Scout24 share turns positive: Scout24 expects low growth in 2023 despite the real estate crisis

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However, Scout24’s sales are unlikely to increase as strongly as in 2022. In terms of earnings, the new annual target is only at the lower end of the range previously issued for 2023. In pre-market trading on the Tradegate platform, the Scout24 share fell slightly.

Compared to a year ago, the shares are slightly in the red, while there are clear differences with a holding period of three and five years: Shareholders who have had Scout24 in their portfolio for three years can look back on a decline in value of around 14 percent . However, those who have stayed true to the banknotes for five years will be happy about an increase of around 40 percent.

Group revenue in 2023 should increase by twelve percent, while adjusted operating profit (Ebitda) should climb by 13 percent, the MDAX-listed company announced on Tuesday in Munich. In terms of both indicators, Scout24 would develop somewhat better than the analysts surveyed by the company had previously assumed. However, the profit target for the current year is only at the lower end of the range of 13 to 15 percent that the company published during the last capital market day. However, the 2023 outlook corresponds to the average annual growth rates that the management of Scout24 has in mind for the period up to 2026.

CEO Tobias Hartmann was nevertheless confident about the current year: “Despite a very uncertain macroeconomic environment, we are cautiously optimistic about 2023 and have made a solid start,” he said according to the announcement. Increasing profitability was already noticeable in the final quarter of last year.

Based on preliminary figures, Scout24 generated revenues of EUR 447.5 million in the past year, 15 percent more than in the previous year. Since 2022, Scout24 has divided its business into the “Professional”, “Private” and “Media and Other” segments. By far the most important division with business customers benefited from a growing number of fee-based memberships. Scout24 had turned the price screw here and added more functions to memberships.

In percentage terms, however, the private customer segment grew significantly more. The business there was mainly driven by a high demand for so-called plus products: Paying apartment and house seekers are given priority to potential landlords and can see advertisements earlier than others. According to the company, the number of tenants plus customers rose by almost 50 percent year-on-year to 270,000 members. The business is considered lucrative, and Scout24 also increased membership prices over the course of the year.

The operating result adjusted for special effects (Ebitda) at group level increased last year by 13 percent to 251 million euros. In terms of both revenue and operating profit, Scout24 performed pretty much as forecast by industry experts. After taxes, the company earned 123.5 million euros, more than a third more than in 2021.

Scout24’s shares initially fell, but are now rising – at times the profits are 1.92 percent to 51.92 euros.

MUNICH (dpa-AFX)

Image sources: Scout24