DGAP-News: The Social Chain AG
/ Key word(s): Strategic Company Decision/Change in Forecast
The Social Chain AG: Portfolio streamlining and contribution of DS Group increase profitability
11.08.2022 / 09:14
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
The Social Chain AG: Portfolio streamlining and contribution of DS Group increase profitability
-
Preliminary
revenues
as
of
30 June 2022:
EUR
220
million
-
Preliminary
EBITDA
–
before
adjustments:
EUR
14.5
million
(incl.
proceeds
from
the sale of
KoRo)
-
Operating
loss,
including
restructuring
costs,
decreases
by
35%
from
Q1
to
Q2
to
around EUR 9.4 million
-
Social Chain AG sells several companies and concentrates on the growing agency business and brand development at DS Group
-
Following
the
portfolio
streamlining,
expected
annual
revenue
will
be
adjusted
to EUR 415 million
-
EBITDA
guidance
before
adjustments
remains
in
the
low
double-digit
million
range, between 4 and 5% EBITDA margin
-
Working
capital
financing
for
DS
Group
of
approx.
EUR
100
million
to
be
restructured
for
the duration of 3 years
Berlin, 11 August 2022.
„The post-merger integration and restructuring of Social Chain AG is progressing as planned and in line with expectations despite a difficult market environment,“ says CEO Wanja S. Oberhof. Preliminary revenues in the first half of the year increase from EUR 160 million in 2021 to
more than EUR 220 million in 2022
– which is largely due to the acquisition of DS Group. Preliminary
EBITDA
increased to around
EUR 14.5 million
before adjustments, from -5.3 million in the first half of 2021, driven by the deconsolidation proceeds from selling the majority stake in KoRo Handels GmbH. With a clear focus on its core areas – the growing social media agency business (2021: EUR 19 million, 2022: EUR 32 million) and the three commerce pillars Core Brands, Maxx Group, and Brand Chain, the company parts with several subsidiaries. The companies RAVENSBERGER Matratzen GmbH, Carl Wilhelm Clasen GmbH, DEF Media GmbH, and bytepark GmbH will be sold at short notice. In doing so, Social Chain AG clearly takes further significant steps towards increasing its profitability. The management board set the course for the these steps on Wednesday evening.
Clear
course
of
implementation:
Profitability
„We concentrate on the companies within our group which, in our view will create the best synergies for Social Chain as a whole,“ summarizes CEO Wanja S. Oberhof. „With this focus on our core capabilities and core brands, we implement our strategy with the main objective of ‘profitability’, as announced at our Annual General Meeting in June 2022.”
The
product
line
Clasen
Bio
will
remain
within
the
group
to
be
developed;
the
white label
brand
busi
ness of Carl Wilhelm Clasen GmbH will be sold
Carl Wilhelm Clasen GmbH produces dried fruits and nuts for white labels of large discounters under their branding. “As this production business is not our core business and does not fit into the strategic concept of our house of brands of the future, we are selling this business unit. By establishing and expanding the Clasen Bio product line, we are increasing gross margin and profitability,” comments Ralf Dümmel, Chief Product Officer. “In this way, we are bringing the synergy effects of the strong DS distribution network and the high level of expertise in trade marketing fully into the brand world of Social Chain AG.”
Social
Chain
AG
focuses
on
profitability
and
brand
development
The
revenue forecast
for Social Chain AG will be revised to
EUR 415 million for the financial year 2022,
since the sale of these companies will stabilize profitability, the revenue does not belong to the company anymore. „Despite the difficult environment, we expect a positive
non-adjusted EBITDA margin of 4 to 5%
for the full financial year,“ says CFO Andreas Schneider. While the operating loss in the first quarter before the proceeds of the KoRo sale was around EUR -15.3 million, it fell to around EUR -9.4 million in the second quarter. The loss in the second quarter was due to both one-off effects from the merger of Social Chain AG and DS Group and the significant deterioration in consumer sentiment. „In the third quarter, the company will operate at break-even and return to profitability in the fourth quarter,“ says CFO Andreas Schneider. „This revenue adjustment helps us to consolidate our total earnings for the future and strategically secure the future basis for our profitable development.“ With regards to the medium-term growth, he adds: „Our future growth is also ensured by a new working capital financing for DS Group which amounts to approximately EUR 100 million and is currently being restructured for the next three years.“
As announced in the financial calendar, the detailed half-year report will be published on 15 September 2022.
