Strong profitability despite macroeconomic uncertainty
Truecaller, the leading global platform for verifying contacts and blocking unwanted communication, reports a decrease in net sales of 3 percent combined with an adjusted EBITDA of SEK 150 million and a EBITDA margin of 39 percent in the first quarter of 2023.
“The demand and need for our services continues to grow globally. Our user base continued to increase during the quarter; growth was slightly weaker at the beginning of the year but increased toward the end of the quarter. The stronger growth has continued in the second quarter and in April we reached a new milestone when we passed 350 million monthly users. We are especially proud of this given that global smartphone sales are declining due to the weak economy.
Quarterly revenue amounted to SEK 387.1m (398.2). Advertising revenue was lower, while subscription revenue and revenue from Truecaller for Business increased. Our focus during the quarter was on delivering solid profitability and a consistently positive cash flow, which we achieved through an increased focus on efficiency. Our underlying costs decreased by 20 percent compared to the fourth quarter and we are reporting EBITDA of SEK 150m and an EBITDA margin of 39 percent. Reporting profitability this high in our seasonally weakest quarter when revenues are being squeezed by the global macroeconomy shows the strong underlying profitability of our business model.
In our latest financial report we flagged that the current macroeconomic uncertainty is expected to adversely affect the advertising market, at least in the first half of 2023. The slowdown in demand we saw in the second half of the fourth quarter of 2022 continued in the first quarter, although we saw signs of improvement at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter has begun more positively where we during individual days have reached new record levels for ads income, related to increased demand in relation to the Indian cricket season (IPL).
Our focus is still to deliver solid profitability through the entire economic downturn and at the same time ensure that we stand even stronger when demand turns higher again. Our user growth, our strong balance sheet, the investments we have made in the product and our advertising platform, as well as the investments we are doing in our server infrastructure, give us the potential for very positive development once the macroeconomy and demand regain momentum.", says Alan Mamedi, CEO of Truecaller.
January-March 2023 (Q1)
Comparative figures refer to January-March 2022.
● Net sales decreased by 3 percent to SEK 387.1m (398.3) compared to the same quarter last year.
● Adjusted EBITDA amounted to SEK 150m (181.4), corresponding to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 38.8 (45.5) percent. Excluding costs for incentive programs adjusted EBITDA would have been SEK 161.1m (184.8), equivalent to an adjusted EBITDA-margin of 41.6 (46.4) percent.
● Profit after tax of SEK 109.1m (133.7).
● Basic earnings per share were SEK 0.30 (0.36) and diluted earnings per share were SEK 0.30 (0.35).
● The number of monthly active users (MAU) increased by 34.3 million to around 344.4 million (310.1).
● Sales growth decreased by 1 percent in India, 13 percent in the Middle East and Africa and increased by 1 percent in the rest of the world.
Presentation of the report
Alan Mamedi, CEO and Odd Bolin, CFO presents the report and answers questions in a webcast and conference call today at 13.00 CEST. The presentation will be held in English.
Follow the presentation live:
To listen to the presentation by phone, please call:
SE: +46850516386
UK: +442031984884
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Pincode: 7632344#
For more information, please contact:
Odd Bolin, CFO
Andreas Frid, Head of IR & Communication
+46 705 29 08 00
andreas.frid@truecaller.com
This information is information that Truecaller is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at the time stated by the Company’s news distributor, Cision, at the publication of this press release.
About Truecaller:
Truecaller (TRUE B) is the leading global platform for verifying contacts and blocking unwanted communication. We enable safe and relevant conversations between people and make it efficient for businesses to connect with consumers. Fraud and unwanted communication are endemic to digital economies, especially in emerging markets. We are on a mission to build trust in communication. Truecaller is an essential part of everyday communication for more than 350 million active users, with more than a billion downloads since launch and around 50 billion unwanted calls identified and blocked in 2021. Headquartered in Stockholm, since 2009, we are a co-founder-led, entrepreneurial company, with a highly experienced management team. Truecaller has been listed on Nasdaq Stockholm since 8 October 2021. For more information, please visit corporate.truecaller.com
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