EQS-News: Scout24 publishes annual report and non-financial statement 2022 and resolves share buyback programme

Scout24 publishes annual report and non-financial statement 2022 and resolves share buyback programme

• Preliminary 2022 full-year financials confirmed with double-digit revenue and earnings growth
• 18% increase in dividend to EUR 1.00 per share proposed
• Revenue and EBITDA guidance for 2023 affirmed
• Share buyback programme with a volume of up to EUR 100 million resolved
• Carbon-equivalent footprint reduced by around 75% compared with the 2018 baseline

Munich / Berlin, 23 March 2023

In the annual report for the 2022 financial year published today, Scout24 confirms the preliminary financials published on 28 February 2023. Accordingly, the Scout24 Group increased its revenue by 15.0% year on year to EUR 447.5 million. The Group’s ordinary operating EBITDA improved by 12.7% to EUR 251.1 million.

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

For the complete financials for the year and detailed explanations see the annual report 2022 under www.scout24.com/en/investor-relations/financial-reports-presentations.

Figures underscore high relevance and resilience of business model in all market situations

“Making a difference” is the central claim of Scout24 on its way to becoming a digital real estate transaction platform – for customers, for users, for the entire real estate market and for the Scout24 Group itself. Sustainable growth and a resilient business model that adapts to different market conditions make all the difference in these times. Scout24 supports agents and customers with relevant services and marketing solutions they need to succeed in this new environment. It is our mission to be a reliable partner for all matters relating to real estate.

The figures presented demonstrate the high resilience and flexibility of Scout24’s business model and the successful implementation of this strategy. The diversified range of Scout24 products covering all aspects of a real estate transaction is highly relevant in a whole variety of market scenarios. In addition to the annual report, on 23 March 2023 Scout24 SE also published its non-financial statement and its compensation report for the 2022 financial year.

See www.scout24.com/en/investor-relations/reporting-2022 for videos that highlight various aspects of ESG at Scout24. In the 2022 financial year, progress once again was made along the defined ESG strategy, for example in the field of energy, where the carbon-equivalent footprint has now been reduced by around 75% compared with the 2018 baseline. The company’s social commitment in 2022 mainly encompassed helping refugees from Ukraine and finding housing for homeless people. Notable milestones in the area of Corporate Governance included a new code of conduct for suppliers and a significant improvement in selected ESG ratings. Detailed information is provided in the non-financial statement for the 2022 financial year, which is available on the company’s website at www.scout24.com/en/sustainability.

Scout24’s compensation report for the 2022 financial year is available for download on its website at www.scout24.com/en/investor-relations/esg-sustainability/corporate-governance/compensation-system.

Further share buyback programme with a volume of up to EUR 100 million resolved

The Management Board of Scout24 SE, with the consent of the Supervisory Board, has decided to repurchase treasury shares with a total purchase price volume of up to EUR 100 million via the stock exchange. The new share buyback programme can be executed in one or several independent tranches. It is expected to begin in the next few weeks and is expected to end in 2024. It thus follows the EUR 350 million programme completed in mid-December.

In addition, 5.2 million shares from the previous buyback programmes were cancelled on 16 March 2023. Accordingly, the new number of shares outstanding is 75,000,000.

As the authorization to acquire and use treasury shares resolved by the Annual General Meeting 2022 has already been partially utilized, the authorization to acquire treasury shares shall be renewed by the Annual General Meeting 2023.

Significantly higher dividend of EUR 1.00 per share proposed

Backed by the Scout24 Group’s demonstrated profitability, the Management Board and Supervisory Board will propose a dividend of EUR 1.00 per ordinary share, up 17.6%, to this year’s Annual General Meeting. This corresponds to approximately 50% of adjusted net profit and thus remains at the upper end of Scout24’s defined dividend policy. A total distribution of EUR 73.6 million is expected. The dividend will be paid out after this year’s Annual General Meeting. The final amount of the dividend per share depends on the announced share buybacks prior to the to the Annual General Meeting.

Growth guidance for 2023 affirmed

The Management Board expects the Group’s growth momentum to continue in the 2023 financial year and affirms its guidance of double-digit growth rates in revenue and ordinary operating EBITDA with a clear focus on profitability. On this basis, the Management Board expects the Group’s revenue growth to reach approximately 12% and for the Group’s ordinary operating EBITDA to grow at a faster rate of 13% in the 2023 financial year. Overall, the main focus will be on increasing the Group’s ordinary operating EBITDA and the corresponding margin.

Next reporting dates

Scout24 will publish its quarterly statement for the first quarter of 2023 on 4 May 2023.

The Annual General Meeting of Scout24 SE will be held as a face-to-face event in Munich on 22 June 2023.

About Scout24

Scout24 is one of the leading digital companies in Germany. With the digital marketplace ImmoScout24, for residential and commercial real estate, we successfully bring together homeowners, real estate agents, tenants, and buyers - and we have been doing so for around 25 years. With more than 19 million users per month on the website or in the app, ImmoScout24 is the market leader for digital real estate listing and search. To digitise the process of real estate transactions, ImmoScout24 is continually developing new products and building up an ecosystem for renting, buying, and commercial real estate in Germany and Austria. Scout24 is a listed stock corporation (ISIN: DE000A12DM80, Ticker: G24) and member of the MDAX and the DAX50 ESG. Further information is available on LinkedIn. Since 2012, ImmoScout24 has also been active in the Austrian real estate market.

Contact for Investor Relations

Filip Lindvall

Director Group Strategy & Investor Relations

Tel.: +49 30 243011917

E-mail: [email protected]

Contact for media

Axel Schmidt

Team Lead Corporate Communications

Tel.: +49 30 24301 1446

E-Mail: [email protected]

Disclaimer

All information contained in this release has been carefully prepared. However, no liability of any kind is assumed for the information contained herein and/or its completeness. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by or on behalf of the Company or any of its directors, officers or employees or any other person as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this document and no liability whatsoever is accepted by the Company or any of its directors, officers or employees nor any other person for any loss howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of such information or opinions or otherwise arising in connection therewith.

The information contained in this release is subject to amendment, revision and updating. Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this document are forward-looking, which reflect the Company’s or, as appropriate, senior management’s current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results, including but not limited to the Company's financial position or profitability, to differ materially, also adversely, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Statements contained in this document regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any information contained in this document (including forward-looking statements), whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

Scout24 also uses alternative performance measures, not defined by IFRS, to describe the Scout24 Group’s results of operations. These should not be viewed in isolation but treated as supplementary information. Alternative performance measures used by Scout24 are defined in the corresponding place in the financial reports. The special items used to calculate some alternative performance measures arise from the integration of acquired businesses, reorganisation measures, impairment losses, gains or losses on sale resulting from divestitures and the sale of shareholdings, and other expenses and income that generally do not arise in conjunction with Scout24’s ordinary business activities.

Due to rounding, numbers presented throughout this release may not add up precisely to the totals indicated, and percentages may not precisely reflect the absolute figures for the same reason.