H1/2018 Results Investor/Analyst Conference Call Berlin, Dr Mathias Döpfner, Chairman & CEO Dr Julian Deutz, CFO
Disclaimer This document, which has been issued by Axel Springer SE (the "Company"), comprises the written materials/slides for a presentation of the management. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the information and facts stated herein are accurate and that the opinions and expectations contained herein are fair and reasonable no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by or on behalf of the Company, any of its directors, or any other person as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this document and no liability is accepted for any such information or opinions. This document contains forward looking statements which involves risks and uncertainties. These forward looking statements speak only as of the date of this document and are based on numerous assumptions which may or may not prove to be correct. The actual performance and results of the business of the Company could differ materially from the performance and results discussed in this document. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements or other information contained herein whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This document does not constitute or form any part of any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for, any shares in the Company, nor shall it or any part of it nor the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or investment decision in relation thereto. 2
Successful H1/18 Group guidance confirmed, guidance for classifieds revenues increased adj. EBITDA 354.5m (+11.7% reported, +3.7% organically) Revenues 1,560.9m (+5.9% reported, +4.3% organically) adj. eps 1.36 (-2.1% reported, -0.7% organically) Portfolio management: Sale of final stake in Dogan TV closed at end of May (proceeds of 160m) 3
80% of adj. EBITDA from digital activities digital revenues with organic growth of 9.4% in H1/18 Revenues Advertising Revenues adj. EBITDA 69% 85% 80% digital digital digital 4
Continued strong growth in Classifieds Further improvements in digital content Classifieds Continued strong organic revenue growth, driven by jobs vertical Margin in H1/18 impacted by strong investments in marketing and product as well as newly consolidated businesses margin gap to prior year to narrow in H2/18 Revenue guidance increased to low double-digit growth (before: high single-digit to low double-digit growth) Digital content Business Insider: Strong top line growth and significantly improved bottom line Encouraging development in News Media National regarding both reach (485k digital subscriptions) and revenue growth 5
What to expect in 2018? We will continue to deliver. Further growth in classifieds Deliver on mid-term stable EBITDA guidance for News Media Break-even at Business Insider in H2/18 Explore further potential from technology and data 6
Financials H1/2018
