Baltic Classifieds Group PLC (LSE:BCG) told investors it expects revenue growth to quicken to around 10% in 2027 after the online marketplaces operator held margins steady and used debt to accelerate shareholder returns.
Revenue rose 7% to €88.5 million in the year ended 30 April 2026, while EBITDA increased 7% to €68.6 million. The EBITDA margin was unchanged at 78%, underlining the high-margin profile of the group’s classifieds platforms across Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.
Operating profit climbed 13% to €60.4 million and profit for the year rose 14% to €50.9 million. Adjusted basic earnings per share increased 9% to 12.3 euro cents.
BCG returned €101.1 million to shareholders through buybacks and dividends during the year. The company repurchased 36.8 million shares for €82.9 million and said its board believed the share price undervalued the strength of the business model, cash generation and long-term growth prospects.
The buyback push lifted net debt to €46.2 million from €4.4 million, with leverage rising to 0.7 times EBITDA. BCG said €118 million had been drawn under its debt facility at the date of the announcement, with further facilities still available.
Real Estate was the strongest division, with revenue up 17% to €26.0 million, helped by pricing and packaging changes. Jobs & Services revenue rose 9% to €17.4 million, Generalist grew 3% to €13.6 million and Auto was broadly flat at €31.5 million as growth in business customers was offset by weaker consumer-to-consumer activity in Estonia.
The group said traffic averaged 57 million visits per month, equivalent to an average Baltic resident visiting one of its sites ten times each month. It added that visits from AI search remained negligible.
BCG said revenue growth in 2027 is expected to be slower in the first half and faster in the second, with Real Estate, Auto and Jobs seen as the main contributors. The group owns and operates 14 online classifieds portals across the Baltics.
In London, Baltic Classified shares fell 8.3% on Thursday, dropping to 184p.
