REG - Baltic Classifieds - Final Results
03/07/2024 07:00
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RNS Number : 8864U Baltic Classifieds Group PLC 03 July 2024
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
position(1) 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.
· EBITDA(2) grew 20% to €55.3 million (2023: €46.0 million).
Our EBITDA margin(2) expanded by 1% pt to 77% (2023: 76%). Accounting
operating profit grew 32% to €38.3 million (2023: €29.1 million).
· Adjusted basic EPS(2) 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 income(2) 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 conversion(2) 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
debt(2) 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%
EBITDA(2) 55.3 46.0 20%
EBITDA margin(2) 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 profit(2) 54.5 45.3 21%
Profit for the period 32.0 23.2 38%
Adjusted net income(2) 45.0 38.0 18%
Basic EPS (€ cents) 6.5 4.7 40%
Adjusted basic EPS(2) (€ 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 yields(3) 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 Auto(4) and Real
Estate, 11% in Services. In Generalist(5) 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 Jobs(6) this commenced in September 2023 and is
ongoing over the 12 months period.
· The changes to our B2C packages and prices led to increased
ARPU(3) 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
(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
(https://www.netroadshow.com/conferencing/global-numbers?confId=65964)
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/
(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 positions(1) 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%
Jobs(1) B2C - monthly number of companies 2,271 2,162 5%
Auto(2) C2C - monthly number of active ads 33,695 26,824 26%
Real Estate C2C - monthly number of active ads 20,016 16,628 20%
Services(1) C2C - monthly number of active ads 8,560 6,461 32%
Generalist(3) - monthly number of listings 99,271 94,388 5%
Auto B2C - monthly ARPU(4) (€) 289 230 26%
Real Estate B2C - monthly ARPU (€) 181 148 22%
Jobs(1) B2C - monthly ARPU (€) 412 384 7%
Auto(2) C2C - monthly revenue per active ad (€) 20 20 0%
Real Estate C2C - monthly revenue per active ad (€) 23 23 0%
Services(1) C2C - monthly revenue per active ad (€) 24 22 11%
Generalist(3) - 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 yield(1) 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 debt(2) decreased by €17.8 million to
€27.5 million (from €45.3 million in 2023). We ended the year with
leverage(2) 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 balances(3) 2.4 2.4
Total debt 52.4 72.4
Cash (24.9) (27.1)
Net debt 27.5 45.3
EBITDA(2) 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
EBITDA(2) 55.3 46.0 20%
EBITDA margin(2) 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 profit(2) 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 income(2) 45.0 38.0 18%
Basic EPS (€ cents) 6.5 4.7 40%
Adjusted basic EPS(2) (€ 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 conversion(2) 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 ● Maintaining a flexible cost base that can respond to changing Despite concerns over increased geopolitical tensions, the Group's portals Increasing
instability in the Baltic countries, potentially impacting consumer behaviour conditions experienced sustained growth throughout the year. This resilience
(e.g. reducing spending or investing), seller activity (e.g. disrupting
underscores both the strength of our Company and the Baltic economies amidst
retail), and investor perception of the business. ● Maintaining a flexible capital allocation policy, with limited debt heightened geopolitical uncertainties in the region.
Political and macroeconomic situation
Description & impact Mitigation Developments in 2024 Risk trend
Economic conditions (whether due to economic cycle or supply chain disruption) ● Maintaining a flexible cost base that can respond to changing After a year of high inflation in 2023, consumer prices have stabilised during Stable
could lead to a retraction in the underlying markets, a reduction in stock, conditions the year. The speed of sale in the underlying markets has slowed down, which
consumer wallets and a reduction in advertisers budgets or appetite to spend,
has a positive impact on the Group's performance due to an increase of active
which all have the potential to reduce revenue. Economic conditions can also ● Maintaining a flexible capital allocation policy, with limited debt advertisements on our portals.
impact the cost pressures (such as wage growth, price inflation, interest
rates, etc.).
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 ● Maintaining market leadership in our main verticals while offering The Group continued to strengthen its offering during the year, including an Stable
day-to-day business may affect the Group's ability to achieve desired results. value-added products and packages upgrade and expansion of car history reports and the launch of property rental
services, which further diversified our customer base.
● 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
Competition
Description & impact Mitigation Developments in 2024 Risk trend
The Group may face new competition in existing markets or in new areas of ● Investment into customer experience During 2024, the Group's leading portals maintained very strong leadership Stable
activity. Additionally, changes in technology or consumer behaviour can
positions. The number of advertisers increased year on year across all
influence how people search for cars, real estate, jobs or general products, ● Development of cross-linkages between Group's horizontal and vertical business areas.
potentially leading to a loss of consumer audience. There is also a risk of platforms
new entrants with innovative business models, such as offering services for
free, impacting the Group's audience, content and revenue. Furthermore, as the ● Development of our offering to provide value-for-money and
Group diversifies into new and adjacent markets, the competitive landscape differentiated services to advertisers
widens.
Laws & regulations
Description & impact Mitigation Developments in 2024 Risk trend
The Group is subject to competition and antitrust laws, which may limit the Having a dedicated internal expertise within the business, responsible for In April 2024, Estonian Competition Authority terminated excessive pricing Decreasing
market power, pricing or other actions of any firm within the Group. identifying, assessing and responding to upcoming changes in laws and investigations against the Group's Real Estate and Automotive portals in
regulations, and the use of external specialists where necessary Estonia.
