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22 I Companies & Markets bne May 2023
service to temporarily collapse on several occasions thanks to the volume of parcels arriving from overseas. Pochta Rossii subsequently introduced a special tariff to manage the volume of orders better.
But sanctions and the inability to use a Russian based debit or credit card overseas thanks to the sanctions has dramatically reduced the volumes of this international trade. The Pochta Rossii’s revenue in the cross-border segment decreased
by RUB11.4bn. Additionally, the company's expenditure increased due to an increase in salaries for employees, which cost RUB14bn, RBC reports.
Mikhail Volkov, CEO of Russian Post, acknowledged that
the past year was challenging for the company, and he emphasised that the main task for 2023 is to "reconfigure work taking into account new economic and geopolitical realities, reasonable cost reduction and increasing company revenues.” Volkov also underscored that the company will continue to prioritise social responsibility.
Pochta Rossii was able to achieve profitability in 2014 by reducing operating costs. However, in 2022, the company had to re-evaluate its strategy, including reducing administrative staff, and is currently working on a new approach.
Allegro posts PLN1.92bn net loss in 2022 due to Czech write-downs
Wojciech Kosc in Warsaw
Warsaw-listed online retailer Allegro posted a net loss of PLN1.92bn (€410mn) in 2022, a changeover from a net profit of PLN1.1bn the previous year, the company said in a market filing on March 30.
The loss was primarily due to write-downs of Allegro’s Czech acquisitions, the online retailer Mall Group and courier services company WeDo, totalling PLN2.3bn in Q3 2022.
Allegro bought Mall and WeDo for €975mn in 2021, in one of the largest transactions in Central and Eastern Europe that year. Allegro has now almost written off half the value of its acquisitions.
That said, Allegro’s stocks surged on the Warsaw Stock Exchange as last year’s results showed the group’s revenues jumped 70% to PLN9bn while adjusted Ebitda reached PLN2.15bn, a gain of 4% versus 2021.
Allegro’s shares rose nearly 14% to PLN29.76 as trading closed on the Warsaw bourse on March 31.
“The loss was primarily due to write-downs of Allegro’s Czech acquisitions, the online retailer Mall Group and courier services company WeDo”
In Q4, Allegro's revenue increased 93% y/y to PLN3.1bn, while the net profit fell 10% y/y to PLN180mn, which was below the consensus of PLN271.8mn.
The company’s adjusted Ebitda increased 33% y/y to PLN668.3mn, just over the consensus line of PLN667.2mn.
Meanwhile, the gross sales value (GMV) – the total value of goods traded on the platform – grew 14% y/y to PLN14.4bn in the fourth quarter. GMV also grew 15.9% to PLN49.4bn in 2022 overall.
The number of active buyers increased by 560,000 in y/y terms to over 14mn in the fourth quarter. The average GMV value per active buyer grew 11.3% y/y to PLN3,500.
Allegro has also announced it will be publishing quarterly results forecasts with the first forecast – for Q1 2023 – assuming a growth of 13%-14% in GMV and a 20%-22% expansion in revenues.
The company also said it is planning to launch a branded platform Allegro.cz in the Czech Republic.
Allegro bought Mall and WeDo for €975mn in 2021, in one of the largest transactions in Central and Eastern Europe that year. / bne IntelliNews
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