NEW WORK SE reports stable development in 2020 financial year

• Total (pro forma) revenues increase by 2 per cent to €276 million despite pandemic
• (Pro forma) EBITDA grows by 9 per cent to €92.3 million
• Executive Board to propose last year’s dividend of €2.59 per share at 2021 AGM

Hamburg, 24 February 2021 – NEW WORK SE (formerly XING SE) today published its preliminary unaudited figures for the 2020 fiscal year. The business has remained stable, despite the pandemic burdening the economy as a whole. Following the effects of acquiring Honeypot GmbH, NEW WORK SE’s adjusted pro forma revenues increased by 2 per cent to €276.0 million (FY 2019: €269.5 million), while the pro forma EBITDA for the period grew by around 9 per cent to €92.3 million (FY 2019 €84.7 million) and pro forma net profit rose by 4 per cent to €37.4 million (FY 2019: €35.8 million).

Revenues for the B2C segment came in at €102.7 million, almost reaching the same level as last year (€103.2 million). While revenues from paid XING memberships continued to grow, the effects of the pandemic were clearly reflected in revenues at InterNations, the world’s leading network for expats, due to social distancing requirements and bans on events. Despite tangible reluctance to enter into new transactions owing to the coronavirus pandemic, the B2B E-Recruiting segment saw pro forma revenues (excluding M&A effects) rise by 9 per cent to €153.4 million (FY 2019: €140.4 million). By contrast, the B2B Marketing Solutions & Events segment and its transactional business model saw a downturn amid the pandemic, with revenues in the company’s smallest segment shrinking by 23 per cent from €26.1 million in FY 2019 to €20.2 million in FY 2020.

CEO von Strombeck: “Resilient business model allows us to be positive about the future”

Petra von Strombeck, CEO at NEW WORK SE, said: “It comes as no surprise that we’re also feeling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Nevertheless, our resilient business model means that NEW WORK SE remains stable throughout these challenge times. Our revenues, EBITDA and profits continue to grow, and we met the forecast we issued in May 2020. Our overall outlook for the future is a positive one as the long-term trends our business is built upon – digitalisation, shifting demographics and changing values – remain intact and are even being intensified amid the current situation. We intend to invest in specific growth fields so we’re in an ideal position to move and deliver when the economy picks up again. Our non-financial KPIs also reflect our sustained growth momentum.”

In FY 2020, XING, the leading online business network in German-speaking countries, continued to report strong member growth as total membership climbed to around 19 million, up by some 1.8 million compared to FY 2019. Subsidiary kununu, a leading employer review platform in Europe, saw its workplace insights (company ratings and culture and salary data) grow to 4.6 million compared to 3.5 million in FY 2019. The insights offer jobseekers detailed, unfiltered information about what it’s like to work for a prospective employer.

In recent months, the XING editorial team has been busy expanding its portfolio. One such example involves the launch of ‘Zukunft.machen.’, a multimedia offering that covers key technological and societal change. In his weekly podcast series ‘work smart’, editor Stefan Mauer talks to insiders about the latest trends on the labour market. In addition, the XING News editorial team entered into a podcast cooperation with Harvard Business Manager, the German-language version of Harvard Business Review, where the two editors-in-chief talk to well-known faces from sport, entertainment, science and industry about self-management and leadership.

The company’s B2B segments have also continued to remain highly active. NEW WORK SE’s B2B subsidiaries attended Zukunft Personal, Europe’s leading HR trade fair, where they introduced a number of new products and services such as XING TalentService. This new service allows companies to put their candidate sourcing process in the capable hands of XING E-Recruiting’s specialists so they no longer have to hunt for candidates themselves. 

Following the cancellation of the in-person NEW WORK EXPERIENCE 2020 (NWX20) event, NWXnow was rolled out as an alternative opportunity to continue discussing the future of work digitally. NWX21 will take place online on 20 April 2021 under the motto ‘Make it work’. This event will host guests from industry, society, culture, science and human resources who will talk about the latest developments within the New Work movement, report on the status quo, and offer insights into the world of work we can expect once the pandemic is over.

Executive Board to propose last year’s dividend of €2.59 per share at 2021 AGM

The Executive Board has agreed to put forward to shareholders at the AGM on 19 May 2021 a proposal to pay the same dividend of €2.59 per share as was paid in 2020.

About NEW WORK SE 

The NEW WORK SE Group builds upon the XING SE success story by offering brands, products and services that foster a more fulfilling world of work. Founded by Lars Hinrichs as the OpenBC professional network, the company was renamed XING in 2006. In 2019, the company was renamed again to New Work SE as a reflection of its commitment to a better working world and to bring all of its business activities under the umbrella of New Work. The company has been listed on the stock exchange since 2006. NEW WORK SE is a central leadership and management holding, serving as a service department for its subsidiaries. The Group is headquartered in Hamburg and currently employs 1,900 people at offices including Munich, Vienna and Porto. Visit https://new-work.se and https://nwx.new-work.se/ for more information.