MGI - Media and Games Invest SE: Stable Revenue and EBITDA Development Compared to Last Year Driven by Market Share Gains, Resilient to Market Headwinds – Updated Guidance

MGI - Media and Games Invest SE: Stable Revenue and EBITDA Development Compared to Last Year Driven by Market Share Gains, Resilient to Market Headwinds – Updated Guidance

• Revenues of 76.2 mEUR in Q2 2023 (Q2 2022: 78.1 mEUR)
  • Revenue normalized for divestments and FX increased 3% year-over-year.
  • Organic Revenue Growth1 (FX-adjusted) amounted to positive 1%.
  • Reported revenue unadjusted for divestments and FX declined by 2%.
  • Strong year-over-year growth of ad impressions by 13% and number of Software Clients2 grew by 9%.
  • Strengthening of leading mobile SSP market position; MGI via Verve Group achieved 11% market share in North America on Google in-app advertising and 17% on Apple in-app advertising in accordance with Pixalates Market Share Report.

• Adj. EBITDA3 of 21.3 mEUR in Q2 2023 (Q2 2022: 21.1 mEUR)
  • Adj. EBITDA increased by 1% with an improved adj. EBITDA margin4 of 28% (Q2 2022: 27%).
  • Adj. EBITDA increased faster than revenues, driven by efficiency gains achieved through reduced tech costs following the integration of several acquired tech platforms.

• Structurally Reducing Cost Level by 10 mEUR p.a. While Further Investing in Growth
  • In H1 2023, technology and maintenance costs were reduced by tech platform integrations.
  • In Q3 2023, the decision was taken to reduce annual personnel costs by approximately 10 mEUR p.a. (approximately 12% of total group personnel cost).
  • Investments in platform innovation, data and AI as well as in customer acquisition are not affected by the savings and continue to be an important focus of the Company.

• Updated Guidance for the Fiscal Year 2023 with Stable Year-Over-Year Performance
  • Expecting 2023 Revenue at 2022 levels, normalized for divestments (9 mEUR) and FX (12 mEUR).
  • Expected FY 2023 EBITDA to be at the same levels as achieved in 2022.
  • Upside from Organic Revenue Growth in H2 2023 as mid-term outlook for programmatic advertising remains strong.

August 31, 2023 - Media and Games Invest SE ("MGI" or the "Company", ISIN: SE0018538068; ticker M8G; Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market and Scale Segment Frankfurt Stock Exchange) publishes its Interim Report Q2 2023 and its Updated Guidance for Fiscal Year 2023.

A Word from THE CEO Remco Westermann

“In the second quarter 2023, we were able to further increase our market share and improve our market position, driven by AI targeting products such as Moments.AI, which drove strong results for our advertisers and publishers. Our strong foundation has improved quarter-over-quarter, underscored by the fact that, despite macro headwinds, we grew year-over-year ad impressions by 13% and our number of Software Clients by 9%. In the light of this, we are navigating the cycle very well. In the second quarter, revenues amounted to EUR 76.2m[BM1], representing a positive FX-adjusted organic growth rate of 1% while total revenue adjusted for divestments and FX headwinds increased 3% year-over-year. Reported revenue unadjusted for these events declined by 2%. Year-over-year, our adjusted EBITDA was stable with EUR 21.3m, representing an improved margin of 28%, underscoring our strong cost control. While organic growth is positive, it is limited and is anticipated to also be lower in H2 2023 than earlier expected. Consequently, we remain cautious for the rest of the financial year 2023 and guide on stable year-over-year revenues in the amount of EUR 303m adjusted for divestments in the amount of approximately EUR 9m and FX headwinds in the amount of approximately EUR 12m with a stable adjusted EBITDA of EUR 93m. To mitigate the lower organic growth, we initiated in Q3 2023 an annual EUR 10m cost saving program, enabled by the achieved technical optimizations in the last periods. This will allow us to further increase our robust cashflow and decrease leverage. While we face short-term headwinds resulting from reduced advertising budgets, our mid-term outlook remains positive. Based on historical information and experience, marketing budgets are cut fast in times of uncertainty and economic downturns, but also recover speedily when economic signals become more positive. Based on our improved market position and our unmatched offerings, we have a very strong foundation to grow and profit from the upcoming economic tailwinds which are expected for 2024,” commented Remco Westermann, CEO of MGI Group.

HIGHLIGHTS Q2 2023

• Net Revenues amounted to 76.2 mEUR (Q2 2022: 78.1 mEUR), a decrease of -2%. Normalizing previous year’s revenues to 74.0 mEUR for divestments and FX headwinds in the amount of 4.1 mEUR, the total growth amounts to 3%, whereof 1% is contributed by FX-adjusted organic growth.
• Adj. EBITDA amounted to 21.3 mEUR (Q2 2022: 21.1 mEUR), an increase of 1%. EBITDA adjustments are largely made for ESOP and M&A related expenses as well as legal and advisory cost.
• Adj. EBIT5 amounted to 16.6 mEUR (Q2 2022: 16.4 mEUR), an increase of 1%.
• Adj. Net Result6 amounted to 4.0 mEUR (Q2 2022: 6.4 mEUR), a decrease of -38% driven by higher interest expenses.
• Earnings Per Share (EPS) amounted to EUR 0.01 undiluted / diluted (Q2 2022: EUR 0.02 undiluted/diluted). EPS adjusted for PPA-amortization amounted to EUR 0.02 undiluted / diluted (Q2 2022: EUR 0.04 undiluted / diluted).

