Record results: Ströer presents strong results for the first half of 2019

Ströer SE & Co KGaA is continuing on the sustainable growth course of the past fiscal years and is presenting record profit once again in its quarterly statement Q2/2019. H1 revenue climbed by 8% like on like, up from EUR 726m to EUR 787m. Organic revenue growth stood at 7.3%. (Adjusted) EBITDA increased by 8% in H1, up from EUR 237m to EUR 256m. Adjusted profit for the period also developed positively, up 7% from EUR 79m to EUR 84m. 

With its “Out-of-Home plus” strategy (OOH plus) – the combination of the core OOH business and the supporting Content and Direct Media segments – Ströer is focusing on the German market and thus has a solid basis for long-term organic growth as well as high profitability. The extensive tech and content know-how from Ströer’s digital segments bolsters the digitisation of the core OOH business. Ströer expects the structural upward trend for OOH, which is being driven mainly by the ongoing digitisation, to continue for at least another 10 years with growth rates of around 5%. In order to ensure growth at the upper end of the expected structural market growth and increase the utilization of its infrastructure inventory, Ströer, as the first nationally operating OOH player, has developed a new growth strategy “OOH plus,” which enables better and above all more direct customer access as well as expected revenue growth that is well in excess of the market average.

“The positive development of our key financials confirms the success of our OOH plus strategy. The pivotal success factors in the first half of 2019 were stepped up investments in the digitisation of our advertising media, further expansion of local and regional sales and the consistently strong growth in programmatic demand for our digital out-of-home products. The integration of our content and dialog products in our work with and for our customers has enabled us to generate strong growth,” says Udo Müller, founder and Co-CEO of Ströer.

“Our organic growth in the second quarter was built on the good performance in the preceding quarter. By narrowing our strategic focus and disposing of non-core business, we were able to invest even more energy in developing our core business,” says Christian Schmalzl, Co-CEO of Ströer. “In light of this, we confirm our guidance of mid-single digit growth for the second half of 2019.”

Operating segments

OOH Media

Revenue in the OOH Media segment rose 9% from EUR 298m to EUR 324m in the first half of 2019. Overall, the segment increased its (adjusted) EBITDA by 6% in H1 2019, up from EUR 138m to EUR 147m and generated an (adjusted) EBITDA margin of 45.3% (prior year: 46.4%).

Digital OOH & Content

Revenue in the Digital & OOH Content segment grew from EUR 263m to EUR 266m in the first half of 2019, with organic revenue growth at just under 10%. As a result, the Digital OOH & Content segment was able to more than offset the effects from the sale of group companies such as Ströer Mobile Performance announced in the first quarter and further sharpen its focus. (Adjusted) EBITDA soared 20% from EUR 77m to EUR 92m, largely driven by the sustainable and profitable growth recorded by public video and Statista. The (adjusted) EBITDA margin stood at 34.7% (prior year: 29.4%).

Direct Media

Segment revenue for Direct Media climbed substantially in the first half of 2019, up from EUR 173m to EUR 215m. (Adjusted) EBITDA was at around EUR 25m (prior year: EUR 30m). Against the background of the continued integration and optimization of processes in this segment, the (adjusted) EBITDA margin was 11.9% (prior year: 17.2%). 

Disclaimer

This press release contains “forward looking statements” regarding Ströer SE & Co. KGaA (“Ströer”) or the Ströer Group, including opinions, estimates and projections regarding Ströer’s or the Ströer Group’s financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management and future operations. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Ströer or the Ströer Group to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These forward looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on numerous assumptions which may or may not prove to be correct. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by Ströer with respect to the fairness, completeness, correctness, reasonableness or accuracy of any information and opinions contained herein. The information in this press release is subject to change without notice, it may be incomplete or condensed, and it may not contain all material information concerning Ströer or the Ströer Group. Ströer undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements or other information stated herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.