
|
Note
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenue
|
5
|
72,067
|
|
60,814
|
|
Other income
|
|
25
|
|
9
|
|
Expenses
|
6
|
(33,755)
|
|
(31,767)
|
|
Operating profit
|
|
38,337
|
|
29,056
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Finance income
|
7
|
238
|
|
7
|
|
Finance expenses
|
7
|
(3,649)
|
|
(2,698)
|
|
Net
finance costs
|
|
(3,411)
|
|
(2,691)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Profit before tax
|
|
34,926
|
|
26,365
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income tax expense
|
8
|
(2,878)
|
|
(3,150)
|
|
Profit for the year
|
|
32,048
|
|
23,215
|
|
Other comprehensive
income
|
|
-
|
|
-
|
|
Total comprehensive income for the year
|
|
32,048
|
|
23,215
|
|
Attributable to:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Owners of the Company
|
|
32,048
|
|
23,215
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings per share (€ cents)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
9
|
6.54
|
|
4.68
|
|
Diluted
|
9
|
6.53
|
|
4.68
|
|
Consolidated Statement of
Financial Position
At 30 April 2024
|
Note
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Assets
|
|
|
|
|
Property, plant and
equipment
|
|
546
|
|
502
|
Intangible assets and
goodwill
|
10
|
369,299
|
|
385,633
|
Right-of-use assets
|
|
1,153
|
|
884
|
Deferred tax assets
|
|
-
|
|
153
|
Non-current assets
|
|
370,998
|
|
387,172
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trade and other
receivables
|
11
|
4,472
|
|
3,522
|
Cash and cash equivalents
|
|
24,857
|
|
27,070
|
Current assets
|
|
29,329
|
|
30,592
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Assets
|
|
400,327
|
|
417,764
|
|
|
|
|
|
Equity
|
|
|
|
|
Share capital
|
12
|
5,690
|
|
5,783
|
Own shares held
|
13
|
(5,854)
|
|
(6,252)
|
Capital reorganisation
reserve
|
|
(286,904)
|
|
(286,904)
|
Capital redemption
reserve
|
|
132
|
|
39
|
Retained earnings
|
|
621,090
|
|
619,986
|
Total equity
|
|
334,154
|
|
332,652
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loans and borrowings
|
15
|
49,941
|
|
69,231
|
Deferred tax liabilities
|
|
2,874
|
|
4,223
|
Non-current liabilities
|
|
52,815
|
|
73,454
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current tax liabilities
|
|
1,909
|
|
1,784
|
Loans and borrowings
|
15
|
356
|
|
462
|
Trade and other payables
|
16
|
6,260
|
|
5,530
|
Contract liabilities
|
5
|
4,833
|
|
3,882
|
Current liabilities
|
|
13,358
|
|
11,658
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total liabilities
|
|
66,173
|
|
85,112
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total equity and liabilities
|
|
400,327
|
|
417,764
|
Consolidated Statement of Changes
in Equity
For the year ended 30 April
2024
|
Note
|
Share
Capital
(€
thousands)
|
Own shares
held
(€
thousands)
|
Capital reorganisation
reserve
(€
thousands)
|
Other
reserves
(€
thousands)
|
Retained
earnings
(€
thousands)
|
Total
Equity
(€
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at 30 April 2022
|
|
5,822
|
(3,418)
|
(286,904)
|
-
|
611,877
|
327,377
|
Profit for the year
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
23,215
|
23,215
|
Other comprehensive
income
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Total comprehensive income
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
23,215
|
23,215
|
Transactions with
owners:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Share-based payments
|
19
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,567
|
1,567
|
Tax impact of share-based
payments
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
20
|
20
|
Purchase of shares for performance
share plan
|
|
-
|
(2,834)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(2,834)
|
Purchase of shares for
cancellation
|
12
|
(39)
|
-
|
-
|
39
|
(5,775)
|
(5,775)
|
Dividends
|
14
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(10,918)
|
(10,918)
|
Balance at 30 April 2023
|
|
5,783
|
(6,252)
|
(286,904)
|
39
|
619,986
|
332,652
|
Profit for the year
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
32,048
|
32,048
|
Other comprehensive
income
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
-
|
-
|
Total comprehensive income
|
|
-
|
|
-
|
-
|
32,048
|
32,048
|
Transactions with
owners:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Share-based payments
|
19
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
2,165
|
2,165
|
Tax impact of share-based
payments
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(20)
|
(20)
|
Exercise of employee share
schemes
|
|
-
|
398
|
-
|
-
|
(395)
|
3
|
Purchase of shares for
cancellation
|
12
|
(93)
|
-
|
-
|
93
|
(19,442)
|
(19,442)
|
Dividends
|
14
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(13,252)
|
(13,252)
|
Balance at 30 April 2024
|
|
5,690
|
(5,854)
|
(286,904)
|
132
|
621,090
|
334,154
|
Consolidated Statement of Cash
Flows
For the year ended 30 April 2024
|
Note
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Cash flows from operating activities
|
|
|
|
|
Profit for the year
|
|
32,048
|
|
23,215
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adjustments for:
|
|
|
|
|
Depreciation and
amortisation
|
6
|
16,918
|
|
16,989
|
Profit on property, plant and
equipment disposals
|
|
-
|
|
(4)
|
Taxation
|
8
|
2,878
|
|
3,150
|
Net finance costs
|
7
|
3,411
|
|
2,691
|
Share-based payments
|
19
|
2,165
|
|
1,567
|
Other non-cash items
|
|
-
