- Strong YoY growth in Adjusted EBITDA of 65.2% to €39.8m in Q3 FY23/24 and 102.3% to €114.7m in 9M FY23/24, with 9M Adjusted EBITDA margin of 36.2%
- Continued improvement in the Group’s Annualized Adjusted EBITDA(1) to €159m in Q3 FY23/24 vs. €142m in Q2 FY23/24
- Strengthened balance sheet, with a strong improvement in LTM net leverage ratio(2) to 3.6x
- Financial guidance reiterated — FY23/24 Adjusted EBITDA of €145-165m
SIGNY, Switzerland–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Global Blue Group Holding AG (NYSE:GB and GB.WS) today announces its financial results for the third quarter and nine month period ended December 31, 2023.
Global Blue’s CEO, Jacques Stern, commented:
“We are pleased to report another strong performance for the Group, with continued progress across the business through the third quarter and first nine months of the year.
“We delivered a 26.2% YoY increase in Revenue and a 65.2% YoY increase in Adjusted EBITDA in Q3 FY23/24, supporting an annualized quarterly Adjusted EBITDA(1) of €159m and giving us increased confidence in our FY23/24 Adjusted EBITDA guidance of €145-165m.
“Towards the latter part of the quarter, as previously communicated, we took two strategic steps towards improving our capital structure; we welcomed Tencent as a shareholder following their $100m strategic equity investment and opportunistically refinanced all our debt, extending maturity to 2030.
“We have meaningfully deleveraged the Group, with a net leverage ratio(2) at 3.6x at the end of the quarter vs. 6.5x at the end of March 2023, and confirm our long-term net leverage objective of <2.5x”.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Q3 and 9M FY23/24 financial results showed a strong increase in both growth and profitability.
The Group delivered a 26.2% YoY increase in Revenue to €109.4m and an 65.2% YoY increase in Adjusted EBITDA to €39.8m in Q3 FY23/24, resulting, for 9M FY23/24, in a 41.1% YoY increase in Revenue to €317.1m and a 102.3% YoY increase in Adjusted EBITDA to €114.7m, taking the Adjusted EBITDA margin to 36.2%. This drove a continued improvement of the Group’s annualized quarterly Adjusted EBITDA(1) to €159m in Q3 FY23/24, from €142m in Q2 FY23/24 and €134m in Q1 FY23/24.
Furthermore, as announced previously, the Group completed two significant capital structure transactions in the latter part of the period. First, Tencent agreed to invest $100m in Global Blue common equity, validating Global Blue’s leadership, reflecting confidence in the ongoing travel recovery, and supporting the stated de-leveraging target. Second, to further strengthen the balance sheet, the Group refinanced its debt with a senior term loan of €610.0m and a revolving credit facility of €97.5m, extending maturity to 2030.
In January 2024, Tax Free Shopping like-for-like (“LfL”)) Issued Sales in Store(3) recovery reached 125% in Continental Europe and 161% in Asia Pacific. The recovery of Mainland Chinese continues to accelerate benefitting from a strong willingness to travel and shop abroad, air capacity improvement and visa issuance reduced lead time. In that context, the Mainland China recovery in Asia Pacific reached 127% in January vs. 105% in Q3 FY23/24, while Mainland China recovery in Continental Europe reached 80% in January vs. 58% in Q3 FY23/24.
All this considered, Global Blue could achieve Adjusted EBITDA in excess of €200m(4), based on annualization of Q3 FY23/24 results and assuming Mainland China Revenue recovery reaches 100%(5) vs. a Mainland China Revenue recovery at 52% in Q3 FY23/24.
In conclusion, the Group reiterates the financial guidance and long-term targets issued on September 25, 2023, with FY23/24 Adjusted EBITDA of €145-165m.
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Q3 FY23/24 Financial Performance
|
€M |
Q3 FY21/22 |
Q3 FY22/23 |
Q3 FY23/24 |
Q3 FY23/24 vs. Q3 FY22/23 (%) |
|
Revenue Tax Free Shopping Solutions Added Value Payment Solutions Retail Tech Solutions |
29.4 5.9 3.6 |
64.4 16.2 6.1 |
80.3 22.3 6.8 |
|
|
Group Revenue |
38.9 |
86.7 |
109.4 |
26.2% |
|
Adjusted Operating Expenses |
(35.6) |
(62.6) |
(69.6) |
|
|
Adjusted EBITDA Adjusted EBITDA Margin(%) |
3.3 8.4% |
24.1 27.8% |
39.8 36.3% |
65.2%
|
|
Adjusted Depreciation & Amortisation |
(10.1) |
(9.2) |
(9.7) |
|
|
Net Finance Costs |
(6.2) |
(3.7) |
(12.0) |
|
|
Adjusted Profit before Tax |
(13.0) |
11.1 |
18.1 |
|
|
Adjusted Income Tax Expense |
(0.4) |
(3.7) |
(7.0) |
|
|
Non-Controlling Interests |
(0.3) |
(0.8) |
(1.9) |
|
|
Adjusted Net Income Group Share |
(13.8) |
6.6 |
9.1 |
|
Revenue
The Group delivered Revenue of €109.4m in Q3 FY23/24, a 26.2% YoY increase, reflecting a strong performance across all business lines.
Tax Free Shopping Solutions delivered Revenue of €80.3m in Q3 FY23/24, a 24.8% YoY increase. Revenue in Continental Europe reached €68.1m, a 17.7% LfL YoY increase, while Revenue in Asia Pacific reached €12.2m, an 83.5% LfL YoY increase. This strong performance reflects the ongoing recovery across all origin nationalities with the acceleration of the Mainland China recovery being the key driver of the Revenue improvement in both Asia Pacific and Europe.