Successful first half of the year adj. EBITDA up 11.7%, organic increase of 3.7% in m H1/18 yoy org. 1 Q2/18 yoy org. 1 Revenues 1,560.9 5.9% 4.3% 787.4 4.9% 3.9% Advertising 1,058.8 9.5% 7.0% 534.8 7.8% 6.3% Circulation 294.7-6.4% -4.8% 147.3-5.7% -4.2% Other 207.4 7.7% 5.8% 105.4 7.1% 5.1% Adjusted for consolidation and FX effects, as well as IFRS 16 effects for adj. EBITDA. adj. EBITDA 354.5 11.7% 3.7% 183.3 7.8% 1.1% Margin 22.7% 1.2pp 23.3% 0.6pp Comments Organic revenue increase of 4.3% and adj. EBITDA up by 3.7% organically Consolidation effects mainly from Logic-Immo and affilinet, deconsolidation of aufeminin 8
Classifieds Media continues with low double-digit organic revenue growth in H1/18 in m H1/18 yoy org. 1 Q2/18 yoy org. 1 Adjusted for consolidation and FX effects, as well as IFRS 16 effects for adj. EBITDA. Revenues 585.2 19.2% 11.3% 295.0 22.3% 11.2% Advertising 567.8 17.7% 11.7% 282.6 19.4% 11.7% Other 17.4 >100 % -12.3% 12.4 >100 % -17.4% adj. EBITDA 223.3 11.7% 4.9% 110.7 12.1% 4.0% Margin 38.2% -2.5pp 37.5% -3.4pp Comments Revenue increase due to continued strong organic growth (11.3%) as well as consolidation effects Adj. EBITDA increase of 11.7% due to organic increase of 4.9% as well as effects from IFRS 16 and consolidation effects Margin below the prior-year level due to planned investments into marketing and product for future growth as well as lower margins of newly consolidated companies 9
Jobs classifieds with continued excellent organic growth of 18.0% in H1/18 Jobs in m H1/18 yoy org. 1 Q2/18 yoy org. 1 Revenues 278.1 20.9% 18.0% 143.2 23.0% 17.2% adj. EBITDA 2 98.6 9.1% 2.1% 51.9 9.1% 1.0% Margin 35.5% -3.8pp 36.2% -4.6pp Comments Reported revenue increase of 20.9% mainly driven by strong organic growth of 18.0% Continental European operations again the main driver for organic revenue growth (organic increase of 24.6%) Adj. EBITDA up 9.1% (2.1% organically) Margin down 3.8pp due to planned investments for future growth (marketing and product) 34% Adjusted for consolidation and FX effects, as well as IFRS 16 effects for adj. EBITDA. 2) Total adj. EBITDA of Classifieds Media subsegments does not equal Classifieds Media segment adj. EBITDA which includes costs of 5.6m in H1/18 and 4.3m in H1/17 (thereof business development, M&A and other), not allocated to the three subsegments. 10
Real Estate classifieds with consolidation effects from Logic-Immo Real Estate in m H1/18 yoy org. 1 Q2/18 yoy org. 1 Revenues 183.7 28.2% 6.2% 96.8 33.0% 6.0% adj. EBITDA 2 85.9 19.2% 11.1% 44.1 19.5% 9.6% Margin 46.7% -3.5pp 45.6% -5.2pp Comments Reported revenue growth of 28.2% driven by consolidation effects from Logic-Immo (organic revenue increase 6.2%) Adj. EBITDA up 19.2% (+11.1% organically) Decline of reported margin due to integration of Logic-Immo (lower margin business) Adjusted for consolidation and FX effects, as well as IFRS 16 effects for adj. EBITDA. 2) Total adj. EBITDA of Classifieds Media subsegments does not equal Classifieds Media segment adj. EBITDA which includes costs of 5.6m in H1/18 and 4.3m in H1/17 (thereof business development, M&A and other), not allocated to the three subsegments. 11
