Schibsted ASA (SCHA/SCHB) - Interim Financial Statement Q3 2017

Today, Schibsted Media Group released its Q3 2017 report. Revenues grew 10 percent to NOK 4,161 million, whereas the EBITDA was NOK 783 million (572 million).

"We are happy to present a strong Q3 result for Schibsted, with an EBITDA increase of 37 percent. As earlier this year, the growth is a result of achievements in both Online classifieds, Publishing and Schibsted Growth," CEO Rolv Erik Ryssdal says.

"In Online classifieds, the third quarter was evidence of the strength of the online classifieds business model. With strong brands and market positions, the earnings power is significant. Going forward, we aim to continue the good development by taking further advantage of our competitive strengths - strong local presence leveraged by joint, scalable product and tech platforms," CEO Rolv Erik Ryssdal says.

"In Q3, we continued to see solid growth in the online classifieds verticals. This was driven by product innovations, price optimizations and good market conditions in most of our major operations. We have continued to decrease the Investment phase losses. This is a result of strong growth in monetization in emerging markets and very favorable operational metrics for Shpock, which has reduced the need for marketing investments," Ryssdal says.

"The publishing activities in Schibsted continue to deliver impressing results. For the first time in many years, they grew revenues compared to last year. We are successful in signing up digital subscribers, and are approaching a total of 600,000. Once again, VG is the star performer among our publishing operations, with a revenue growth of 7 percent and an EBITDA margin of 20 percent," Ryssdal says.

"I would also like to highlight the great development of Schibsted Growth, and in particular continued good growth for our personal finance business Lendo in Sweden. Revenue growth accelerated to 55 percent in Q3, and EBITDA margins exceeded 50 percent," Ryssdal says.

"In Q3 we announced an adjusted organizational structure, where Media and Marketplaces will be organized in two separate divisions. At the same time responsibility for most of our common product & tech initiatives will be moved much closer to the operations. This will help us gain even more speed of development and increasingly leverage our local competence and strong brands," CEO Rolv Erik Ryssdal says.

Highlights of Q3 2017
(Online classifieds pro forma numbers include proportional consolidation of joint ventures and associates)

• EBITDA ex. Investment phase of NOK 903 million, a growth of 19 percent
• Online classifieds pro forma revenue growth of 22 percent, adjusted for currency fluctuations. Total Online classifieds EBITDA ex. Investment phase grew 19 percent to NOK 800 million
• Continued good development in Developed phase, Online Classifieds
  • 23 percent revenue growth and increased margins in France, driven by good growth in car and real estate, initiated monetization of jobs and the acquisition of MB Diffusion
  • 21 percent revenue growth in Norway driven by verticals and personal finance
  • 27 percent revenue growth in Spain. Strengthened trend in jobs and cars
  • 2 percent revenue growth in Sweden affected positively by cars and jobs, whereas display advertising and Services contributed negatively
• 80 percent revenue growth and significantly reduced losses in Investment phase operations
  • Continued revenue growth in OLX Brazil in Q3. Clear aim to reach break-even during 2017
  • Strong growth in operational metrics for Shpock. Investments reduced in Q3 vs previous quarters
• Tight cost control and digital product innovation leads to improved EBITDA margins in publishing activities
  • Positive revenue growth in publishing operations in Q3
• Continued high growth rate in the Schibsted Growth portfolio in Sweden. Personal finance portal Lendo.se grew revenues 50 percent
• New organizational model designed to strengthen local execution and global scale. Operations to be streamlined and organized in two divisions; Marketplaces and Media

Schibsted invites to an analyst and press conference at Apotekergata 10, Oslo, 3 November 2017 at 09:00 CET. The presentation will be held in English and transmitted live as a video webcast on www.schibsted.com/ir. CEO Rolv Erik Ryssdal and EVP CFO Trond Berger will present at the analyst and press conference.

A conference call with Q&A linked to the Q3 2017 numbers will take place 3 November 2017 at 14:00 CET. Please dial in at the following numbers:

Norway: 800 51084
UK: 0800 279 7204
USA: 866-548-4713
International: +44 (0)330 336 9411

Conference ID is 8576955.
A recording of the conference call will be made available at www.schibsted.com/ir.

Contact persons:
Trond Berger, CFO. Tel: +47 916 86 695
Jo Christian Steigedal, Head of IR. Tel: +47 415 08 733

Welcome to Investor Seminar 14 November
Please note that Schibsted will hold an investor seminar in Barcelona 14 November 2017 at 16:00. To sign up, click here: https://goo.gl/i8eh6w. For more information please visit: www.schibsted.com/investorday2017

Oslo, 3 November 2017
SCHIBSTED ASA

Jo Christian Steigedal
Head of IR