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
Working capital adjustments:
|
|
|
|
|
Increase in trade and other
receivables
|
|
(958)
|
|
(448)
|
Increase in trade and other
payables
|
|
1,554
|
|
91
|
Increase in contract
liabilities
|
|
951
|
|
739
|
Cash generated from operating activities
|
|
58,967
|
|
47,991
|
Corporate income tax paid
|
|
(4,714)
|
|
(3,122)
|
Interest received
|
|
237
|
|
-
|
Interest and commitment fees
paid
|
|
(3,292)
|
|
(2,208)
|
Net
cash inflow from operating activities
|
|
51,198
|
|
42,661
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash flows from investing activities
|
|
|
|
|
Acquisition of intangible assets and
property, plant and equipment
|
|
(306)
|
|
(251)
|
Proceeds from sale of property,
plant and equipment
|
|
3
|
|
4
|
Acquisition of business
|
|
-
|
|
(1,600)
|
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
|
(303)
|
|
(1,847)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash flows from financing activities
|
|
|
|
|
Repayment of loans and
borrowings
|
15
|
(20,000)
|
|
(14,000)
|
Payment of lease
liabilities
|
|
(305)
|
|
(247)
|
Purchase of own shares for
cancellation
|
|
(19,540)
|
|
(5,663)
|
Purchase of own shares for
performance share plan
|
|
-
|
|
(2,834)
|
Proceeds from exercice of share
options
|
|
3
|
|
-
|
Dividends paid
|
14
|
(13,252)
|
|
(10,918)
|
Net
cash from financing activities
|
|
(53,094)
|
|
(33,662)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
cash inflow from operating, investing and financing
activities
|
|
(2,199)
|
|
7,152
|
Differences on exchange
|
|
(14)
|
|
4
|
Net
Increase / (Decrease) in cash and cash
equivalents
|
|
(2,213)
|
|
7,156
|
Cash and cash equivalents at the
beginning of the year
|
|
27,070
|
|
19,914
|
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the
year
|
|
24,857
|
|
27,070
|
1. General information
The financial information set out
above does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the
years ended 30 April 2024 or 30 April 2023 but is derived from
those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2023 have been delivered to
the Registrar of Companies and those for 2024 will be delivered
following the Company's Annual General Meeting.
The auditor has reported on those
accounts; their reports were (i) unqualified, (ii) did not include
a reference to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by
way of emphasis without qualifying their report and (iii) did not
contain a statement under section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies
Act 2006.
Baltic Classifieds Group PLC (the
"Company") is a Company incorporated in the United Kingdom and its
registered office is Highdown House, Yeoman Way, Worthing, West
Sussex, United Kingdom, BN99 3HH (Company no. 13357598). The
consolidated financial statements as at and for the year ended 30
April 2024 comprise the Company and its subsidiaries (together referred
to as the "Group"). The principal business of the Group is
operating leading online classifieds portals for auto, real estate,
jobs and services, and general merchandise in the
Baltics.
2. Principles of preparation
The consolidated financial
statements for the year ended 30 April 2024 have been approved by
the Board of Directors of Baltic Classifieds Group PLC. They are
prepared in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting
standards ("UK-adopted IFRS") and the applicable legal requirements
of the Companies Act 2006.
The Group financial statements
consolidate those of the Company and its subsidiaries (together
referred to as the "Group").
Use of estimates and judgements
The preparation of the
consolidated financial statements, in accordance with UK-adopted
IFRS, requires management to make judgements, estimates and
assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and
the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenses.
Actual results may differ from these estimates.
Estimates and underlying
assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to
accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the
estimates are revised or in any future periods affected.
Estimates
As at 30 April 2024, there were no
significant estimates that would have a significant risk of
material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets within the
next financial year.
Other estimates:
• Carrying
values of goodwill. An impairment review is performed of goodwill
balances by the Group on a 'value in use' basis. This requires
making assumptions and estimates in calculating the future cash
flows, the time period over which they occur, and in arriving at an
appropriate discount rate to apply to the cashflows as well as an
appropriate long term growth rate. Each of these assumptions and
estimates has an impact on the overall value of cashflows expected
and therefore the headroom between the cashflows and carrying
values of the cash generating units.
· Useful lives of intangible assets. A useful life is assigned
to an acquired intangible asset based on the estimated period of
time an asset is likely to remain in service. This estimate has an
impact on the amortisation expense for any given period.
Judgements
As at 30 April 2024, there were no
significant judgements that would have a significant risk of
material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets within the
next financial year.