General/Other with slight improvement in organic growth in Q2/18 General/Other in m H1/18 yoy org. 1 Q2/18 yoy org. 1 Revenues 123.4 4.9% 4.2% 55.1 5.6% 5.1% adj. EBITDA 2 44.5 6.4% 3.3% 17.7 7.0% 4.3% Margin 36.1% 0.5pp 32.1% 0.4pp Comments Revenue increase of 4.9% (4.2% organic growth) Slow start to the year at Yad2 and @Leisure Meinestadt.de reallocated to Jobs classifieds (prior year numbers restated) Adj. EBITDA up 6.4% (+3.3% organically) Adjusted for consolidation and FX effects, as well as IFRS 16 effects for adj. EBITDA. 2) Total adj. EBITDA of Classifieds Media subsegments does not equal Classifieds Media segment adj. EBITDA which includes costs of 5.6m in H1/18 and 4.3m in H1/17 (thereof business development, M&A and other), not allocated to the three subsegments. 12
News Media: Good first half for advertising both in National and International in m H1/18 yoy org. 1 Q2/18 yoy org. 1 Revenues 732.0 0.9% 1.2% 380.5 0.2% 0.9% thereof digital 266.0 12.5% 12.5% 137.8 11.2% 12.2% digital share of revenues 36.3% 36.2% Advertising 330.4 4.9% 4.1% 177.7 2.3% 2.3% Circulation 295.0-6.3% -4.7% 147.5-5.6% -4.1% Other 106.6 11.3% 11.3% 55.4 11.2% 11.7% adj. EBITDA 113.4 2.3% -6.6% 64.0-3.5% -10.0% Margin 15.5% 0.2pp 16.8% -0.7pp Adjusted for consolidation and FX effects, as well as IFRS 16 effects for adj. EBITDA. Comments Revenues up 0.9%, only minor effects from consolidation and FX 36.3% of revenues from digital activities Advertising revenue development strong in Q2/18 German print ad revenues underlying almost stable yoy Adj. EBITDA up 2.3% reported, driven mainly by effects from IFRS 16 (organically down 6.6%) 13
Marketing Media with significant margin increase in m H1/18 yoy org. 1 Q2/18 yoy org. 1 Adjusted for consolidation and FX effects, as well as IFRS 16 effects for adj. EBITDA. Revenues 217.8-4.0% 1.6% 99.7-12.9% 1.2% Advertising 160.5-5.4% -1.6% 74.5-13.2% -2.0% Other 57.3-0.1% 11.4% 25.2-12.0% 11.8% adj. EBITDA 46.7 15.7% 9.5% 23.1-8.4% -7.5% Margin 21.4% 3.7pp 23.2% 1.2pp Comments Revenues down yoy due to deconsolidation of aufeminin. Organic revenues up 1.6% in H1/18 yoy: Reach-based marketing slightly below H1/17 (-0.5%) due to US exit of Bonial in Q4/17, Performance Marketing with organic increase of 5.3% Adj. EBITDA up 15.7% (+9.5% organically). Reach Based Marketing EBITDA with strong organic increase of 20.5%, Performance Marketing with decline of 16.3% 14
Adj. eps affected by phasing Guidance for FY 18 confirmed (mid to high single-digit % org. growth) in m H1/18 H1/17 Q2/18 Q2/17 adj. EBITDA 354.5 317.2 183.3 170.1 yoy change Depreciation / amortization (excl. PPA) -101.1-65.9-51.7-33.6 adj. EBIT 253.4 251.3 131.5 136.5 Financial result -9.5-1.7-4.8-2.0 Taxes -74.6-80.1-38.3-43.0 adj. net income 169.3 169.5 88.4 91.5 thereof attributable to non-controlling interests 23.0 20.1 9.9 9.4 adj. eps 1 1.36 1.38 0.73 0.76 yoy change (reported / organic) -2.1% / -0.7% -4.4% / -3.2% Non-recurring effects 59.7-17.2 34.4-5.4 Depreciation / amortization, and impairments of PPA -47.1-52.6-29.1-21.3 Taxes attributable to these effects 3.7 17.3 7.3 5.0 Net income 185.6 116.9 100.9 69.6 Based on weighted average number of shares outstanding in H1/18: 107.9m (H1/17: 107.9m). 11.7% 7.8% 15
