Brief: Schibsted Q3 results above forecast, sees lower investments ahead

Vend Marketplaces ASA

03/11/2017 06:01

Nov 3 (Reuters) - Schibsted Asa  SBSTA.OL  
    * Schibsted q3 revenues nok 4,161 million (Reuters poll 
nok 4.02 
billion) vs NOK 3,798 mln in Q3 2016 
    * Schibsted q3 ebitda nok 783 million (Reuters poll nok 
640 
million) vs NOK 572 mln in q3 2016 
    * Schibsted q3 ebitda ex investment phase nok 903 million 
(Reuters poll nok 793 million) vs NOK 756 mln in q3 2016  
    * Schibsted q3 pretax result nok  779 million (Reuters 
poll nok 
458 million) 
    * going forward, we aim to continue good development by 
taking 
further advantage of our competitive strengths - strong local 
presence leveraged by joint, scalable product and tech 
platforms 
    * tight cost control and digital product innovation leads 
to 
improved ebitda margins in publishing activities 
    * Schibsted keeps guidance of 15-20 percent revenue growth 
in 
online classifieds for mid to long term 
    * Based on the traffic leadership and the strength of the 
Leboncoin brand, there is room for increased market shares in 
verticals such as real estate, cars and jobs 
    * Schibsted: in Spain we still expect a competitive 
environment in 
real estate and a sluggish development for display advertising, 
cars and jobs are positive 
    * Schibsted: full year investments are expected to go down 
versus 
2016, though seasonal effects may lead to a higher investment 
level in q4 2017 compared to q3 2017 
    * Schibsted: in 2018, we plan for further reductions of 
online 
classifieds investment phase losses 
    * Schibsted:  several sites are approaching breakeven in 
2018, 
some assets have been divested in 2017 and the spending level in 
Shpock will be lower in 2018 compared with 2017 
    * Schibsted's media houses:   if the advertising market 
trends 
deteriorates, margin contraction is likely during the coming 12 
months 
    * Schibsted's media houses: overall, the structural digital 
shift 
and the transformation process are expected to continue 
    * Schibsted's investments in technology and online product 
development: ebitda loss of the hq/other segment, to remain 
around the same level in 2h 2017 as in  1h 2017 
    *  
 
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 (Reporting By Ole Petter Skonnord) 
 ((olepetter.skonnord@thomsonreuters.com;))