Year-end Report 2017

GOOD GROWTH AND IMPROVED GROSS PROFIT

FOURTH QUARTER(¹)

• Net sales increased by 9 percent to SEK 1,199.8 (1,100.3) million
• Gross profit increased by 14 percent to SEK 261.7 (230.5) million
• Operating income before depreciation and amortization was SEK 52.4 (62.9) million
• Operating income totaled SEK 35.6 (42.7) million
• Basic and diluted earnings per share including discontinued operations amounted to SEK 0.05 (0.13)
• Cash and cash equivalents increased to SEK 624.7 (435.2) million at year-end
• The envisioned group structure attained with the divestment of Health and Sports Nutrition Group

FULL-YEAR(¹)

• Net sales increased by 8 percent to SEK 3,396.7 (3,158.5) million
• Gross profit increased by 35 percent to SEK 762.7 (565.7) million
• Operating income before depreciation and amortization increased to SEK 90.0 (13.2) million
• Operating income improved to SEK 20.7 (-60.5) million
• Basic and diluted earnings per share including discontinued operations amounted to SEK -0.16 (-1.24)

(¹)Tretti, Lekmer and HSNG are recognized as discontinued operations in the company accounts. Interest expenses in Qliro Financial Services are reported as cost of goods sold in the consolidated financial statement. In 2017, there were no items affecting comparability. Historical figures have not been adjusted for items affecting comparability during 2016.

GOOD GROWTH AND IMPROVED GROSS PROFIT
Qliro Group enters the new year with full focus on three businesses areas, CDON Marketplace, Nelly and Qliro Financial Services. After divestments of Lekmer, Members.com and HSNG, we have the structure we envisioned when we revised our strategy in January 2017. The transformation has proved successful and the Group’s net sales increased by 8 percent and the gross margin improved by 4.6 percentage points to 22.5 percent for the year. At the same time, operating income before depreciation and amortization increased 582 percent to SEK 90 million. All three business areas increased sales and gross profit for the year as well as the quarter.  

Our goal is to be the Nordic leader in digital commerce and associated financial services. CDON Marketplace and Nelly have strong positions in two dynamic segments of e-commerce. At the same time, their growth drive increasing volumes to Qliro Financial Services. This gives Qliro Financial Services low customer acquisition costs and extends our relationship with consumers, enabling us to up-sale additional services. 

The strategy for Qliro Financial Services is to build a finance company that simplifies digital commerce and everyday lives of consumers. We ensure that merchants provide efficient payment solutions with good conversion. In addition, consumers with Qliro accounts shop more frequently with our affiliated e-merchants.

CDON Marketplace enters a new phase
CDON Marketplace has attained a strong position as the leading digital Nordic marketplace. The marketplace has reached a critical scale, and external merchants sold goods for SEK 0.5 billion via CDON.COM during the year. We are now entering a new phase where investments in technology, logistics and branding enable increased efficiency and where the organization will not need to grow from the current level.

Nelly positioned for accelerated growth
Nelly is one of the strongest online fashion brands for young consumers in the Nordics. Sales increased by 5 percent for the year, while operating profit before depreciation and amortization more than doubled. This shows that our investments in own brands, assortment and logistics have provided the right basis for profitable growth. We are now well-positioned for accelerated growth.

Qliro Financial Services has reached sufficient scale
Qliro Financial Services increased its operating income by 41 percent and its operating profit before depreciation and amortization by 56 percent during the year. At the end of the year, lending to the public exceeded SEK 1 billion. A growing share of this was personal loans in Sweden where conditions are good for accelerating this business. Qliro Financial Services’ organization has reached a sufficient size to manage substantial expansion of the loan book with its existing offering without a significant increase in the number of employees. 

Financial flexibility
Our financial position is healthy and was further strengthened by the sale of HSNG, which gave us an additional SEK 370 million when we closed the deal. This gives us good opportunities to continue investing in our business areas. With a focus on operational excellence, we continue to expand our marketplace with 1,500 merchants, develop our fashion brands, streamline logistics, take advantage of our customer relationships and strengthen our role in the value chain.

Stockholm, January 2018
Marcus Lindqvist, President and CEO

Conference call
Analysts, investors and the media are invited to a conference call today at 10 a.m. To participate in the conference call, please dial:
Sweden: 08 5033 6574
UK: +44 330 336 9105
US: +1 323 794 2551
The pin code to access this call is 7238530. 

The presentation material and webcast will be published at www.qlirogroup.com.

For additional information, please visit www.qlirogroup.com or contact:
Marcus Lindqvist, President and Chief Executive Officer
Mathias Pedersen, Chief Financial Officer
Telephone: +46 (0)10 703 20 00

Niclas Lilja, Head of Investor Relations
Telephone: +46 (0)736 511 363
ir@qlirogroup.com 

About Qliro Group
Qliro Group is a leading Nordic e-commerce group in consumer goods, lifestyle products and related financial services. Qliro Group operates the leading Nordic marketplace CDON.COM, the online fashion brand Nelly.com and Qliro Financial Services that offers financial services to merchants and consumers. In 2017 the Group had sales of SEK 3.4 billion. Qliro Group’s shares are listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm Mid-Cap segment under the ticker symbol QLRO.

This information is information that Qliro Group AB is required to disclose under the EU Market Abuse Regulation. This information was released for publication through the agency of the above-mentioned contacts at 8:00 a.m. CET on January 31, 2018. 

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