StepStone ASA: Record profitability whilst growth accelerates

StepStone delivered record business growth, revenues and EBITDA in the 3rd quarter with both Online and Solutions continuing to gain new customers and grow market share.
A quarter that started strongly with continued momentum through to the end of September enabled StepStone to increase revenues by 90% year on year to ?25.4m. Profitability also accelerated in all parts of the business during the third quarter with operating margin increasing to 18% from 10%.

Demand for Total talent management and online recruitment solutions continued to be robust in all regions in which the company operated.

Online
All operations, from the Nordic countries, through central Europe and south into Italy, performed well over the summer months and continued to focus on gaining market share and increasing profitability.

The Online business grew 70% - of which 65% was organic - compared to the same period last year. Quarterly revenues rose to ?15.3m. EBITDA margins improved by 6% to 30% reflecting the return on the investments made earlier in the year in sales and marketing.

Solutions
Solutions maintained its rapid growth. Ninety new customers signed contracts in the quarter, leading to a record amount of monthly recurring fees being contracted during the quarter.

Revenue increased 132% to ?10.1m for the third quarter. In addition, future revenue was enhanced with ?2m of potential ETWeb licence revenue being transitioned into future subscriptions. At the same time as delivering substantial revenue growth, the Solutions business also increased its EBITDA margin by 2% to 13%.

Outlook
StepStone continues to deliver positive results. Both lines of business performed strongly through the traditionally slower summer period. Encouraging market conditions and a solid programme of increased investment position the company well for the coming months, where we expect to see continued strong demand for our products and services.

The Board believes that the momentum and growth achieved in the first three quarters of the year is set to continue through the fourth quarter.