Added Value Payment Solutions delivered Revenue of €22.3m in Q3 FY23/24, a 37.4% YoY increase, reflecting a strong performance across both business segments. Revenue in FX Solutions reached €10.6m, a 64.2% LfL YoY increase, while Revenue in the Acquiring business reached €11.7m, a 26.2% LfL YoY increase.
Retail Tech Solutions delivered Revenue of €6.8m in Q3 FY23/24, an 11.6% YoY increase, reflecting organic growth of 3.9% (€0.2m), with the remainder related to the consolidation of ShipUp, acquired on November 1, 2022. Whilst LfL Revenue growth was moderate at 3.9%, as a result of the cessation of sale of carriage to ZigZag clients (revenue with a low contribution), the LfL contribution growth of the segment (i.e., after carrier costs) was very strong at 80.0%.
Adjusted EBITDA
The Group delivered Adjusted EBITDA of €39.8m in Q3 FY23/24, a 65.2% YoY increase, reflecting the significant improvement in Revenue together with the ongoing focus on the cost base. This implied an improvement in margin of 8.5pts to 36.3% and a Revenue drop-through(6) to Adjusted EBITDA of 69.2%.
Furthermore, annualized Adjusted EBITDA(1) has shown a consistent improvement to €159m in Q3 FY23/24, from €35m in Q1 FY22/23, €84m in Q2 FY22/23, €98m in Q3 FY22/23, €115m in Q4 FY22/23, €134m in Q1 FY23/24 and €142m in Q2 FY23/24.
9M FY23/24 Financial Performance
|
€M |
9M FY21/22 |
9M FY22/23 |
9M FY23/24 |
9M FY23/24 vs. 9M FY22/23 (%) |
|
Revenue Tax Free Shopping Solutions Added Value Payment Solutions Retail Tech Solutions |
61.5 16.0 9.3 |
166.4 44.1 14.1 |
235.2 61.3 20.6 |
|
|
Group Revenue |
86.8 |
224.7 |
317.1 |
41.1% |
|
Adjusted Operating Expenses |
(94.6) |
(168.0) |
(202.4) |
|
|
Adjusted EBITDA Adjusted EBITDA Margin(%) |
(7.8) (9.0%) |
56.7 25.2% |
114.7 36.2% |
102.3% |
|
Adjusted Depreciation & Amortisation |
(30.3) |
(27.0) |
(27.6) |
|
|
Net Finance Costs |
(18.7) |
(27.6) |
(36.6) |
|
|
Adjusted Profit before Tax |
(56.9) |
2.1 |
50.5 |
|
|
Adjusted Income Tax Expense |
4.4 |
(7.5) |
(19.6) |
|
|
Non-Controlling Interests |
(0.7) |
(1.7) |
(5.6) |
|
|
Adjusted Net Income Group Share |
(53.2) |
(7.1) |
25.3 |
|
Revenue
The Group delivered Revenue of €317.1m in 9M FY23/24, a 41.1% YoY increase reflecting a strong performance across all business lines.
Tax Free Shopping Solutions delivered Revenue of €235.2m in 9M FY23/24, a 41.3% YoY increase. Revenue in Continental Europe reached €202.1m, a 32.7% LfL YoY increase; while Revenue in Asia Pacific reached €33.1m, a 125.0% LfL YoY increase, reflecting the ongoing recovery across all origin nationalities with the reopening of Chinese borders in January 2023 being the key driver of the Revenue improvement in both Asia Pacific and Europe.
Added Value Payment Solutions delivered Revenue of €61.3m in 9M FY23/24, a 38.9% YoY increase, reflecting a strong performance across both business segments. Revenue in FX Solutions reached €31.0m, a 54.6% LfL YoY increase; while Revenue in the Acquiring business reached €30.3m, a 36.2% LfL YoY increase.
Retail Tech Solutions delivered Revenue of €20.6m in 9M FY23/24, a 45.7% YoY increase, reflecting strong organic growth of 22.3% (€3.7m), and the remainder from the consolidation of ShipUp, acquired on 1 November 2022.
Adjusted EBITDA
The Group delivered Adjusted EBITDA of €114.7m in 9M FY23/24, a 102.3% YoY increase reflecting the significant improvement in Revenue together with the ongoing focus on the cost base. This implied an improvement in margin of 11ppts to 36.2% and a Revenue drop-through(6) to Adjusted EBITDA of 62.8%.
Adjusted Profit before Tax
The Group delivered Adjusted Profit Before Tax of €50.5m in 9M FY23/24, a €48.4m YoY increase, mainly reflecting the significant increase in Adjusted EBITDA partially offset by an increase of €9.0m in net finance costs, related to higher interest costs in the period.
Balance Sheet and Net Debt
As at December 31, 2023, Group Net Debt reached €508.6m, consisting of Gross Financial Debt of €610.0m and Cash & Cash Equivalents of €101.4m, resulting in a net leverage ratio(2) of 3.6x.
LATEST TAX FREE SHOPPING TRENDS
|
% Recovery Issued Sales in Store* Tax Free Shopping |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
January 2024 |
January 2024 vs. |
|
Continental Europe LfL |
121% |
119% |
118% |
125% |
+7ppts |
|
(excluding UK; same merchant) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
APAC LfL |
111% |
134% |
150% |
161% |
+11ppts |
|
(same merchant) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Group LfL |
118% |
123% |
127% |
135% |
+8ppts |
|
(excluding UK; same merchant) |
|
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