Net financial debt higher because of IFRS 16 increase in FCF in line with expectations Net financial debt of 1,416.5m 1 in June 2018 (leverage 1.9x 2 ) Free cash flow (FCF) in m 171.1 163.2 133.9 134.8 Impact of leasing liabilities on net financial debt Net financial debt includes leasing liabilities of 359.3m (PY: 0.4m), thereof 156.7m due to lease of Axel-Springer-Passage and high-rise headquarter in Berlin since January 1, 2018 Net financial debt less effects from leasing liabilities 1,057.2m Positive effects on cash flow going forward Net positive cash inflow of ~ 165m until 2020 from sale of new Berlin building (purchase price of 425m and tax payments of ~ 30m expected in Q4/19 and capex and sale related costs of ~ 230m in 2018-2020) H1/17 H1/18 H1/17 H1/18 FCF FCF excl. effects from headquarter real estate transactions Excl. pension liabilities. 2) Based on Bloomberg consensus for adj. EBITDA 2018. 16
Outlook 2018 unchanged on group level Reported Organic (adjusted for effects from the adoption of IFRS 16 as well as consolidation and FX effects) Revenues Low to mid single-digit % growth 1 Low to mid single-digit % growth 1 Group adj. EBITDA Low double-digit % growth Mid to high single-digit % growth adj. eps Low to mid single-digit % growth Mid to high single-digit % growth Revenue outlook based on 2017 revenues restated for negative effect of IFRS 15 adoption. 17
Segment outlook 2018: Increase of organic revenue guidance for classifieds media Classifieds Media Reported Organic (adjusted for effects from the adoption of IFRS 16 as well as consolidation and FX effects) Revenues Double-digit % growth Increased to: Low double-digit % growth 1 adj. EBITDA Double-digit % growth High single-digit to low double-digit % growth News Media Marketing Media Revenues Low to mid single-digit % decline Low single-digit % decline adj. EBITDA Mid single-digit % growth Low to mid single-digit % decline Revenues High single-digit % decline 2 High single-digit % growth 2 adj. EBITDA High single-digit % growth Low double-digit % growth Services/ Holding Revenues Mid single-digit % decline Mid single-digit % decline adj. EBITDA Low to mid single-digit % growth 3 Low to mid single-digit % growth 3 Previously: High single-digit to low double-digit % growth. 2) Revenue outlook based on 2017 revenues restated for negative effect of IFRS 15 adoption. 3) Improvement/smaller negative EBITDA. 18
Appendix
Organic revenue development digital media yoy H1/18 Q2/18 Q1/18 FY/17 FY16 FY15 FY14 Digital Media 9.4% 9.4% 9.5% 12.5% 10.7% 9.2% 7.6% Classifieds Media 11.3% 11.2% 11.3% 12.7% 12.5% 12.9% 9.8% Jobs 18.0% 17.2% 18.9% 17.0% 17.6% 21.2% 13.5% Real Estate 6.2% 6.0% 6.4% 10.8% 6.3% 4.8% 6.0% General/Other 4.2% 5.1% 3.4% 6.3% 9.7% 4.0% 9.8% News Media 12.5% 12.2% 12.8% 12.0% 14.7% 3.2% 8.4% National 8.4% 9.8% 6.9% 3.2% 17.4% 0.8% 11.5% International 16.8% 14.7% 19.2% 25.1% 9.4% 8.2% 4.2% Marketing Media 1.6% 1.2% 1.9% 12.4% 7.5% 9.2% 6.2% Reach Based -0.5% 0.6% -1.4% 12.0% 15.6% 13.6% 7.8% Performance Based 5.3% 2.1% 8.5% 12.7% 4.2% 7.7% 5.3% 20
Restructuring expenses in m H1/18 Q2/18 Q1/18 FY/17 Q4/17 Q3/17 Q2/17 Q1/17 Group 8.1 2.7 5.4 47.6 28.5 9.5 4.8 4.9 Classifieds Media 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 News Media 2.9 0.9 2.0 29.3 18.8 4.8 2.9 2.9 Marketing Media 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.2 Services/Holding 4.9 1.7 3.2 17.8 9.6 4.5 1.9 1.8 21
