§ All targets for FY 2020 surpassed with €107m revenue, €16m EBITDA, i.e. 15% EBITDA margin (PY: 9%)
§ Strong 4Q 2020 performance with 66% revenue growth across all regions and 153% increase in EBITDA compared to 4Q 2019: 17% EBITDA margin (PY: 11%)
§ Debt-free as at 31/12/2020 and €10m free cash flow generated in FY 2020, and 1.68 CLIQ Factor (PY: 1.51)
CLIQ Digital AG (CLIQ.DE, ISIN: DE000A0HHJR3, WKN: A0HHJR), a leading digital lifestyle company, which provides streaming entertainment services to consumers worldwide with unlimited access to music, audiobooks, games, sports and movie content, is proud to announce that 2020 was the most successful year ever in CLIQ Digital’s history.
According to preliminary and unaudited figures, CLIQ Digital’s gross revenue and EBITDA in 2020 have exceeded expectations and totalled €107m and €16m respectively. For the full year, sales grew by nearly 70% and EBITDA grew by more than 177% against the prior year resulting in an EBITDA margin (in per cent of gross revenue) of 15%. The marketing spend was more than 50% higher than in 2019 and amounted to €34m in 2020.
At the year-end close, the company was debt-free on the back of €10m free cash flow generated in 2020 notwithstanding the dividend distribution of nearly €2m in the third quarter 2020. The CLIQ Factor for the full year was 1.68, compared to 1.51 in 2019, and the Customer Base Value (CBV) came in at €35 million (PY: €26 million) at the end of 2020.
In the fourth quarter 2020 (01/10 – 31/12/2020), CLIQ Digital’s gross revenue was more than €30m, which corresponds to a growth rate exceeding 65% compared to prior year’s quarter. The revenue growth was driven by all regions – with European sales gaining notable traction again – and by the fundamental shift from media buying via affiliate partners to CLIQ Digital’s own in-house teams in particular. In the fourth quarter 2020, the marketing spend totalled nearly €8m and EBITDA exceeded €5m (+153%, PY: €2m) resulting in a 4Q 2020 EBITDA margin (in per cent of gross revenue) of 17% compared to 11% in last year’s fourth quarter.
Statement from Ben Bos, member of the Management Board:
“2020 was a year of change; an unprecedented year. For CLIQ, it has been a very important and transformative year: we introduced the CLIQ-branded, All-in-One multicontent portal and executed our strategic shift in media buying from affiliate marketing to our own, direct media buying team amongst other growth drivers. Our U.S. business profited already from this shift and contributed significantly to this year’s Group results. Management is overwhelmingly proud of CLIQ’s stellar business development in 2020 and looks forward to continuing this exceptionally strong growth story. We intend to further grow our market share considerably, expand into new markets and become even more relevant to our members, business partners and shareholders.”
On 17 March 2021, the FY 2020 annual report will be published and the audited, final FY 2020 financials as well as the dividend proposal and FY 2021 outlook will be presented by Management during an earnings call.
Financial calendar 2021:
FY 2020 Annual Report & earnings call | Wednesday | 17 March 2021 |
Annual General Meeting | Thursday | 29 April 2021 |
1Q 2021 Financial Statement & earnings call | Thursday | 6 May 2021 |
2Q/6M 2021 Financial Statement & earnings call | 3 August 2021 | |
3Q/9M 2021 Financial Statement & earnings call | Tuesday | 2 November 2021 |
Disclaimer
This release contains preliminary, unaudited figures and forward-looking statements. These statements are based on certain assumptions and expectations held at the time this report is published. Preliminary figures and forward-looking statements are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties and may significantly deviate from the actual results. With regard to forward-looking statements in particular, risks and uncertainties are to a large extent determined by factors that are outside of CLIQ Digital’s sphere of influence and that can currently not be estimated with an adequate degree of certainty. These factors include, inter alia, future market conditions and economic developments, the actions of other market participants, the utilisation of anticipated synergy effects as well as legislative and political decisions.
CLIQ does not consider itself obliged to publish any corrections to these forward-looking statements for the purpose of adjusting them to events or circumstances that eventuate after the publishing date of these materials.