Other judgements:
• Deferred tax
asset. An unrecognised deferred tax asset of €2,652 thousand (30
April 2023: €3,934 thousand) has not been recognised in relation to
tax losses incurred by the Company's indirect subsidiary UAB Antler
Group and direct subsidiary BCG HoldCo Limited. Deferred tax assets
are recognised only to the extent that it is probable that future
taxable profits will be available against which the temporary
differences can be utilised. Recognition, therefore, involves
judgement regarding the probability of future taxable profit of the
indirect subsidiary being available.
Going concern
The Directors have made an
assessment of the Group's ability to continue as a going concern
covering a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval
of these consolidated financial statements and has a reasonable
expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in
operational existence over this period.
The Group meets its day-to-day
working capital requirements from cash balances, if needed the
Group also has access to a revolving credit facility that amounts
to €10,000 thousand and is available until July 2026. As at 30
April 2024 no amounts of the revolving credit facility were drawn
down.
The Group has a bank loan which
matures in July 2026 and its availability is subject to continued
compliance with certain covenants, it becomes repayable on demand
in the case of a change in control. The Group voluntarily repaid
€20,000 thousand of the loan during 2024, the outstanding balance
at the year ends amounts to €50,000 thousand. The Group had cash
balances of €24,857 thousand at the year end. After 30 April 2024,
the Group has made a further voluntary repayment of debt of €5,000
thousand.
During the financial year ended 30
April 2024 the Group has generated a profit of €32,047 thousand.
The Directors also prepared detailed cash flow forecasts for the
period ending 12 months from the date of approval of these
consolidated financial statements. The future growth assumptions
used in the cash flow forecasts are based on the Group's historical
performance and the Directors' experience of the industry, and take
into account both internal and external factors.
Stress case scenarios have been
modelled to make the assessment of going concern to take into
account severe but plausible potential impacts of a major data
breach, adverse changes to the competitive environment and
continuing geopolitical tensions in the neighbouring countries. The
stress testing indicates that the Group would be able to withstand
the impact, remain cash generative and be able to continue to
comply with debt covenants for the assessment period.
Consequently, the Directors are
confident that the Group will have sufficient funds to continue to
meet its liabilities as they fall due for at least 12 months from
the date of approval of these consolidated financial statements and
therefore have prepared these consolidated financial statements on
a going concern basis.
3. Alternative performance
measures (APMs)
In the analysis of the Group's
financial performance, certain information disclosed in the
financial statements may be prepared on a non-GAAP basis or has
been derived from amounts calculated in accordance with IFRS but
are not themselves an expressly permitted GAAP measure. These
measures are reported in line with the way in which financial
information is analysed by management and designed to increase
comparability of the Group's year-on-year financial position, based
on its operational activity. These measures are not designed to be
a substitute for any of the IFRS measures of performance and may
not be directly comparable with other companies' alternative
performance measures. The key alternative performance measures
presented by the Group are:
· Adjusted operating profit which is Operating profit after
adding back acquired intangibles amortisation. This measure helps
to provide an indication of the Group's ongoing business
performance.
· EBITDA which is Operating profit after adding back
depreciation and amortisation. This measure is used internally to
assess business performance and in budgeting and
forecasting.
· EBITDA margin which is EBITDA as a percentage of revenue.
Progression in EBITDA margin is an important indicator of the
Group's operating efficiency.
· Adjusted EBITDA which is EBITDA after one-off IPO related
costs. This is one of the key metrics used by management to assess
operating performance of the business and is used in assessing
covenant compliance for the Group's loan facility.
· Adjusted EBITDA margin which is Adjusted EBITDA as a
percentage of revenue. Progression in EBITDA margin is an important
indicator of the Group's operating efficiency.
· Adjusted net income which is Profit for the period after
adding back post-tax impact of acquired intangibles amortisation
and one-off corporate income tax credit relating to 2021. It is
used to arrive at Adjusted basic EPS and in applying the Group's
capital allocation policy.
· Adjusted basic EPS which is Adjusted net income divided by
the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue. This
measure helps to provide an indication of the Group's ongoing
business performance.
· Net
Debt which is calculated as total debt (bank loans principal and
Osta.ee customer credit balances) less cash and cash equivalents.
Net debt is used to arrive at the leverage ratio.
· Leverage which is calculated as Net Debt to EBITDA (or
adjusted EBITDA in previous periods where relevant) over last
twelve months (LTM) ratio. This measure is used in assessing
covenant compliance for the Group's loan facility which includes a
Total Leverage Ratio covenant (see note 15).
· Cash
conversion which is EBITDA (or adjusted EBITDA in previous periods
where relevant) after deducting acquisition of intangible assets
and property, plant and equipment as a percentage of EBITDA (or
adjusted EBITDA in comparative periods). This measure is used to
monitor the Group's operational efficiency.
