Page 136 - RusRPTAug21

9.2.7 TMT corporate news
Yandex released 2Q21 US GAAP results – beat on revenue, EBITDA in-line; growth guidance upped.
Revenue grew 97% y/y (to Rb81.4 bn), adj. EBITDA dropped 32% (to Rb5.8 bn; 7% margin), adj. net income Rb1.0 bn (1% margin). Weakness in profitability – due to jump in investments in e-commerce.
Excluding e-commerce, revenue grew 75%, adj. EBITDA grew 85% - partly thanks to favorable comparison base in ad, transportation, but also as solid trends persisted – 4-7% beat to BCSe.
Search & Portal - revenue +54%, EBITDA +66% (46% margin) – base effect plus solid underlying trends. Same with Taxi – revenue +114%, EBITDA margin was at 6% - margin down from abnormally strong 1Q21.
Total e-commerce GMV grew 155% (vs 186% in 1Q21); for Yandex.Market alone +144% (acceleration vs +126% despite generally high comparison base for e-commerce in Russia). E-commerce segment EBITDA loss expanded to Rb10 bn (37% GMV) – investment in logistics, cut in commissions, marketing, etc.
Yandex.Plus number of subscribers grew 2.3x y/y and flattish q/q to 9 mn. Media segment grew revenue 2.4x y/y (5% Yandex total); EBITDA loss remained at c40% segment’s revenue.
Guidance 2021 upgraded, new targets announced. Revenue of Rb330-340 bn (0-8% upgrade vs previous Rb315-330 bn); Search&Portal revenue growth – mid-twenties (vs high teens), EBITDA margin stable; total e-commerce GMV increase of up to 3x (vs 2.5x); ride-hailing GMV excl. logistics – c60% increase.
Yandex announced on 16 July, that it had completed the acquisition of 100% of Acropol Bank. The company reported that it now has all of the bank’s licenses (including its universal banking license) required to develop its FinTech vertical. YNDX will consolidate Acropol Bank’s results in its books starting from 16 July. As a reminder, YNDX announced on 29 April that it had agreed to acquire 100% of Acropol Bank, a small Russian bank, for RUB 1.1bn, of which RUB 75mn is a premium to the capital (effectively what YNDX paid for obtaining the licenses). According to YNDX, over 85% of Acropol Bank’s assets are highly liquid instruments (including cash and bonds). We note that the bank not only has a universal banking license but also broker, dealer and depositary licenses, providing YNDX with a wide scope to develop its FinTech initiatives. Acropol Bank does not have any offline branches.
Social media giant Facebook has started its Marketplace platform in Russia, Facebook press service in Russia announced. The Marketplace platform is a place where users can sell and make purchases of various products among themselves. According to Anna-Maria Treneva, the Regional Director of Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, the new platform will
136 RUSSIA Country Report August 2021 www.intellinews.com