Ströer reports another record quarter – Out-of-home advertising surpasses own expectations with 17.4% organic revenue growth

Ströer SE & Co. KGaA has published its results for the first quarter of 2024. The Company increased consolidated revenue by 11% in the reporting period (9% in organic terms), from EUR 410m to EUR 453m, building on the momentum generated at the end of the prior year as anticipated. EBITDA (adjusted) was up by 12%, rising from EUR 97m to EUR 108m, while EBIT (adjusted) climbed by 33%, from EUR 26m to EUR 35m.

With organic revenue growth of 17.4% (reported: 15.7%), the OOH segment was the biggest driver of growth in the first quarter of 2024. Ströer’s first-quarter performance far outstripped that of the overall German advertising market, which was generally buoyant. With a 30% increase compared with the prior-year quarter, digital out-of-home advertising (DOOH) accounted for the bulk of the core segment’s growth. The biggest driver behind this performance was programmatic, technology-enabled demand, which advanced by 66%. Accordingly, the revenue share contributed by DOOH business in Ströer’s core segment (excluding OOH Service) in the first quarter rose to around 38% (Q1 2023: 34%). Ströer expects further significant gains in market share for OOH in the years to come thanks to the digitalization of its infrastructure.

Digital OOH is also one of the most energy-efficient and resource-efficient media, with 6 grams of CO₂ (green electricity) per 1,000 contacts in Germany. By contrast, other traditional advertising media have a carbon footprint of up to 10,000 grams per 1,000 contacts.

Thanks to programmatic booking options, DOOH can be used flexibly, and can rapidly establish a large reach. Granularity allows advertising to be targeted. DOOH is increasingly being booked in combination with online media and campaigns can be implemented almost in real time. The growing use of digital technologies is opening up a number of new advertising options for national customers, which is leading to a rapid expansion of the customer base in the DOOH business. Against this backdrop, OOH is on the cusp of a transformation, elevating it from a supplementary medium to a core medium.

“We got off to a good start in 2024 and have seen consistently strong and sustained momentum through the first quarter and into the second. At 17%, organic growth in our out-of-home advertising business is slightly higher than we had expected. OOH and DOOH, particularly the latter, are the biggest growth drivers and we are benefiting more than most from the positive conditions in the advertising market. As the only growing mass medium with a large reach, digital out-of-home advertising is not only driving out-of-home performance, it’s driving the entire German advertising market,” says Christian Schmalzl, Co-CEO of Ströer. “For this reason, we are expecting organic revenue growth for the Group as a whole to be 1 to 2 percentage points higher in the second quarter of 2024 than in the first quarter. Organic growth in out-of-home advertising should be on a par with the high level achieved in the first three months. The EURO 2024 soccer tournament in Germany could provide another positive boost for digital out-of-home business. In our Digital & Dialog Media business, we anticipate a continuation of growth in line with the previous quarter and revenue growth in our DaaS & E-Commerce business is expected to accelerate. Against this backdrop, we are confirming our guidance for 2024 as a whole”.

OOH Media

The revenue of the OOH Media segment rose by 16% (17.4% in organic terms) in the first three months of 2024, from EUR 157m to EUR 182m. This revenue growth came from double-digit increases in both Classic OOH (up 13%) and Digital OOH (up 30%), with the latter mainly driven by high demand from national customers. Similarly, the segment’s EBITDA (adjusted) increased to EUR 73m (Q1 2023: EUR 59m) and the EBITDA margin (adjusted) came to 40.2% (Q1 2023: 37.5%).

Digital & Dialog Media

Revenue also rose in the Digital & Dialog Media segment, up by 13% to EUR 203m in the first quarter of 2024 (Q1 2023: EUR 180m). The growth in digital continued to be fueled by strong programmatic business. The dialogue business also grew. EBIT (adjusted) advanced to EUR 25m (Q1 2023: EUR 24m). Due to a technical effect from the harmonization of contract structures, however, EBITDA (adjusted) declined to EUR 31m (Q1 2023: EUR 33m). The EBITDA margin (adjusted) stood at 15.4% (Q1 2023: 18.3%).

DaaS & E-Commerce

The revenue of the DaaS & E-Commerce segment increased by 5% to EUR 92m in the first three months of 2024 (Q1 2023: EUR 88m). This revenue growth stemmed from good platform business at Statista, which, after a year of transition in 2023 is already in a stronger position operationally than the quarterly figures shown on an accrual basis would suggest. Asam, for its part, achieved double-digit revenue growth in its core German-speaking markets. The consistently good performance in the European core markets was eclipsed at Group level by weaker demand from a Chinese importer for a non-core Asam product that had experienced a peak in demand in the prior year.

EBITDA (adjusted) in the first three months of the year remained at a similarly strong level to the prior year at more than EUR 12m (Q1 2023: EUR 12m) and the corresponding EBITDA margin (adjusted) was 13.3% (Q1 2023: 14.1%).

Under its OOH+ strategy – a globally unique combination of the core OOH business with the related Digital and Dialog Media business lines – Ströer focuses on the German market and has a stable foundation for ongoing organic growth coupled with a high level of profitability. Furthermore, DOOH has established itself as one of the strongest growth drivers in the overall advertising market. This trend is benefiting from advertising customers’ increasing awareness of their carbon footprints. Out-of-home advertising, and DOOH in particular, are the most energy- and resource-efficient media in the media mix.


 

Disclaimer

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" regarding Ströer SE & Co. KGaA ("Ströer") or the Ströer Group, including assessments, estimates and forecasts regarding the financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management and the future business activities of Ströer or the Ströer Group. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the results of operations, profitability, performance or achievements of Ströer or the Ströer Group to be materially different from any future results of operations, profitability, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and are based on numerous assumptions that may also prove to be incorrect. Ströer makes no representation and assumes no liability with respect to the fair presentation, completeness, correctness, adequacy or accuracy of the information and assessments contained herein. The information contained in this press release is subject to change without notice. It may be incomplete or abbreviated and may not contain all material information relating to Ströer or the Ströer Group. Ströer does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or other information contained herein, neither as a result of new information, future events nor otherwise.