Truecaller: Strong year-end and more to come
Research Update
2025-02-19
07:20
Analyst Q&A
Closed
Anton Hoof answered 0 questions.
Redeye provides an update following Truecaller’s Q4 2024 report, which exceeded expectations across the board. Subscription revenues were the biggest surprise of the quarter, coming in ahead of both our and consensus estimates. With the launch of the new iOS product in late January, this segment is expected to attract even more attention in the coming quarters. Additionally, Truecaller will continue to benefit from easier comps, which should provide further support for the share price.
Anton Hoof
Jessica Grunewald
Truecaller ended 2024 on a strong note, reporting y/y growth of 23% while delivering an underlying EBITDA margin (excluding incentive costs) of 44%. Sales came in at SEK523m, 3% above both our and consensus estimates. Adj EBITDA amounted to SEK201m, corresponding to a margin of 38.5%, beating our and consensus estimates by 8% and 6%, respectively. Cash conversion remained strong, with operating cash flow reaching SEK182m, resulting in a cash position of SEK1,324m at the end of the quarter, leaving ample room for potential M&A, dividends and share buybacks.
Looking at various KPIs, it is evident that the growth is of high quality and that management is building Truecaller for the long term, with growth primarily driven by more users, higher engagement, and increased conversion to the premium product, rather than external factors such as higher ad prices. As such, if the company were to benefit from tailwinds in the underlying ad market, we could see a scenario of even more accelerated growth.
Following the report, we are making relatively small estimate revisions, leaving our 2025e sales estimate roughly unchanged while increasing our 2026e estimate by 3%. The changes are similar at the EBITDA level. The share price has maintained strong momentum recently, and with easier comps ahead, we believe this momentum can continue. However, the company trades at an FCFF yield of c2%, and it must continue to show solid growth to justify these levels. We increase our base case from SEK60 to SEK70 and our fair value range from SEK32–95 to SEK35–115.
Key Financials | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SEKm | 2023 | 2024 | 2025e | 2026e | 2027e |
Net Sales | 1,728.9 | 1,863.6 | 2,330.1 | 2,981.0 | 3,648.9 |
Sales Growth | -2.5% | 7.8% | 25.0% | 27.9% | 22.4% |
EBITDA | 702.9 | 684.4 | 926.1 | 1,222.6 | 1,564.6 |
EBIT | 657.7 | 632.3 | 879.9 | 1,177.9 | 1,517.1 |
EBIT Margin | 38.0% | 33.9% | 37.8% | 39.5% | 41.6% |
Net Income | 536.4 | 524.5 | 666.7 | 888.7 | 1,141.4 |
EV/Sales | 17.0 | 14.3 | 11.1 | 8.4 | 6.5 |
EV/EBIT | 44.7 | 42.0 | 29.4 | 21.2 | 15.7 |
P/E | 54.5 | 53.8 | 42.3 | 31.7 | 24.7 |
Truecaller ended 2024 on a strong note, with sales at SEK523m, a growth of 23% y/y, and 3% above both ours and consensus numbers. Ads and Truecaller for Business revenues were roughly in line with expectations, while subscription revenues were 6% and 10% better than ours and consensus estimates. EBITDA amounted to SEK201m, corresponding to an adj. EBITDA margin of 38.5%. This was 8% and 6% higher than ours and the consensus numbers.
Truecaller: Results outcome | |||||||||
Outcome | Redeye estimates | Consensus estimates | |||||||
SEKm | Q4 23 | Q1 24 | Q2 24 | Q3 24 | Q4 24 | Q4 24e | Q4 24e | vs Redeye | vs Consensus |
Ads | 318 | 318 | 332 | 323 | 372 | 361 | 360 | 3% | 3% |
Subscriptions | 56 | 58 | 64 | 67 | 78 | 73 | 71 | 6% | 10% |
TfB | 50 | 50 | 58 | 66 | 72 | 71 | 74 | 1% | -3% |
Other | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -31% | -38% |
Revenues | 425 | 427 | 456 | 457 | 523 | 507 | 507 | 3% | 3% |
Growth YoY | -4% | 10% | -12% | 15% | 23% | 19% | 19% | 4pp | 4pp |
Growth QoQ | 7% | 1% | 7% | 0% | 14% | 11% | 11% | 4pp | 3pp |
Gross profit | 323 | 323 | 344 | 352 | 403 | 388 | 384 | 4% | 5% |
Gross margin | 76% | 76% | 75% | 77% | 77% | 77% | 76% | 0.6pp | 1.1pp |
OPEX | -164 | -176 | -181 | -186 | -208 | -205 | -196 | 1% | 6% |
EBITDA adjusted | 169 | 151 | 165 | 167 | 201 | 186 | 190 | 8% | 6% |
EBITDA adj margin | 40% | 35% | 36% | 37% | 38% | 37% | 37% | 1.8pp | 1.0pp |
EBIT | 156 | 138 | 152 | 155 | 188 | 173 | 175 | 9% | 7% |
EBIT margin | 37% | 32% | 33% | 34% | 36% | 34% | 35% | 1.8pp | 1.3pp |
Net finance | 1 | 35 | 13 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 7 | 322% | 110% |
PTP | 157 | 174 | 165 | 158 | 203 | 176 | 182 | 15% | 11% |
Net income | 116 | 133 | 123 | 118 | 150 | 131 | 136 | 15% | 11% |
Ads revenue breakdown | |||||||||
DAU, million | 305 | 314 | 325 | 337 | 354 | 349 | 347 | 2% | 2% |
CPM, SEK | 0.83 | 0.75 | 0.69 | 0.67 | 0.62 | 0.70 | -11% | ||
DAIDAU | 13.8 | 14.8 | 16.3 | 15.7 | 18.6 | 16.2 | |||
Source: Company data (historical), Redeye (estimates) |
Disclosures and disclaimers