2nd Jul 2026 08:56
(Alliance News) - Baltic Classifieds Group PLC on Thursday reported higher annual pretax profit and sales but shares plunged as guidance missed market expectations.
The online classified ads portal provider in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia expects revenue growth of around 10% in 2027, below market consensus of 14% cited by broker, Panmure Liberum.
In response, shares fell 8.5% to 183.60 pence each in London on Thursday morning.
Growth is anticipated to be slower in the first half of the financial year, and faster in the second half, Baltic Classifieds said.
Real Estate, Auto and Jobs are expected to be the primary growth contributors, while Generalist is expected to remain broadly flat.
The revenue growth outlook reflects confidence in the product pipeline and pricing and packaging changes, but caution on inventory trends, the company explained.
Full-year margin is projected to be in line with the previous medium-term guidance of mid-70s.
Pretax profit rose 15% to EUR58.6 million in the financial year ended April 30 from EUR51.1 million the year prior.
Revenue climbed 6.9% to EUR88.5 million from EUR82.8 million with expenses falling 3.8% to EUR28.2 million from EUR29.3 million.
Diluted earnings per share rose 14% to 10.7 euro cents from 9.3 cents.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation grew 6.5% to EUR68.6 million from EUR64.4 million at a stable margin of 78%.
Business to consumer advertiser numbers in Real Estate, Auto and Jobs & Services were "strong", supported by healthy underlying economic conditions but consumer to consumer advertising volumes declined.
In Real Estate, the decline reflected properties being sold faster, reflecting the strength of the economy. In Auto, activity remained affected by the Estonian vehicle tax and temporary weather-related disruption during January and February, the company explained.
"This past year presented a challenging landscape," said Chief Executive Justinas Simkus.
"Looking ahead, the strategic C2C price changes we implemented in March 2026, alongside our planned B2C enhancements for the autumn, position us well to accelerate our top-line growth back into the double digits next financial year," the CEO added.
A final dividend of 2.8 cents per share was declared, along with a special payout of 0.3 cents, up 19% from 2.6 cents the year prior. This takes the total dividend to 4.4 cents, up 16% from 3.8 cents on-year.
The firm, which by mid-June had repurchased 10% of its issued share capital, intends to seek approval to repurchase up to a further 15% of its issued share capital.
Continuation of the accelerated share buyback programme beyond the existing financing capacity would require additional debt financing, it added.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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