Overview News Media National and International News Media National News Media International in m H1/18 yoy org. 1 Q2/18 yoy org. 1 H1/18 yoy org. 1 Q2/18 yoy org. 1 Revenues 524.4-1.7% -2.4% 274.1-1.4% -1.9% 207.7 8.2% 11.7% 106.4 4.7% 8.9% thereof digital 135.5 11.6% 8.4% 70.3 12.1% 9.8% 130.5 13.4% 16.8% 67.5 10.4% 14.7% digital share of revenues 25.8% 25.7% 62.8% 63.4% Advertising 214.4 0.4% -1.7% 117.2-0.6% -1.8% 116.1 14.4% 16.4% 60.5 8.4% 11.2% Circulation 233.9-6.1% -6.1% 117.2-5.2% -5.2% 61.1-6.9% 0.8% 30.3-7.1% 0.2% Other 76.1 7.3% 8.1% 39.8 8.7% 8.7% 30.4 22.6% 20.3% 15.6 17.9% 19.8% adj. EBITDA 80.9-8.6% -15.0% 45.0-14.6% -19.3% 32.5 45.2% 27.2% 19.0 39.2% 26.7% Margin 15.4% -1.2pp 16.4% -2.5pp 15.7% 4.0pp 17.9% 4.4pp Adjusted for consolidation and FX effects, as well as IFRS 16 effects for adj. EBITDA. 22
Overview Marketing Media Subsegments Reach Based Marketing Performance Marketing in m H1/18 yoy org. 1 Q2/18 yoy org. 1 H1/18 yoy org. 1 Q2/18 yoy org. 1 Revenues 129.6-15.3% -0.5% 56.6-26.8% 0.6% 88.2 19.2% 5.3% 43.1 15.8% 2.1% Advertising 108.0-15.9% -3.6% 49.0-24.9% -3.2% 52.5 27.2% 4.0% 25.5 23.6% 0.9% Other 21.6-12.3% 19.6% 7.6-37.0% 38.5% 35.7 9.1% 7.0% 17.6 6.1% 3.6% adj. EBITDA 2 34.9 11.8% 20.5% 17.3-13.5% 1.5% 16.0 18.8% -16.3% 8.1 6.5% -24.2% Margin 27.0% 6.5pp 30.6% 4.7pp 18.1% -0.1pp 18.9% -1.6pp Adjusted for consolidation and FX effects, as well as IFRS 16 effects for adj. EBITDA. 2) Total adj. EBITDA includes costs of 4.2m in H1/18 and 4.3m in H1/17 (thereof business development, M&A and other), not allocated to the two pillars. 23
StepStone: Continued high organic revenue growth Operational update H1/18 Swedish employer branding specialist Universum acquired in Q2/18 Candidate delivery ahead of competition in nearly all areas The Partnership (Totaljobs and Jobsite) introduced in May 18: Joint offerings incl. crosspromotion of jobs Main market Continental Europe with customer number up 8% yoy, retention rate remains on a high level at 88% (-1pp yoy) Minor revenue recorded centrally is not presented 2) Combined adj. EBITDA of subgroups does not equal sub-segment as amongst others non-licensed product development costs of 4.6m in H1/18 and 8.0m in H1/17 are not recorded in operational subgroups 3) Adjusted for consolidation and FX effects, as well as IFRS 16 effects for adj. EBITDA. H1/18 Financials in m H1/18 H1/17 yoy organic 3) Revenues 279.5 230.5 21.3% 18.4% Continental 191.8 152.5 25.8% 24.6% UK 61.8 58.9 5.0% 7.4% SAON Group 20.2 18.8 7.2% 9.9% EBITDA 2) 98.6 90.3 9.1% 2.1% Continental 92.0 83.7 9.8% 6.1% UK 5.5 8.8-37.3% -52.4% SAON Group 5.7 5.8-2.5% -4.0% Margin 35.3% 39.2% -3.9pp Continental 47.9% 54.9% -7.0pp UK 8.9% 14.9% -6.0pp SAON Group 28.3% 31.1% -2.8pp 24
SeLoger margin decline due to consolidation of Logic-Immo Operational update H1/18 H1/18 Financials Closing of Logic-Immo acquisition in Q1/18 ARPA (incl. verticals) increases by 6% yoy to 758 # of professional listings on Seloger.com: 984k (Logic-Immo: 708k, pre deduplication) Unique users 2) of seloger.com up 2% to 5.9m, unique user of logic-immo +3% to 3.1m in m H1/18 H1/17 yoy org. 3) Revenues 103.9 69.5 49.5% 4.3% EBITDA 48.9 40.4 21.1% 6.9% Margin 47.1% 58.2% -11.1pp Source: autobiz; monthly listings, Jan-May/18 average 2) Source: Médiametrie (Jan-May/18 vs Jan-May/17) 3) Adjusted for consolidation and FX effects, as well as IFRS 16 effects for adj. EBITDA 25
