Page 8 - bne_newspaper_August_02_2019

bne Invest
August 2, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 8
Russian internet major Yandex posts strong results in 2Q19, upgrades guidance
IntelliNews Pro
Russian internet major Yandex reported net US GAAP income growth of 16% year-on-year in 2Q19, with revenues up by 40% y/y, and adjusted Ebitda jumping by 50% y/y with a margin of 32%.
"The numbers came in strong, ahead of consen- sus in revenue growth, and to higher extent on Ebitda," BCS Global Markets commented on July 26. Yandex is Russia's most valuable digital com- pany based on search engine Yandex and rapidly expanding in other digital and e-commerce fields.
Notably, revenues in the search engine segment in 2Q19 grew by 21%, while surging by 117% in the taxi segment (Yandex.Taxi). Taxi business turned profitable for the first time since 2015, posting positive Ebitda of RUB0.4bn (5% margin).
Yandex.Market marketplace weighted on the re- sults in 2Q19. Not accounting for the marketplace, Ebitda margin of Yandex in the reporting quarter
would have been 48% instead of 32%, BCS GM estimated.
As reported by bne IntelliNews, Yandex could be challenged in the taxi and food delivery segment by Russia's largest bank Sberbank recently teaming up with rival internet major Mail.ru. Sberbank's move was also largely seen as hostile to Yandex, with which it jointly launched Yandex. Market marketplace.
On the other hand, Yandex.Taxi is seen getting a boost, especially in the regions, from the up- coming acquisition of major taxi operator Vezet.
Despite Yandex.Market still taking off and competitive risks, Yandex upgraded its 2019 revenue growth guidance to 32-36% from previous 30-34% following the publication of 2Q19 results. BCS GM maintained the Buy recommendation on Yandex with target price of $45.