Reconciliation of alternative performance
measures
Adjusted operating profit
|
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Operating Profit
|
|
38,337
|
|
29,056
|
Acquired intangibles
amortisation
|
|
16,208
|
|
16,198
|
Adjusted Operating Profit
|
|
54,545
|
|
45,254
|
EBITDA
|
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2022
(€
thousands)
|
Operating Profit
|
|
38,337
|
|
29,056
|
Depreciation and
amortisation1
|
|
16,918
|
|
16,989
|
EBITDA
|
|
55,255
|
|
46,045
|
EBITDA margin
|
|
77%
|
|
76%
|
1 Including acquired intangibles
amortisation of €16,208 thousand (€16,989 thousand in
2023).
Adjusted net income
|
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Profit for the year
|
|
32,048
|
|
23,215
|
Acquired intangibles
amortisation
|
|
16,208
|
|
16,198
|
Deferred tax effect of acquired
intangibles amortisation
|
|
(1,434)
|
|
(1,434)
|
CIT credit relating to
2021
|
|
(1,830)
|
|
-
|
Adjusted net income
|
|
44,992
|
|
37,979
|
Adjusted basic EPS
|
|
2024
|
|
2023
|
Adjusted net income (€
thousands)
|
|
44,992
|
|
37,979
|
Weighted average number of ordinary
shares (note 9)
|
|
489,975,882
|
|
496,082,891
|
Adjusted basic EPS (€ cents)
|
|
9.18
|
|
7.66
|
Net debt
|
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Bank loan principal amount (note
15)
|
|
50,000
|
|
70,000
|
Customer credit balances
|
|
2,398
|
|
2,363
|
Total Debt
|
|
52,398
|
|
72,363
|
Cash and cash equivalents
|
|
(24,857)
|
|
(27,070)
|
Net
Debt
|
|
27,541
|
|
45,293
|
Leverage
|
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Net debt
|
|
27,541
|
|
45,293
|
EBITDA
|
|
55,255
|
|
46,045
|
Leverage
|
|
0.50
|
|
0.98
|
Cash conversion
|
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
EBITDA
|
|
55,255
|
|
46,045
|
Acquisition of intangible assets and
property, plant and equipment
|
|
(306)
|
|
(251)
|
|
|
54,949
|
|
45,794
|
Cash conversion
|
|
99%
|
|
99%
|
4. Operating segments
Operating segments are identified
on the basis of internal reports about components of the Group that
are regularly reviewed by the chief operating decisionmaker
("CODM") in order to allocate resources to the segments and to
assess their performance. The CODM has been identified as the Board
of Baltic Classifieds Group PLC.
The main focus of the Group is
operating leading online classifieds platforms for automotive, real
estate, jobs and services, and general merchandise in the Baltics.
The Group's business is managed on a consolidated level. The Board
views information for each classified platform at a revenue level
only and therefore the platforms are considered products but not a
separate line of business or segment. The Group considers itself a
classified business operating in a well-defined and economically
similar geographical area, the Baltic countries. And therefore the
Board views detailed revenue information but only views costs and
profit information at a Group level. As such, management concluded
that BCG has one operating segment, which also represents one
reporting segment.
The revenue break-down is
disclosed by primary geographical markets, key revenue streams and
revenue by business lines in accordance with IFRS 15 in note
5.
Of the total intangible assets and
goodwill, 69% (69% in 2023) is located in Lithuania, 30% (30% in
2023) in Estonia and 1% (1% in 2023) in Latvia.
5. Revenue
In the following tables, revenue
from contracts with customers is disaggregated by primary
geographical markets, key revenue streams and revenue by business
lines.
Primary geographic markets
|
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Lithuania
|
|
50,354
|
|
42,407
|
Estonia
|
|
20,277
|
|
17,203
|
Latvia
|
|
1,436
|
|
1,204
|
Total
|
|
72,067
|
|
60,814
|
|
|
|
|
|
Key
revenue streams
|
|
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Listings revenue
|
|
64,612
|
|
53,750
|
- Listings revenue: B2C
|
|
36,289
|
|
29,765
|
- Listings revenue: C2C
|
|
28,323
|
|
23,985
|
Ancillary
revenue1
|
|
3,762
|
|
3,336
|
Advertising revenue
|
|
3,693
|
|
3,728
|
Total
|
|
72,067
|
|
60,814
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenue by business lines
|
|
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Auto
|
|
27,543
|
|
22,236
|
- Listings revenue:
B2C
|
|
12,954
|
|
9,908
|
- Listings revenue:
C2C
|
|
10,032
|
|
8,167
|
- Ancillary revenue
|
|
3,512
|
|
3,060
|
- Advertising
revenue
|
|
1,045
|
|
1,101
|
|
|
|
|
|
Real Estate
|
|
18,036
|
|
15,044
|
- Listings revenue:
B2C
|
|
10,688
|
|
8,653
|
- Listings revenue:
C2C
|
|
5,432
|
|
4,494
|
- Ancillary revenue
|
|
45
|
|
61
|
- Advertising
revenue
|
|
1,871
|
|
1,836
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jobs & Services
|
|
13,849
|
|
11,790
|
- Listings revenue:
B2C
|
|
11,214
|
|
9,975
|
- Listings revenue:
C2C
|
|
2,593
|
|
1,788
|
- Ancillary revenue
|
|
-
|
|
-
|
- Advertising
revenue
|
|
42
|
|
27
|
|
|
|
|
|
Generalist
|
|
12,639
|
|
11,744
|
- Listings revenue:
B2C
|
|
1,433
|
|
1,229
|
- Listings revenue:
C2C
|
|
10,266
|
|
9,536
|
- Ancillary revenue
|
|
205
|
|
215
|
- Advertising
revenue
|
|
735
|
|
764
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
72,067
|
|
60,814
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
1 Ancillary revenue includes
revenue from financial intermediation, subscription services, and
other. Financial intermediation revenue accounts for 89% of the
total ancillary revenue for the year ending 30 April 2024 and 91%
of the total ancillary revenue for the year ending 30 April
2023.