Immowelt: Margin significantly up at 40% Operational update H1/18 H1/18 Financials ARPU increases by 11% yoy to 317 21.2k DUO customers Visits at 43.9m (+1% yoy) # of residential listings at 205k (+6%) yoy in m H1/18 H1/17 yoy org. 2) Revenues 58.2 54.3 7.3% 7.3% EBITDA 23.3 18.3 27.7% 23.7% Margin 40.1% 33.7% 6.4pp Source: company information; monthly visits/listings, H1 average 2) Adjusted for consolidation and FX effects, as well as IFRS 16 effects for adj. EBITDA 26
Immoweb with strong revenue growth and high margin Operational update H1/18 H1/18 Financials ARPA increases by 6% yoy to 544 # of listings up by 5% yoy to 151k Real visitors 2) slightly down by 1% with a monthly average of 1.6m 2018 in m H1/18 H1/17 yoy org. 3) Revenues 21.8 20.0 9.2% 8.9% EBITDA 14.1 13.1 8.0% 8.0% Margin 64.8% 65.5% -0.7pp Source: company information 2) Source: CIM 3) Adjusted for consolidation and FX effects, as well as IFRS 16 effects for adj. EBITDA 27
@Leisure with slow start to the year Operational update H1/18 H1/18 Financials Full service (Belvilla, Land & Leisure): pro forma booking value down by 10% yoy to 155m Self service (Traum-Ferienwohnungen): total listings 2) in Europe up 13% yoy to 83k in m H1/18 H1/17 yoy org. 3) Revenues 73.2 69.1 6.0% 2.7% EBITDA 17.1 14.9 14.5% 3.4% Margin 23.3% 21.6% 1.7pp Source: company information, H1/18 vs H1/17 2) Source: company information, 06/17 vs. 06/18 3) Adjusted for consolidation and FX effects, as well as IFRS 16 effects for adj. EBITDA 28
Yad2 with headwind from FX and slower organic growth due to difficult real estate market Operational update H1/18 H1/18 Financials # of listings: 412.3k (-4% yoy) Unique visitors slightly up by 12% to 2.4m (H1/17: 2.7m) Visits down by 7% to 11.3m (H1/17: 12.1m) in m H1/18 H1/17 yoy org. 2) Revenues 18.9 20.1-6.0% 1.1% Source: company information; monthly listings/uvs/visits 3) Adjusted for consolidation and FX effects 29
Car&Boat Media: Organic growth driven by ARPU increase Operational update H1/18 H1/18 Financials ARPU up by 10% yoy to 447 # of professional customers slightly (-1%) below prior year at 8.5k # of professional listings down by 2% yoy to 270k Unique visitors 2) up by 25% to 4.9m in m H1/18 H1/17 yoy org. 3) Revenues 31.3 29.5 6.2% 6.2% EBITDA 15.2 13.7 10.4% 7.2% Margin 48.4% 46.5% 1.8pp Source: company information; monthly, H1/18 average 2) Source: Mediametrie (Jan-May/18 vs Jan-May/17); Limited comparability of Jan-May/18 figures to prior-year period due to new methodology regarding the measurement of mobile traffic introduced by Mediametrie in H1/18 3) Adjusted for consolidation and FX effects, as well as IFRS 16 effects for adj. EBITDA 30
Investor Relations contacts Claudia Thomé Co-Head of Investor Relations Phone: +49 30 2591 77421 Mobile: +49 160 90445035 claudia.thome@axelspringer.de Daniel Fard-Yazdani Co-Head of Investor Relations Phone: +49 30 2591 77425 Mobile: +49 151 52844459 daniel.fard-yazdani@axelspringer.de Axel Springer SE: Axel-Springer-Str. 65, 10888 Berlin, Germany, Fax: +49 30 2591 77422 31