Companies can be subject to legal action, investigations and proceedings by
national and supranational competition and antitrust authorities, as well as The Group has one remaining supervisory proceeding ongoing at Estonian
claims from clients and business partners for alleged infringements of Competition Authority regarding the failure to supply. Since 2022 autumn there
competition and antitrust laws. These actions could result in fines, other are no updates nor actions in this proceeding.
forms of liability or damage to the companies' reputation. Additionally, such
laws and regulations could limit or prohibit the ability to grow in certain The proceeding cannot lead to imposition of fines to any Group company,
markets. however, a precept ordering the Group companies to end any ongoing
infringements could be imposed or the Estonian Competition Authority could
Future acquisitions by the Group could be affected by applicable antitrust potentially initiate misdemeanour proceedings that would entitle the
laws and may be unsuccessful if the required approvals from competition imposition of a fine of up to €400 thousand per case. See note 20 for
authorities are not obtained. 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.
Technology
Description & impact Mitigation Developments in 2024 Risk trend
Cyber-attacks. The Group is at greater risk from cyber threats due to its ● Ongoing investment in security systems to ensure our systems remain Having in mind the Geopolitical risk, the risk trend of cyber-attacks is Increasing
large scale and prominence. As the business is entirely dependent on robust considered to be increasing.
information technology to provide its services, successful attacks have the
potential to directly impact revenue. ● Continuous monitoring of external threats During the year, an internal audit has reviewed the Group's disaster recovery
plan.
Major data breach. A cyber-attack or internal failure, resulting in disabling ● Regular testing of the security of IT systems and platforms, including
of platforms or systems, or a major data breach, could adversely impact the penetration testing The Group continued to strengthen its systems and processes following a
Group's reputation, erode trust and lead to a loss of revenue and / or
cyber security assessment performed by the Group's outsourced internal audit
profits. Data breaches, a common form of cyber-attack, can have a significant ● Disaster recovery plan is in place and is reviewed and tested last year, along with increasing awareness of both cyber security and data
negative business impact and often arise from insufficiently protected data. regularly protection across the Group.
Disruption to availability of services. The availability and reliability of ● Internal audit reviews
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.
Acquisition risk
Description & impact Mitigation Developments in 2024 Risk trend
The Group might make an unsuccessful acquisition or face challenges in ● Acquisitions are focused on businesses, operating in sectors where the The Services business acquired in 2022 has reached break-even this year. Stable
integrating an acquisition, which could lead to reduced profits and impairment Group has or can develop a competitive advantage and that offer good growth
charge. opportunities Whilst there have been no acquisitions made recently, the Board regularly
considers potential opportunities.
● Conducting detailed pre-acquisition due diligence by in-house
personnel and external advisers
● Retaining and motivating key personnel
Climate change
Description & impact Mitigation Developments in 2024 Risk trend
From a long-term perspective, the Group is subject to physical climate risks, ● The Group is committed to contributing to the climate change cause by In 2024, we completed our Scope 3 carbon emissions assessment, reduced our Stable
directly related to climate change, and transitional climate risks, which may being environmentally responsible, reducing carbon emissions, shifting to total Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 46% and achieved our goal to have at
arise due to transitioning to a lower-carbon economy. Increased severity of renewable energy and offsetting carbon emissions least 80% of used electricity derived from renewable energy sources ahead of
extreme weather events due to accelerating global warming may result in
the target date of 2025 by increasing the portion of electricity derived from
disruption to provision of services from our service providers, affect the ● We are taking actions to adapt to the increasing climate change renewable sources from 73% to 88%.
availability of websites and change commercial customers' behaviour. awareness and are ready to adapt if new environmental regulations arise: adopt
the platforms for eco-friendly products, introduce necessary filters, educate
New regulations relating to the reduction of carbon emissions and increasing visitors, enrich ad data with environmental impact related information
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.
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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ 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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ 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 Own shares held Capital reorganisation reserve Other reserves Retained earnings Total
Capital Equity
(€ thousands) (€ thousands) (€ thousands) (€ thousands)
(€ thousands) (€ 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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ 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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ thousands)
Operating Profit 38,337 29,056
Acquired intangibles amortisation 16,208 16,198
Adjusted Operating Profit 54,545 45,254
EBITDA
2024 2022
(€ thousands) (€ thousands)
Operating Profit 38,337 29,056
Depreciation and amortisation(1) 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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ 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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ 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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ thousands)
Net debt 27,541 45,293
EBITDA 55,255 46,045
Leverage 0.50 0.98
Cash conversion
2024 2023
(€ thousands) (€ 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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ 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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ thousands)
Listings revenue 64,612 53,750
- Listings revenue: B2C 36,289 29,765
- Listings revenue: C2C 28,323 23,985
Ancillary revenue(1) 3,762 3,336
Advertising revenue 3,693 3,728
Total 72,067 60,814
Revenue by business lines
2024 2023
(€ thousands) (€ 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 liabilities(1) include consideration received in advance of the
satisfaction of performance obligations. The movement in contract liabilities
is provided below:
2024 2023
(€ thousands) (€ 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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ 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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ thousands)
Fees payable for audit services:
Audit of the Company and consolidated financial statements(1) (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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ 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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ thousands)
Current tax expense
Current year (5,928) (4,904)
Adjustments for current tax of prior periods(1) 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 Trademarks and domains Relationship with clients Other intangible assets Total
(€ thousands)
(€ thousands) (€ thousands)
(€ thousands) (€ 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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ 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 Share premium amount
(€ thousands)
(€ 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 Number
(€ thousands) (thousands)
Balance as at 30 April 2022 3,418 2,100
Purchase of shares for performance share plan(1) 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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ 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 2023
(€ cents per share) (€ 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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ thousands)
Bank loan 49,122 68,716
Lease liabilities 819 515
49,941 69,231
Current liabilities 2024 2023
(€ thousands) (€ 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 Lease liabilities Total
(€ thousands)
(€ thousands) (€ 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 Lease liabilities Total
(€ thousands)
(€ thousands) (€ 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 2023
(€ thousands) (€ 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.
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