Due to the large number of
customers the Group serves, there are no individual customers whose
revenue is greater than 10% of the Group's total revenue in all
periods presented in these financial statements.
Contract liabilities
Contract liabilities1
include consideration received in advance of the satisfaction of
performance obligations. The movement in contract liabilities is
provided below:
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Opening balance
|
3,714
|
|
2,982
|
Recognised in revenue in the
period
|
(6,637)
|
|
(5,620)
|
Advance consideration
received
|
7,564
|
|
6,352
|
Closing balance
|
4,641
|
|
3,714
|
1 Contract liabilities amount in
the statement of financial position also include prepayments
received from customers.
6. Operating
profit
|
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Operating profit is after
charging the following:
|
|
|
|
|
Labour costs
|
|
(11,326)
|
|
(9,605)
|
Depreciation and
amortisation
|
|
(16,918)
|
|
(16,989)
|
Advertising and marketing
services
|
|
(1,040)
|
|
(971)
|
IT expenses
|
|
(837)
|
|
(725)
|
Impairment loss on trade receivables
and contract assets
|
|
(50)
|
|
(79)
|
Other
|
|
(3,584)
|
|
(3,398)
|
|
|
(33,755)
|
|
(31,767)
|
Services provided by the Company's auditors
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Fees payable for audit
services:
|
|
|
|
Audit of the Company and
consolidated financial statements1
|
(532)
|
|
(563)
|
Audit of the Company's subsidiaries
pursuant to legislation
|
(191)
|
|
(197)
|
Total audit remuneration
|
(723)
|
|
(760)
|
|
|
|
| |
1 The total fees payable for audit
of the Company and consolidated financial statements include €43
thousand (2023: €102 thousand) audit fees relating to previous
financial year.
The auditors provided no other
services and received no other remuneration.
7. Net finance
costs
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Interest income
|
237
|
|
-
|
Other financial income
|
1
|
|
7
|
Total finance income
|
238
|
|
7
|
|
|
|
|
Interest expenses
|
(3,516)
|
|
(2,602)
|
Commitment and agency
fees
|
(79)
|
|
(80)
|
Other financial expenses
|
(16)
|
|
(1)
|
Interest unwind on lease
liabilities
|
(38)
|
|
(15)
|
Total finance expenses
|
(3,649)
|
|
(2,698)
|
|
|
|
|
Net
finance costs recognised in profit or loss
|
(3,411)
|
|
(2,691)
|
|
|
|
|
8. Income
taxes
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Current tax expense
|
|
|
|
Current year
|
(5,928)
|
|
(4,904)
|
Adjustments for current tax of prior
periods1
|
1,834
|
|
-
|
Deferred tax expense
|
|
|
|
Change in deferred tax
|
1,216
|
|
1,754
|
|
|
|
|
Tax
expense
|
(2,878)
|
|
(3,150)
|
1 Includes €1,830 thousand credit
which relates to CIT for 2021.
9. Earnings per
share
|
|
2024
|
|
2023
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted average number of shares
outstanding
|
|
489,975,882
|
|
496,082,891
|
Dilution effect on the weighted
average number of shares
|
|
928,407
|
|
279,681
|
Diluted weighted average number of
shares outstanding
|
|
490,904,289
|
|
496,362,572
|
Profit for
the period (€ thousands)
|
|
32,048
|
|
23,215
|
Basic earnings per share (€ cents)
|
|
6.54
|
|
4.68
|
Diluted earnings per share (€ cents)
|
|
6.53
|
|
4.68
|
|
|
|
|
|
In calculating diluted EPS, the
weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue is adjusted to
assume conversion of all potentially dilutive shares. The Group's
potentially dilutive instruments are in respect of share-based
incentives granted to employees. Options under the Performance
Share Plan (note 19) are contingently issuable shares and are therefore only
included within the calculation of diluted EPS if the performance
conditions are satisfied.
The average market value of the
Group's shares for the purposes of calculating the dilutive effect
of share-based incentives was based on quoted market prices during
the period which the share-based incentives were
outstanding.
