Hemnet Group Interim report Q1 2021

Strong growth in net sales and adjusted EBITDA

Summary for the period January-March 2021

• Net sales increased by 23.6 percent to SEK 142.5m (115.3)
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 57.1 percent to SEK 57.2m (36.4)
• Operating profit decreased 3.5 percent to SEK 13.6m (14.1)
• New compensation model for real estate agent offices and a segmented pricing for Hemnet Bas launched on 1 March

Significant events after the period

• Initial public offering (“IPO”) on Nasdaq Stockholm, Large Cap list on 27 April
• Entered into a new revolving credit-facility of SEK 500m on April 27, and at the same time terminated and repaid the existing credit-facility

Financial highlights

¹ Earnings per share calculated as net profit for the period in relation to the average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. Average number of ordinary shares outstanding for all periods has been recalculated adjusting for reverse share split and bonus issues. The calculation of dilution of shares for all periods is made based on a share price of 115 SEK (i.e. the price in the IPO). This price is higher than the strike price of outstanding warrants at period end (16.53 SEK) and hence, there is a dilution of 352,813 shares.

Chief Executive’s comments

Hemnet’s first quarter can be summarised by strong operational and financial performance and a successful IPO. Net sales for the first quarter was up 23.6 percent to SEK 142.5m (115.3) and adjusted EBITDA increased by 57.1 percent to SEK 57.2m (36.4). EBITDA grew by 0.6 percent to SEK 33.2m (33.0) including SEK 24.0m one-off costs of which the vast majority was related to the IPO. Revenue increased across all our four customer groups driven by a continued growth in the uptake of our value-adding services for property sellers, an adjustment to the compensation model for real estate agent offices, price adjustments, as well as a continued strong development in our B2B-offering.

On 1 March we launched our new compensation model for real estate agent offices. The new model puts more emphasis on the commission for selling and recommending Hemnet’s value-adding services, and less on compensation for administration of the base ad. This provides a great opportunity for real estate agent offices to take part in Hemnet's growth journey, at the same time as it incentivises sales of our value-adding services – one of our key strategic objectives. We have created a model that is sustainable for the real estate agents as well as for Hemnet, and the roll-out has gone according to plan.

On 1 March we also took an important step in our pricing strategy as we aligned the pricing model for the base ad (Hemnet Bas) with the rest of our product portfolio of marketing packages (Hemnet Plus and Hemnet Premium). All our products for property sellers now use flexible and segmented pricing, giving us greater opportunity to offer the appropriate price to customers. This combined with product development, such as increasing the real estate agent’s ability to recommend Hemnet’s products to property sellers, together with a growing number of sellers choosing to upgrade their listing, contributed to a strong ARPL growth of 26.4 percent to 1,898 SEK (1,501).

Looking at the number of published listings, we see a decrease compared to 2020 with 44.0 thousand listings in the first quarter (46.8), due largely to an unusually low volume of houses on the market. When adding in April, aggregated listing volumes for 2021 are on par with last year. There are certain seasonal covid-related effects in 2020 to be considered when comparing listing volumes year-on-year. In 2020 we saw unusually high volumes in the first quarter, primarily in March, as property sellers worried about lockdowns. In April and May the market paused, resulting in a decline in the number of listings, followed by an increase during the second half of the year, resulting in aggregated volumes for 2020 surpassing the previous year.

The Hemnet team and I were proud to bring the company to its new home on Nasdaq Stockholm Large Cap on 27 April. The listing of Hemnet is an important milestone and I want to thank all our existing and new shareholders for the confidence they have shown us. I look forward to continuing our growth journey together!

We continue to have strong momentum and expect that net sales in the second quarter of 2021 will also show a year-on-year increase that is above the upper end of the Group’s financial target range of 15-20 percent. The increased sales continue to be driven by growth in ARPL, on the back of increased uptake of our value-adding services for sellers, price adjustments, as well as good performance in B2B-revenues.

Cecilia Beck-Friis
CEO
May 2021 

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Webcast
The report and presentation material is available on hemnetgroup.com. In connection with the report, a webcast will be held at 10.00 CET where Hemnet's CEO Cecilia Beck-Friis and CFO Carl Johan Åkesson will be presenting and commenting on the results. A Q&A session will be held after the presentation. The presentation will be held in English.

The presentation can be viewed live on https://tv.streamfabriken.com/hemnet-q1-2021  where it also will be available afterwards.

If you want to ask questions after the presentation you will need to participate via telephone, call +46 8 566 42 703. More dial-in numbers with additional country codes are available on this link. Questions can also be sent in advance to [email protected].

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For more information please contact:

Press enquiries
Staffan Tell, Head of PR
M: +46 733 67 66 85
E: [email protected]

IR enquiries
Carl Johan Åkesson, CFO
M: +46 708 30 70 57
E: [email protected]

Nick Lundvall, IR Manager & Head of Corporate Development
M: +46 76 145 21 78
E: [email protected] 

About Hemnet
Hemnet operates the leading property platform in Sweden. The company emerged as an industry initiative in 1998 and has since transformed into a "win-win" value proposition for the housing market. By offering a unique combination of relevant products, insights and inspiration, Hemnet has built lasting relationships with buyers, sellers, and agents for more than 20 years. Hemnet shares a mutual passion for homes with its stakeholders and is driven by being an independent go-to-place for people to turn to for the various housing needs that arise through life. This is mirrored in the Company’s vision to be the key to your property journey, supplying products and services to improve efficiency, transparency and mobility on the housing market. Hemnet’s is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (‘HEM’). 

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