———————————————————————————————
Wanja
S.
Oberhof,
CEO:
„Needless to say that, as substantially invested entrepreneurs, we also took note of the share price. The main active shareholders, in particular the Chairman of our Supervisory Board, Dr. Georg Kofler, the former
partners
of
DS
Group,
and
I,
continued
to
invest
in
Social
Chain
AG at its last capital increase at EUR 46.40, with an amount
of
just
under
EUR
20
million.
We
will
remain
connected
to
the company
in
the
long
run
–
because
we
are
confident
that
its
different pillars
and
its
focus
on
social
commerce
put
us
in
an
ideal
position
for the
future.
Our
market
segment
is
currently
under
severe
pressure
on the stock exchange; nonetheless, we are convinced of our
capability to
prove
to
the
market
that
we
can
earn
money
in
a
solid
and
profitable way and grow accordingly.“
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Press Contact:
The Social Chain AG
Gormannstraße 22
10119 Berlin Germany
Sanja Stankovic
Jana Walker
+49 40 675 73 2946
press@socialchain.com
www.socialchain.com
About
The
Social
Chain
AG:
Social
Commerce
at
a
Global
Scale
We are Social Commerce pioneers and social media is our marketplace. As a house of entrepreneurs, we are reshaping the world of brands and commerce, turning wishes and ideas into products with our combined sales power. We understand how to develop our own brands and products into direct-to-consumer brands with the power of social media and how to market them to specific target groups. We offer our entrepreneurs and retail partners an all-round carefree package in-house: from our own product development, legal review, production, quality assurance, marketing and communication to logistics and everything that brands and products need to grow and become successful.
Social Chain AG currently has around 10,000 products in the categories of Food, Home & Living, and Beauty & Fitness as well as successful brands such as LANDMANN, the oldest German barbecue manufacturer, and the Lifestyle brand URBANARA in its range. Social Chain AG brings the products “Digital first – direct to Customer” directly to the customers‘ homes. Plus: Thanks to the excellent retail network of the sales experts, the products are placed in more than 40,000 retail shops – to touch and take away immediately.
The best-known heads of The Social Chain AG are Ralf Dümmel and Dr. Georg Kofler, both investors of the VOX start-up show “Die Höhle der Löwen”. In addition to Ralf Dümmel as Chief Product Officer, Andreas Schneider as Chief Financial Officer and Wanja S. Oberhof as Chief Executive Officer manage the company’s business.
The company has its headquarters in Berlin and around 1,000 employees. Other locations are New York, Manchester, Stapelfeld near Hamburg, London, Los Angeles, and Gallin. The shares of Social Chain AG (WKN: A1YC99) have been listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
www.socialchain.com
The content of
this press release is for
information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or
other
recommendations pursuant
to
the
German
Securities
Trading
Act
by
The
Social
Chain
AG
or
its
affiliated
companies.
The
information
provided
cannot
replace
investment
advice.
The
information
contained
in
this
press
release
is
not
to
be
construed
as
an
assurance
of
possible
price
developments
and
should
not
be
construed
as
a
request
to
enter
into
a
transaction.
The
information
contained
herein
does
not
constitute
an
offer
to
sell
or
the
solicitation
of
an
offer
to
sell
securities
or
rights,
or
a
solicitation
to
trade
in
securities
or
rights.
Accordingly,
The
Social
Chain
AG
and
its
affiliates
make
no
representations
or
commitments
as
to
the
accuracy,
completeness
or
correctness
of
the
information
or
opinions
contained
herein.
We
assume
no
liability
for
direct
or
indirect
damages
caused
by
and/or
in
connection
with
the
distribution
and/or
use
of
this
document.
The
statements
correspond
to
the
status
at
the
time
of
the
prepara-
tion of this document. They may become obsolete due to future developments without the document being changed.
11.08.2022 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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