The reconciliation of the weighted
average number of shares is provided below:
|
2024
|
|
2023
|
|
Number
of shares
|
|
Number
of shares
|
Issued ordinary shares at 1 May less
ordinary shares held by EBT
|
493,363,165
|
|
498,292,405
|
Weighted effect of ordinary shares
purchased by EBT
|
-
|
|
(1,114,685)
|
Weighted effect of share-based
incentives
|
196,255
|
|
-
|
Weighted effect of own shares
purchased for cancellation
|
(3,583,538)
|
|
(1,094,829)
|
Weighted average number of ordinary shares at 30
April
|
489,975,882
|
|
496,082,891
|
10. Intangible assets and
goodwill
|
Goodwill
(€
thousands)
|
Trademarks and
domains
(€
thousands)
|
Relationship with
clients
(€
thousands)
|
Other intangible
assets
(€
thousands)
|
Total
(€
thousands)
|
Cost
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at 30 April 2022
|
328,732
|
63,220
|
50,710
|
1,324
|
443,986
|
Acquisitions
|
1,229
|
120
|
250
|
-
|
1,599
|
Disposals
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(33)
|
(33)
|
Balance at 30 April 2023
|
329,961
|
63,340
|
50,960
|
1,291
|
445,552
|
Disposals
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(45)
|
(45)
|
Balance at 30 April 2024
|
329,961
|
63,340
|
50,960
|
1,246
|
445,507
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accumulated amortisation and impairment
losses
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at 30 April 2022
|
-
|
17,016
|
25,956
|
525
|
43,497
|
Amortisation
|
-
|
6,332
|
9,866
|
257
|
16,455
|
Disposals
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(33)
|
(33)
|
Balance at 30 April 2023
|
-
|
23,348
|
35,822
|
749
|
59,919
|
Amortisation
|
-
|
6,334
|
9,874
|
126
|
16,334
|
Disposals
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(45)
|
(45)
|
Balance at 30 April 2024
|
-
|
29,682
|
45,696
|
830
|
76,208
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Carrying amounts
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at 30 April 2022
|
328,732
|
46,204
|
24,754
|
799
|
400,489
|
Balance at 30 April 2023
|
329,961
|
39,992
|
15,138
|
542
|
385,633
|
Balance at 30 April 2024
|
329,961
|
33,658
|
5,264
|
416
|
369,299
|
11. Trade and other
receivables
|
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Trade receivables
|
|
4,071
|
|
3,322
|
Expected credit loss on trade
receivables
|
|
(48)
|
|
(45)
|
Prepayments
|
|
225
|
|
175
|
Other short-term
receivables
|
|
224
|
|
70
|
Total
|
|
4,472
|
|
3,522
|
Trade and other receivables are
non-interest bearing. The Group has recognized impairment losses in
the amount of €48 thousand as at 30 April 2024 (€45 thousand as at
30 April 2023). Change in impairment losses for trade receivables,
netted with recoveries, for financial year amounted to €50 thousand
as at 30 April 2024 and €79 thousand as at 30 April 2023. As at 30
April 2023 and 30 April 2022, there are no pledges on trade
receivables.
12. Equity
|
|
Number of
shares
|
|
Share capital
amount
(€
thousands)
|
|
Share premium
amount
(€
thousands)
|
Balance as at 30 April 2022
|
|
500,392,405
|
|
5,822
|
|
-
|
Purchase and cancellation of own
shares
|
|
(3,429,240)
|
|
(39)
|
|
-
|
Balance as at 30 April 2023
|
|
496 963
165
|
|
5,783
|
|
0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Purchase and cancellation of own
shares
|
|
(8,018,738)
|
|
(93)
|
|
-
|
Balance as at 30 April 2024
|
|
488,944,427
|
|
5,690
|
|
0
|
13. Own shares
held
|
|
Shares held by
EBT
|
|
|
Amount
(€
thousands)
|
|
Number
(thousands)
|
Balance as at 30 April 2022
|
|
3,418
|
|
2,100
|
Purchase of shares for performance
share plan1
|
|
2,834
|
|
1,500
|
Balance as at 30 April 2023
|
|
6,252
|
|
3,600
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exercise of share options
|
|
(398)
|
|
(244)
|
Balance as at 30 April 2024
|
|
5,854
|
|
3,356
|
1 Shares were purchased on 29 July
2022 at a price of £1.54 (€1.84) per share and on 2 August 2022 at
a price of £1.62 (€1.93) per share.
14. Dividends
Dividends paid by the Company were
as follows:
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
2022 final dividend
|
-
|
|
6,955
|
2023 interim dividend
|
-
|
|
3,963
|
2023 final dividend
|
8,359
|
|
-
|
2024 interim dividend
|
4,893
|
|
|
Total
|
13,252
|
|
10,918
|
Total dividends per share for the
periods to which they relate are:
|
2024
(€ cents
per share)
|
|
2023
(€ cents
per share)
|
2023 interim dividend
|
-
|
|
0.8
|
2023 final dividend
|
-
|
|
1.7
|
2024 interim dividend
|
1.0
|
|
-
|
2024 final dividend
|
2.1
|
|
-
|
Total
|
3.1
|
|
2.5
|
The proposed final dividend for
the year ended 30 April 2024
of 2.1 € cents per share is subject to approval
by Company shareholders at the Annual General Meeting ('AGM') and
hence has not been included as a liability in the financial
statements. The 2024 final dividend will be paid on 18 October 2024 to
shareholders on the register at the close of business on 13
September 2024 and the payment will comprise approximately €10,200
thousand of cash.
