Adevinta Reports Flat Q4 as eCG Integration and Transactional Journey Continue

The international online classifieds operator Adevinta has released a report on its results for Q4 of 2021. Highlights of the company's quarterly and yearly activities include:

• Consolidated quarterly revenue of €394m up 6% year-on-year on a like for like basis
• Strong revenue growth in real estate (+16%)
• Underlying yearly EBITDA of €555m at a 37% margin

Fotocasa, Habitaclia, A Vendre a Louer, Leboncoin, Daft and Vivanuncios are some of the real estate portals that Adevinta operates around the world. It also jointly operates leading Brazilian real estate vertical group OLX Brazil in partnership with Prosus.

Adevinta is still in the process of fully integrating the assets bought in the $9.2 billion deal to merge with eBay Classifieds and is also processing its divestment from titles in Australia (Gumtree AU, Autotrader and CarsGuide) and South Africa (Gumtree South Africa).

“We are progressing on our transformation into a more efficient integrated organisation. The money and time we will save from working at scale will be invested into our products and teams, adding value for our customers and ensuring we sustain our strong market positions in an ever-changing competitive landscape," commented Adevinta CEO, Rolv Erik Ryssdal.

On a like for like basis, revenue was flat and EBITDA shrank slightly on a quarterly basis. On a yearly basis, however, consolidated revenues and profits were up 10% at €1.5 billion and €514 million respectively. The other good news that the company was keen to stress in its report was that transactional revenues were up 41% on a quarterly basis and 86% on a yearly basis as Adevinta implements the 'growing at scale' strategy announced in November.

Like many companies that operate in the autos vertical, Adevinta has suffered some adverse headwinds stemming from a lack of inventory which have ultimately impacted the company's bottom line. Revenue growth was also impacted over the period by increased investment in transactional products and a 31% increase in marketing over the fourth quarter.

The company has changed its reporting structure to reflect the nature of its revenue streams post-consolidation. Adevinta now reports segment performance for: France, European Markets, International Markets, Mobile.de, and Headquarters and Others. The first three of which include online real estate marketplaces.

Executives at Adevinta remain convinced that there are still big opportunities ahead for the company now that it has combined resources with eCG, especially in its core markets of Italy, Benelux, France, Germany and Spain and in its more profitable autos and real estate verticals.

Adevinta expects 15% average yearly revenue growth in the mid to long term at EBITDA margins of 40-45% once the market overcomes what the company describes as "temporary headwinds" in the autos vertical.