Scout24 Saw Record Customer Numbers as It Increased Revenue 11% in 2024

The market-leading German real estate portal operator Scout24 has reported robust financial performance for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024, achieving results at the upper end of its guidance. Notable points from the company's report to the market included:

• Double-digit growth (11.2%) was achieved for four years in a row as revenue reached €566 million in 2024
• EBITDA increased 8% year-on-year for 2024 and crossed the €300 million threshold (€301 million)
• Record numbers of customers in both the professional (25,000+ in Q4) and private business segments (370,000+ in Q4)

Commenting on the results, Scout24 CFO, Dirk Schmelzer said

“2024 was another year of double-digit revenue growth with strong margin expansion. Adjusted EPS grew by 15% and free cash flow even more impressively by 34% - a testament to how we drive shareholder value while we continued to strengthen the business: expanding our customer base, launching many new products and investing in AI. Our upgraded operating model and interconnectivity strategy enable us to generate attractive rates of revenue growth with scope to increase margins for many years to come. Our 2025 guidance reflects these positive developments: revenue acceleration and continued margin expansion despite integrating several acquisitions with lower margins. With this guidance, we are well on track to meet or exceed our medium-term targets laid out to the capital market in February 2024”

In the Professional segment, subscription revenues grew by 9.8% to €296.6 million, while transaction enablement revenues saw a significant rise of 19.1%, reaching €90.8 million. The average number of professional customers increased by 2.4% to 24,625, surpassing the 25,000 mark in Q4 2024. According to a press release the uptick is attributable to Scout24's successful efforts in enhancing its core B2B offerings and expanding into commercial real estate data and valuation services.

The Private segment, which sees the portal charge consumers for a subscription, experienced a substantial increase in subscription revenues, up by 25.2% to €90.3 million, fueled by strong demand for Plus products. The average number of private customers grew by 24.3% to 444,766, exceeding 470,000 in the last quarter of 2024.

Scout24's ordinary operating EBITDA for the full year rose by 14.5%, leading to a margin expansion of 1.8 percentage points to 61.5%, slightly above the projected 61%. This improvement was attributed to continued operating leverage and productivity gains. However, Q4 2024 unadjusted EBITDA experienced a slight decline to €77.1 million from €77.5 million in the same period last year. Net income for the quarter also decreased to €38.2 million, or €0.53 per basic share, from €52.1 million, or €0.71 per share, a year earlier. Despite these quarterly declines, adjusted net income for the full year increased by 14.1% to €212.2 million, with adjusted earnings per share rising by 15% to €2.90.

Throughout 2024, Scout24 expanded its portfolio by acquiring Bulwiengesa and Neubau Kompass, enhancing its B2B services, and venturing further into the commercial real estate data and valuation sectors. As CEO Tobias Hartmann's tenure concludes on February 28, 2025, he expressed confidence in the company's trajectory, stating, "The company is in great shape, and our 2025 guidance reflects strong momentum." Incoming CEO Ralf Weitz, effective March 1, 2025, aims to continue executing the interconnectivity strategy, focusing on innovation and customer-centric solutions.

Looking ahead to 2025, Scout24 anticipates revenue growth between 12% and 14%, including approximately 2 percentage points from inorganic contributions. The company also projects an expansion of up to 50 basis points in its ordinary operating EBITDA margin, emphasizing its commitment to sustained growth and profitability.