The Directors intend to return one
third of Adjusted net income (as defined and reconciled in note 3)
each year via an interim and final
dividend, split one third and two thirds, respectively. Adjusted
net income (as reconciled in note 3) for 2024 was €44,992 thousand
(€37,979 in
2023).
15. Loans and
borrowings
Non-current liabilities
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Bank loan
|
49,122
|
|
68,716
|
Lease liabilities
|
819
|
|
515
|
|
49,941
|
|
69,231
|
|
|
|
|
Current liabilities
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Bank loan
|
93
|
|
180
|
Lease liabilities
|
263
|
|
282
|
|
356
|
|
462
|
Bank loan:
|
Period end
|
Maturity
|
|
Loan
currency
|
|
Effective interest
rate
|
|
Amount
(€
thousands)
|
Bank Loan
|
30 April
2023
|
2026
July
|
|
€
|
|
2.91%
|
|
68,896
|
Bank Loan
|
30 April
2024
|
2026
July
|
|
€
|
|
5.59%
|
|
49,215
|
As at 30 April 2024 the
undrawn revolving credit facility amounted to €10,000 thousand
(€10,000 thousand as at 30 April 2023).
The loan agreement prescribes a
Total Leverage Ratio covenant. Total Leverage Ratio is calculated
as Net Debt over last twelve months (LTM) of Adjusted EBITDA and
shall not exceed 5.50:1. As at 30 April
2024 and 30 April 2023, the Group complied
with the covenant prescribed in the loan agreement.
As per the same agreement, the
interest margin for each facility is tied to the Total Leverage
Ratio at each interest calculation date on
a semi-annual basis. The interest rate margin is 1.75% when the
leverage ratio is equal or below
2.5, and gradually increase when leverage ratio
increase. The
interest rate margin applicable for the
Group was 1.75% for the years ended 30 April
2024 and 30 April 2023.
Reconciliation of movements of liabilities to cashflows
arising from financing activities
|
|
Borrowings
(€
thousands)
|
|
Lease
liabilities
(€
thousands)
|
|
Total
(€
thousands)
|
Balance as at 30 April 2022
|
|
82,432
|
|
369
|
|
82,801
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Changes from financing cash flows
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Repayment of borrowings
|
|
(14,000)
|
|
-
|
|
(14,000)
|
- Payment of lease
liabilities
|
|
-
|
|
(247)
|
|
(247)
|
Total changes from financing cash flows
|
|
(14,000)
|
|
(247)
|
|
(14,247)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other liability related changes
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- New leases and lease
re-assessments
|
|
-
|
|
721
|
|
721
|
- Lease disposal
|
|
-
|
|
(46)
|
|
(46)
|
- Interest expenses
|
|
2,602
|
|
15
|
|
2,617
|
- Interest paid
|
|
(2,138)
|
|
(15)
|
|
(2,153)
|
Total other liability related changes
|
|
464
|
|
675
|
|
1,139
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance as at 30 April 2023
|
|
68,896
|
|
797
|
|
69,693
|
|
|
Borrowings
(€
thousands)
|
|
Lease
liabilities
(€
thousands)
|
|
Total
(€
thousands)
|
Balance as at 30 April 2023
|
|
68,896
|
|
797
|
|
69,693
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Changes from financing cash flows
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Repayment of borrowings
|
|
(20,000)
|
|
-
|
|
(20,000)
|
- Payment of lease
liabilities
|
|
-
|
|
(305)
|
|
(305)
|
Total changes from financing cash flows
|
|
(20,000)
|
|
(305)
|
|
(20,305)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other liability related changes
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- New leases and lease
re-assessments
|
|
-
|
|
593
|
|
593
|
- Lease disposal
|
|
-
|
|
(3)
|
|
(3)
|
- Interest expenses
|
|
3,516
|
|
38
|
|
3,554
|
- Interest paid
|
|
(3,197)
|
|
(38)
|
|
(3,235)
|
Total other liability related changes
|
|
319
|
|
590
|
|
909
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance as at 30 April 2024
|
|
49,215
|
|
1,082
|
|
50,297
|
16. Trade and other
payables
|
|
2024
(€
thousands)
|
|
2023
(€
thousands)
|
Trade payables
|
|
399
|
|
299
|
Accrued expenses
|
|
437
|
|
391
|
Payroll related
liabilities
|
|
1,134
|
|
1,021
|
Other tax
|
|
1,668
|
|
1,326
|
Customer credit balances
|
|
2,398
|
|
2,363
|
Other payables
|
|
224
|
|
130
|
|
|
6,260
|
|
5,530
|
17. Related party
transactions
During the period ended
30 April 2024 and period ended 30 April
2023, the transactions with related
parties outside the consolidated Group consisted of remuneration of
key management personnel (note 18), including share option awards
under the PSP scheme (note 19).
