Berlin, 11 August 2022. „The post-merger integration and restructuring of Social Chain AG is progressing as planned and in line with expectations despite a difficult market environment,“ says CEO Wanja S. Oberhof. Preliminary revenues in the first half of the year increase from EUR 160 million in 2021 to more than EUR 220 million in 2022 – which is largely due to the acquisition of DS Group. Preliminary EBITDA increased to around EUR 14.5 million before adjustments, from -5.3 million in the first half of 2021, driven by the deconsolidation proceeds from selling the majority stake in KoRo Handels GmbH. With a clear focus on its core areas – the growing social media agency business (2021: EUR 19 million, 2022: EUR 32 million) and the three commerce pillars Core Brands, Maxx Group, and Brand Chain, the company parts with several subsidiaries. The companies RAVENSBERGER Matratzen GmbH, Carl Wilhelm Clasen GmbH, DEF Media GmbH, and bytepark GmbH will be sold at short notice. In doing so, Social Chain AG clearly takes further significant steps towards increasing its profitability. The management board set the course for the these steps on Wednesday evening.Clear course of implementation: Profitability
„We concentrate on the companies within our group which, in our view will create the best synergies for Social Chain as a whole,“ summarizes CEO Wanja S. Oberhof. „With this focus on our core capabilities and core brands, we implement our strategy with the main objective of ‘profitability’, as announced at our Annual General Meeting in June 2022.”The product line Clasen Bio will remain within the group to be developed; the white label brand business of Carl Wilhelm Clasen GmbH will be sold
Carl Wilhelm Clasen GmbH produces dried fruits and nuts for white labels of large discounters under their branding. "As this production business is not our core business and does not fit into the strategic concept of our house of brands of the future, we are selling this business unit. By establishing and expanding the Clasen Bio product line, we are increasing gross margin and profitability," comments Ralf Dümmel, Chief Product Officer. "In this way, we are bringing the synergy effects of the strong DS distribution network and the high level of expertise in trade marketing fully into the brand world of Social Chain AG."Social Chain AG focuses on profitability and brand development
The revenue forecast for Social Chain AG will be revised to EUR 415 million for the financial year 2022, since the sale of these companies will stabilize profitability, the revenue does not belong to the company anymore. „Despite the difficult environment, we expect a positive non-adjusted EBITDA margin of 4 to 5% for the full financial year,“ says CFO Andreas Schneider. While the operating loss in the first quarter before the proceeds of the KoRo sale was around EUR -15.3 million, it fell to around EUR -9.4 million in the second quarter. The loss in the second quarter was due to both one-off effects from the merger of Social Chain AG and DS Group and the significant deterioration in consumer sentiment. „In the third quarter, the company will operate at break-even and return to profitability in the fourth quarter,“ says CFO Andreas Schneider. „This revenue adjustment helps us to consolidate our total earnings for the future and strategically secure the future basis for our profitable development.“ With regards to the medium-term growth, he adds: „Our future growth is also ensured by a new working capital financing for DS Group which amounts to approximately EUR 100 million and is currently being restructured for the next three years.“
As announced in the financial calendar, the detailed half-year report will be published on 15 September 2022.
------------------Wanja S. Oberhof, CEO: „Needless to say that, as substantially invested entrepreneurs, we also took note of the share price. The main active shareholders, in particular the Chairman of our Supervisory Board, Dr. Georg Kofler, the former partners of DS Group, and I, continued to invest in Social Chain AG at its last capital increase at EUR 46.40, with an amount of just under EUR 20 million. We will remain connected to the company in the long run – because we are confident that its different pillars and its focus on social commerce put us in an ideal position for the future. Our market segment is currently under severe pressure on the stock exchange; nonetheless, we are convinced of our capability to prove to the market that we can earn money in a solid and profitable way and grow accordingly.“
