Allegro posts 24% profit growth but trims GMV outlook on slow winter demand

Investing.com -- Poland’s dominant e-commerce marketplace Allegro .eu (WA:ALEP) on Thursday delivered accelerating profitability in Q3 with adjusted EBITDA surging 24% year-over-year to PLN 910.9 million, though the Luxembourg-based company trimmed its full-year GMV guidance citing sluggish early winter shopping activity.

Group GMV rose 9.8% to PLN 16.97 billion while revenue climbed 12.2% to PLN 2.94 billion. 

The marketplace operator now expects Polish GMV of PLN 66.5-67.1 billion for 2025, down from its prior PLN 66.1-66.5 billion target, after November growth slowed to low single digits from October’s above 10% pace.

The core Polish business generated PLN 16.23 billion in GMV, up 10.4%, significantly outpacing Poland’s 4.7% retail sales growth.

Revenue jumped 20.2% to PLN 2.75 billion as the take rate expanded 0.47 percentage points to 12.98%, driven by March co-financing adjustments. 

Adjusted EBITDA reached PLN 1.04 billion, up 17.2%, with margins hitting a record 6.38% of GMV despite delivery costs rising 28.5% year-over-year.

The platform added 300,000 Polish active buyers to reach 15.2 million, while annual spending per buyer increased 7.9% to PLN 4,262. 

Items sold grew 11.2% even as average selling prices declined 1.2% due to category mix shifts toward high-frequency, lower-priced goods.

Advertising revenue surged 31.8% to reach 2.1% of GMV, fueled by 24% higher cost-per-click pricing and algorithm optimizations. The fintech arm Allegro Pay originated PLN 3.4 billion in loans, up 27.1%, financing 15.5% of GMV. Self-funded loans reached 59% of originations, driving other operating income up 202% to PLN 63.2 million.

The online retailer’s automated parcel machine network surpassed 7,000 locations, targeting 8,000 by year-end. Allegro-managed volumes reached 36% of parcels after integrating DPD into its Allegro Delivery program, now spanning 33,000 lockers and 37,000 pickup points.

International marketplaces in Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary added 1.4 million buyers to reach 4.2 million, with GMV climbing 56%. 

However, the reconfigured Allegro International Segment, now including legacy Mall North operations, posted PLN 599 million GMV, down 3.5%, as the shuttered Mall business wound down. 

Revenue fell 58.5% to PLN 111 million while adjusted EBITDA losses narrowed 22.7% to PLN 114.1 million, improving to 19.0% of GMV from 23.8% previously.

Mall South operations in Croatia and Slovenia generated PLN 105 million revenue on PLN 139 million GMV. Combined International Operations reported 5.9 million active buyers and PLN 738 million revenue with adjusted EBITDA losses of PLN 123.8 million.

Group leverage rose to 1.05x from 0.95x after the e-commerce platform repurchased 3.7% of shares for PLN 1.4 billion at PLN 35.95 per share. 

Cash conversion reached 74.9% as capex climbed 26% to PLN 229 million, with year-to-date Polish capex at 20.5% of adjusted EBITDA.

The marketplace operator launched an AI shopping assistant on mobile apps and partnered with PKO BP bank to offer one-click payments with 3% cashback and merchant financing up to PLN 300,000 with three-minute approvals.