18. Remuneration of key
management personnel and other payments
Key management personnel comprises
3 Executive directors (CEO, CFO, COO), 5 Non-Executive Directors,
Group Development Director and Directors of Group companies.
Remuneration of key management personnel in the reporting year,
including social security and related accruals, amounted to €1,610
thousand for the period ended 30 April 2024 and €1,257 thousand for
the period ended 30 April 2023. Share-based payments amounted to
€1,666 thousand for the period ended 30 April 2024 and €1,031
thousand for the period ended 30 April 2023.
During the period ended 30 April
2024 the Executive directors of the Group were granted a set number
of share options under the PSP scheme. See note 19 for further
detail.
During the year ended 30 April
2024 and 30 April 2023, key management personnel of the Group did
not receive any loans, guarantees, no other payments or property
transfers occurred and no pension or retirement benefits were
paid.
19. Share-based
payments
Performance Share
Plan
The Group currently operates a
Performance Share Plan (PSP) that is subject to a service and a
non-market performance condition. The estimate of the fair value of
the PSP is measured using Black-Scholes pricing model.
The total charge in the period
relating to the PSP scheme was €2,165 thousand (€1,567 thousand in
the period ended 30 April 2023).
On 5 July 2023, the Group awarded
1,138,024 share options under the PSP scheme. These awards have a
3-year service condition and performance condition which is
measured by reference to the Group's earnings per share in the year
ended 30 April 2026.
The fair value of the 2023 award
was determined to be €2.14 per option using a Black-Scholes pricing
model. The resulting share-based payments charge is being spread
evenly over the period between the grant date and the vesting
date.
The number of options outstanding
and exercisable as at 30 April 2024 was as follows:
|
2024
|
|
2023
|
|
(number)
|
|
(number)
|
Outstanding at beginning of year
|
2,484,217
|
|
1,041,745
|
Options granted in the
period
|
1,138,024
|
|
1,465,911
|
Options exercised in the
period
|
(244,318)
|
|
-
|
Options forfeited in the
period
|
(24,436)
|
|
(23,439)
|
Outstanding at end of year
|
3,353,487
|
|
2,484,217
|
20. Enquiries by Competition
Authorities
On 18 April 2024, the Estonian
Competition Authority ("ECA") adopted two decisions terminating the
supervisory proceedings against the Groups two real estate online
classified portals Kv.ee and City24.ee and against the automotive
classified portal Auto24.ee. ECA confirmed that the Group portals
have not set unfairly high prices for the services they offer and
have not abused the dominant positions in the respective markets.
As of 6 June 2024, the deadline to appeal the decisions has passed
without any the appeals and decisions came into full
force.
As at 30 April 2024, the Group had
one open enquiry from Competition Authorities, however the
Directors' view is that the likelihood of any material outflow of
resources in respect of these enquiries is remote, and therefore no
provision or contingent liability has been recognised in the
financial statements in respect of these matters (no provision or
liability in 2023).
The supervisory proceedings were
initiated on 4 February 2022 by the ECA against AllePal OÜ, the
operator of real estate online classified portal, based on the
complaint filed by Reales OÜ. Reales OÜ had entered into service
agreement with AllePal OÜ for the insertion of real estate ads on
both of real estate online classified portals, and according to the
complaint, AllePal OÜ unfairly refused to provide the service to
Reales OÜ by terminating the agreement. According to AllePal OÜ,
service agreement was terminated because the claimant used the
services to provide real estate ads brokerage or aggregation
services and did not engage in real estate brokerage, for which the
real estate online classifieds portals are intended. AllePal OÜ
actively co-operates with the ECA and provides all necessary
information and holds negotiations with Reales OÜ in order to
develop a suitable contract and the pricing for the service needed
by the claimant. On 15 March 2022, Reales OÜ submitted an
additional complaint to initiate additional supervisory proceedings
against the AllePal OÜ, which alleges that the pricing difference
between the prices offered to the business and private customers
indicates the abuse of a dominant position. On 1 April 2022 the ECA
decided not to initiate additional proceedings and investigate the
raised question within the ongoing supervisory proceedings. As the
ECA or any other Estonian authorities have not initiated any
misdemeanour (or criminal) proceedings against any Group company,
the ongoing supervisory proceedings cannot lead to any imposition
of fines to any Group company, however, if the ECA concludes that
AllePal OÜ and Kinnisvaraportaal OÜ abused their position, the ECA
could issue a precept ordering these Group companies to end any
ongoing infringements. In October 2022, Group approached ECA and
explained that Group failed to reach the commercial agreement with
the claimant. Since then, there were no updates in the
procedure.
21. Subsequent
events
A voluntary repayment of debt of
€5,000 thousand was made on 13 May 2024 reducing the outstanding
principal amount of bank borrowings to €45,000 thousand. This is a
post year end non-adjusting event which has not been recognised in
the financial statements.