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Introduction & Market Context
Bike24 Holding AG (ETR:BIKE) reported a strong start to 2025, with Q1 revenue increasing by 18% year-over-year, continuing the growth momentum seen in the previous quarter. The company’s shares rose 3.9% to €2.13 following the May 2 earnings presentation, reflecting investor confidence in the company’s performance and outlook.
This acceleration in growth comes after a challenging period for the bicycle industry, with Bike24 now showing four consecutive quarters of improving growth rates. The company has successfully executed its strategy of focusing on the bike enthusiast segment while implementing cost-saving measures to return to profitability.
Quarterly Performance Highlights
Bike24’s Q1 2025 revenue reached €58.0 million, up 18% from €49.3 million in Q1 2024. This growth rate represents a significant acceleration from the 7% growth reported in Q4 2024, indicating that the company’s turnaround strategy is gaining traction.
As shown in the following chart of quarterly revenue growth, Bike24 has demonstrated consistent improvement in growth rates over the past five quarters:
The company also achieved a positive adjusted EBITDA margin of 1.0% in Q1 2025, a substantial improvement from the -3.0% margin in the same period last year. This 4.0 percentage point improvement reflects both revenue growth and the impact of cost-cutting measures implemented in late 2024.
Product Category Performance
Bike24’s growth was driven primarily by its Parts, Accessories, and Clothing (PAC) segment, which grew by 21% year-over-year to €48.3 million. The Fullbike segment also showed positive momentum, growing by 6% to €9.7 million despite challenging market conditions. This represents the highest first-quarter sales of full bikes in the company’s history.
The breakdown of revenue by category is illustrated in the following chart:
Geographic Performance
All of Bike24’s European markets showed significant growth in Q1 2025, with the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) leading the way with a 22% increase to €39.0 million. Localized Markets, which include countries like Benelux, France, and Spain, grew by 17% to €13.4 million, while the Rest of EEA increased by 10% to €4.4 million.
The only region showing a decline was Rest of World, which decreased by 32% to €1.2 million, likely reflecting the company’s strategic focus on its core European markets.
The following chart shows the revenue breakdown by geography:
In the DACH region, Bike24 saw an 18% increase in active customers to 208,000, while average revenue per customer increased by 4% to €187. Similarly, Localized Markets experienced a 19% growth in active customers to 86,100, though average revenue per customer decreased slightly by 1% to €156.
Financial Health and Cash Flow
Bike24 made significant progress in improving its financial health during Q1 2025. The company generated €4.1 million in free cash flow, a 34% increase compared to Q1 2024. This strong cash generation allowed Bike24 to reduce its bank loans by 21% year-over-year to €29.7 million.
The company’s improved cash flow generation is illustrated in the following chart:
Inventory management was another area of improvement, with total inventory reduced by 7% year-over-year to €66.2 million. This reduction, combined with other working capital improvements, led to an 18% decrease in net working capital to €41.0 million. The inventory reduction is particularly notable in the Bikes category, which decreased from €54.6 million to €49.8 million.
The following chart shows the inventory reduction:
Margin Improvement
Bike24’s profitability improvement was driven by several factors, including a slight increase in gross margin to 25.2% (+0.2pp), reduced performance marketing costs as a percentage of revenue to 1.2% (-0.1pp), and lower selling costs at 8.7% (-0.3pp). The most significant improvement came from personnel expenses, which decreased from 13.6% to 10.4% of revenue, reflecting the workforce reduction implemented in November 2024.
The detailed income statement comparison is shown below:
Outlook and Guidance
Bike24 confirmed its guidance for fiscal year 2025, projecting revenue between €233 million and €242 million, and adjusted EBITDA between €7.0 million and €12.1 million. The company noted that April 2025 performance has been promising, with double-digit sales growth continuing the positive momentum from Q1.
The guidance is based on expectations of revenue growth in every quarter of 2025, with improved adjusted EBITDA driven by operating leverage and additional cost savings. However, the company cautioned that this outlook assumes no significant deterioration in the macroeconomic environment or consumer sentiment.
As shown in the following guidance slide:
Summary and Key Takeaways
Bike24’s Q1 2025 results demonstrate a clear trend reversal with accelerating sales growth and a return to profitability. The company has successfully grown in all European markets, with particularly strong performance in the DACH region. Inventory reduction and improved cash flow generation have strengthened the company’s financial position.
The key takeaways from the presentation are summarized in the following slide:
With continued double-digit growth in April and a confirmed positive outlook for 2025, Bike24 appears well-positioned to build on its Q1 momentum throughout the year, despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties.
Full presentation:
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