Adds details and management comments on international business and outlook in paragraphs 2-8 and 10.
GDANSK, May 14 (Reuters) - Poland's biggest e-commerce platform Allegro ALEP.WA raised 2026 targets for its international markets on Thursday, citing accelerating trading volumes.
Gross merchandise value (GMV) in Allegro's international marketplaces jumped 46.3% to 804 million zlotys ($222 million) in the first quarter and accelerated to above 70% in the first six weeks of the second quarter, it said.
The international operations have so far been a drag on Allegro’s profitability. It finalised the sale of the Slovenia and Croatia businesses in March as the last step in turning around the Mall Group, acquired in 2022.
After closing the legacy Mall e-shops, second-quarter baseline GMV from those retail operations has fallen to close to zero, Allegro said.
It added the aim was to close the year with a more than 1-billion-zloty rise in GMV in the international business, with a turn to profitability expected in 2029.
"Momentum across the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary is so strong that today we are raising our GMV outlook for international operations to 40-45%," finance chief Jon Eastick said in a statement. That was up from a previously expected range of 35% to 40%.
International revenue is also expected to grow by 25% to 35%, versus 20-30% guided in March.
In Poland, the group continues to innovate and compete for growth and market share, Eastick said. Outlook for the domestic market was unchanged, as Allegro waits to see how consumer demand develops amid geopolitical concerns, he added.
Allegro's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 23.6% to 931.8 million zlotys in the first quarter, beating analysts' median estimate of 849 million zlotys. GMV rose 12.8% to 17.29 billion zlotys, also above the consensus compiled by Allegro.
"The first quarter showed we’re achieving our goals at a pace well ahead of our full-year targets," CEO Marcin Kusmierz said in the statement.
($1 = 3.6262 zlotys)
(Reporting by Adrianna Ebert; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
((Adrianna.Ebert@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 65 88;))