DGAP-News: Scout24 decreased its loans further at the end of 2018

Scout24 decreased its loans further at the end of 2018

- Voluntary loan repayment of EUR 50 million
- Full amount of repayment funded with cash and cash equivalents
- Annual interest saving of EUR 525,000

Berlin / Munich, 07 January 2019 - Scout24 AG ("Scout24" or "the Group"), the leading operator of digital marketplaces specializing in the real estate and automotive sectors in Germany and other selected European countries, voluntarily repaid EUR 50 million of its revolving credit facility (RCFI) at the end of last year. In total, the Company thus repaid EUR 85 million in 2018.

The latest repayment reduced the amount drawn from the revolving credit facility (RCF I) from EUR 70 million to EUR 20 million. As a result, annual interest expenses decreased by EUR 525,000, based on the current interest rate. At the same time, the repayment increases the amount that can be drawn from the revolving credit facility to EUR 180 million, thus affording Scout24 greater financial flexibility

The repayment was funded in full from surplus cash and cash equivalents. This second early loan repayment from cash and cash equivalents within a year clearly underscores the ability of Scout24 to generate high cash flows from its operating activities. Scout24 is hereby once again improving its capital structure as well as its financing costs, taking it another step closer to its target leverage range (ratio of net debt to ordinary operating EBITDA for the last twelve months) of between 1.5:1 and 1.0:1.

About Scout24

With our leading digital marketplaces ImmobilienScout24 in Germany and AutoScout24 across Europe we are inspiring people to make their best decisions on finding a home and a car. Additional services, such as credit information, the brokerage of relocation services or construction and car financing, are bundled in the Scout24 Consumer Services business division. More than 1,200 employees are working on the success of our products and services, putting the consumers' needs first in order to create a connected network for living and mobility. Scout24 is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE000A12DM80, G24). For further information, please visit www.scout24.com, our Corporate Blog and Tech Blog or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Investor relations

Britta Schmidt
Vice President Investor Relations & Controlling
Tel.: +49 89 44456 3278
Email: ir@scout24.com


Media relations

Jan Flaskamp
Vice President Communications & Marketing
Phone: +49 30 24301 0721
E-mail: mediarelations@scout24.com

Disclaimer:

All information contained in this document has been carefully prepared. However, no reliance may be placed for any purposes whatsoever on the information contained in this document or on its completeness. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by or on behalf of the Company or any of its directors, officers or employees or any other person as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this document and no liability whatsoever is accepted by the Company or any of its directors, officers or employees nor any other person for any loss howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of such information or opinions or otherwise arising in connection therewith.

The information contained in this release is subject to amendment, revision and updating. Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this document are forward-looking, which reflect the Company's or, as appropriate, senior management's current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. Statements contained in this document regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any information contained in this press release (including forward-looking statements), whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this document

Scout24 also uses alternative performance measures, not defined by IFRS, to describe the Scout24 Group's results of operations. These should not be viewed in isolation, but treated as supplementary information. The special items used to calculate some alternative performance measures arise from the integration of acquired businesses, restructuring measures, impairments, gains or losses resulting from divestitures and sales of shareholdings, and other material expenses and income that generally do not arise in conjunction with Scout24's ordinary business activities. Alternative performance measures used by Scout24 are defined in the "Glossary" section of Scout24's Group Interim Report 2018, which is available at www.scout24.com/financial-reports.

Due to rounding, numbers presented throughout this statement may not add up precisely to the totals indicated, and percentages may not precisely reflect the absolute figures for the same reason. Information on the quarterly financials has not been subject to audit and is thus preliminary.