HIGHLIGHTS H1 2023

• Net Revenues amounted to 144.9 mEUR (H1 2022: 143.9 mEUR), an increase of 1% despite divestments and FX headwinds.
• Adj. EBITDA amounted to 40.4 mEUR (H1 2022: 38.6 mEUR), an increase of 4%.
• EBITDA Adjustments amounted to 2.9 mEUR and were made largely for one-time costs associated with the relocation of the headquarters to Sweden, M&A advisory expenses, as well as the ESOP program and M&A related expenses (see table EBITDA adjustments).
• Adj. EBIT amounted to 31.7 mEUR (H1 2022: 29.9 mEUR), an increase of 6%.
• Adj. Net Result amounted to 7.0 mEUR (H1 2022: 12.0 mEUR), a decrease of -42% driven by higher tax and interest expenses.
• Net Interest-Bearing Debt7 as of June 30, 2023, amounted to 307.7 mEUR (December 31, 2022: 273.9 mEUR), mostly driven by negative working capital effects.
• Leverage Ratio8 amounted to 3.2x as of June 30, 2023 (3.7x as of June 30, 2022, and 2.9x as of December 31, 2022) and improved year-over-year due to the free cashflow and increased since end of last year due to mostly seasonality driven working capital effects, which are expected to balance out until end of 2023. Target remains mid-term to be within 2.0-3.0x leverage.
• Cash and Cash Equivalents amounted to 107.6 mEUR as of June 30, 2023, compared to 150.0 mEUR as of December 31, 2022, and decreased in H1 2023 primarily due to seasonal working capital effects which are expected to balance out until end of 2023 and bond buybacks. Cash and cash equivalents remain strong, giving the Company a high degree of liquidity going forward.
• Earnings Per Share (EPS) amounted to EUR 0.01 undiluted / diluted (H1 2022: EUR 0.04 undiluted / diluted). EPS adjusted for PPA-amortization amounted to EUR 0.04 undiluted / diluted (H1 2022: EUR 0.08 undiluted / diluted).

SELECTED KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, MGI GROUP

GUIDANCE FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2023

Our Updated Guidance for FY 2023 assumes that the weakness in the advertising market, based on the soft overall economic situation, will continue for the remainder of the year. We expect lower organic growth during 2023, and as result we therefore expect revenues* and adj. EBITDA to be at the same levels as those achieved in 2022. We initiated an annual 10 mEUR cost savings program in Q3 2023, to mitigate the lower organic growth, enabled by the achieved technical optimizations in the last periods.

Depending on the overall macroeconomic development, advertising spend might also develop more positively, which provides an upside to the conservative updated guidance.

The Interim Report Q2 2023 is available on MGI’s corporate website at www.mgi-se.com in the Investor Relations section. The financials have not been subject to review by the Company’s auditor.   

Notes - All Notes are defined as in the Half Year Report 2023 of MGI

Note (1) Organic Revenue Growth: Organic revenue growth does include growth calculated on a year-over-year basis from companies being within the Company for twelve months or more. What is excluded is the revenue growth from acquisitions that have not been part of the group in the last twelve months, and the decline from sales stemming from closures / divestment of whole businesses.

Note (2) Number of new software clients: software clients with gross revenues exceeding 100k USD.

Note (3) Adjusted EBITDA: Reported EBITDA excluding one-time costs. EBITDA adjustments amounted to 1.3 mEUR and were made largely for one-time costs associated with M&A expenses, legal and advisory costs as well as the ESOP program.

Note (4) Adjusted EBITDA / EBIT margin: Adjusted EBITDA / EBIT as a percentage of net revenues.

Note (5) Adjusted EBIT: Earnings before interest and taxes excluding one-time costs and PPA-amortization resulting from M&A related purchase price allocations. For adjustments, please see footnote 3 above.

Note (6) Adjusted Net result: Net result excluding PPA amortization.13

Note (7) Net interest bearing debt: Interest bearing financial indebtedness excluding shareholder and related party loans minus cash and cash equivalents.

Note (8) Leverage ratio: Net interest-bearing debt divided by adjusted EBITDA for the past 12 months excluding shareholder and related party loans.

Note (9) EBITDA: Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

Note (10) EBITDA margin: EBITDA as a percentage of net revenues.

Note (11) Adjusted EBIT margin: Adjusted EBIT as a percentage of net revenues.

Note (12) Adjusted Net result margin: Adjusted Net result as a percentage of net revenues.

Note (13) PPA-amortization: IFRS Amortization on M&A-related purchase prices which are not tax deductible.

Invitation to investor presentation

The Q2 2023 results will be presented at the Capital Markets Day on Thursday, August 31, 2023, at 10 a.m. CEST. The presentation will be held in English and will also be available on-demand on the Company’s website www.mgi-se.com.

To participate via webcast, please visit:
https://ir.financialhearings.com/media-and-games-invest-cmd-2023/register

To participate via phone, please register at the following link:
https://conference.financialhearings.com/teleconference/?id=5003855

Responsible parties

This press release contains inside information that MGI - Media and Games Invest SE is required to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out below, at the time stated by MGI's news distributor EQS Newswire upon publication of this press release.

For further information, please contact:

Sören Barz
Head of Investor Relations
+49 170 376 9571
soeren.barz@mgi-se.com, investor@mgi-se.com
www.mgi-se.com

Danesh Zare
Senior Investor Relations Manager
+46 70 916 7932
danesh.zare@mgi-se.com

Jenny Rosberg, ROPA, IR contact Stockholm
+46707472741
Jenny.rosberg@ropa.se

Axel Mühlhaus / Dr. Sönke Knop, edicto GmbH, IR contact Frankfurt
+49 69 9055 05 51
mgi@edicto.de