Brief: Schibsted keeps growth target, says Spanish business struggles in H2
27/09/2016 06:00
Sept 27 (Reuters) - Schibsted Asa SBSTA.OL
* Schibsted's target of medium- to long term annual revenue
growth for online classifieds operations is maintained at 15-20%
* Political uncertainty in spain has continued over summer,
which affects schibsted's revenue growth particularly in jobs
vertical. In Q3 2016 this is likely to lead to a high single
digit revenue growth in the Spanish online classifieds
operations, which is a deceleration compared to the first half
of 2016. The long term growth potential remains intact
* Announces acquisition of MB Diffusion, leading online
classifieds market place for agricultural and construction
equipment in France. The company has strong synergies with
Leboncoin.fr in France, and has an international presence with
prospects for further growth. The revenue of the company was EUR
10.8 million in the full year 2015
* Schibsted ecosystem strategy is being strengthened in
scandinavian markets
* Will maintain financial flexibility, and reiterates its
targets with respect to maintaining an equity ratio of 35-50%,
prudent financial leverage with a net interest bearing
debt/ebitda ratio of 1-2x, and a dividend pay-out ratio of
25-40% of cash flow
* very well positioned for further growth in Online
classifieds based on our balanced portfolio of assets in
different maturity stages. In our core developed markets we see
a clear opportunity to increase the revenues per customer by
improving our positions in verticals. This will be driven by
product innovation and by our central product & tech teams.
* One example is the build out of the jobs vertical in
France this fall. Additionally, several of the operations in
Investment phase, for example OLX in Brazil, have reached
strong leadership positions in terms of traffic and number of
listings, and are now in the process of increasing their
monetization
* Schibsted sees continued potential for value accretive
market consolidation through partnerships or acquisitions
* Certain elements of schibsted ecosystem strategy are well
fitted for expansion into other markets where we have strong
traffic positions
* For schibsted's media houses in norway and sweden, online
revenues continue to increase, driven by growing advertising
revenues and increased number of digital subscribers
* Continues to balance focus on digital product innovation
with requirements to reduce cost base in parallel with overall
revenue decline
* In near to medium term, this may lead to some margin
pressure for media houses overall
Source text for Eikon: ID:nGNE1Mm9cm
Further company coverage: SBSTA.OL SBSTB.OL
(Reporting By Terje Solsvik)
((terje.solsvik@thomsonreuters.com;))