Global Blue Reports 9M FY24/25 Financial Results With Double-digit Growth

• Strong YoY growth in Group 9M Revenue of 20% to €381m, with a 34% increase in Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ to €154m

• Solid improvement in 9M Adjusted EBITDA margin of 4.2pts to 40.4% and a 61% drop-through⁽²⁾

• Continued increase in LTM Adjusted EBITDA to €188m vs. €175m in the previous quarter

• Reiterating financial guidance⁽³⁾ for FY24/25 Adjusted EBITDA of €185 - 205m, expecting to achieve towards the top half of the range

• Strategic milestone reached with the announcement of the acquisition of Global Blue by Shift4 on February 18, 2025

Global Blue Group Holding AG (NYSE:GB) today announces its financial results for the third quarter and nine month period ended December 31, 2024.

Global Blue's CEO, Jacques Stern, commented:

"We are pleased to report a strong 9M performance with 20% revenue growth, in line with Sales-in-Store growth. Once again, we have significantly outperformed the luxury market thanks to our unique exposure to high net worth and affluent shoppers.

"This strong growth, combined with our high operating leverage, led to a 34% increase in Adjusted EBITDA and a 4.2pt increase in margin, resulting in LTM Adjusted EBITDA rising to €188 million, a €24 million improvement over the last three quarters.

"Given this strong performance, we expect to achieve towards the top half of our financial guidance for FY24/25 Adjusted EBITDA of €185 - 205 million.

"Furthermore, on February 18, 2025, we reached a significant milestone in our journey when we announced the acquisition of Global Blue by Shift4. The transaction consideration equates to a ~$2.5 billion enterprise value (~13x CY2024 Adjusted EBITDA) and is expected to close by the third quarter of calendar year 2025".

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Shift4 acquisition Global Blue

On February 16, 2025, Global Blue and Shift4 entered into a definitive agreement under which Shfit4, will acquire 100% of Global Blue shares.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Shift4 intends to acquire Global Blue for $7.50 per common share in cash, representing a 15% premium to Global Blue's closing share price as of February 14, 2025, through a tender offer and a subsequent statutory merger. Shift4 intends to acquire Global Blue's Series A Preferred shares at $10.00 per preferred share and Series B Preferred shares at $11.81 per preferred share.

The acquisition has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of Shift4 and Global Blue, and the board of directors of Global Blue has unanimously resolved that it will recommend to the Global Blue shareholders to accept the tender offer. The transaction is expected to close by the third quarter of calendar year 2025, subject to regulatory approvals, other customary closing conditions, and a minimum tender of 90% of Global Blue's issued and outstanding common shares and preferred shares on a combined basis.

Strong financial performance

In Q3 FY24/25, the Group achieved 20% year-over-year revenue growth, to €131 million and 31% year-over-year Adjusted EBITDA growth to €52 million. For 9M FY24/25, this resulted in a 20% year-over-year increase in revenue to €381 million and a 34% year-over-year increase in Adjusted EBITDA to €154 million, with an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 40.4% and drop-through of 61%.

Furthermore, continued strong cash conversion significantly reduced the net leverage ratio⁽⁴⁾ to 2.6x at the end of December 2024, from 3.6x at the end of December 2023, approaching the Group's long-term target of <2.5x.

Repricing of Term Loan and Revolving Credit Facility

In December 2024, Global Blue successfully allocated the repricing of the Term Loan and Revolving Facility, reducing the interest rate margin on the Term Loan by 50 basis points from 3.75% p.a. to 3.25% p.a. In aggregate, over the last twelve months, Global Blue achieved a 175 basis points reduction in the Term Loan margin to 3.25% p.a.

Financial Guidance

Reflecting the strong performance in the period, and notwithstanding the additional €5 million of fixed costs to accelerate investments in future growth initiatives, Global Blue reiterated its financial guidance for FY24/25 Adjusted EBITDA of €185 - 205 million and expects to achieve towards the top half of this range.

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

Q3 FY24/25 Financial Performance

Revenue

The Group delivered revenue of €131.4 million, a 20% year-over-year increase, driven by a solid performance across all business lines.

Tax Free Shopping Solutions delivered revenue growth of 22% year-over-year, reaching €97.8 million, benefiting from strong progression of Sales-in-Store⁽⁶⁾. Continental Europe reached €81.6 million, a 20% increase, while Asia Pacific reached €16.2 million, a 32% increase.

Payments delivered revenue of €25.1 million, a 13% year-over-year increase, ahead of the 8% increase in Sales-in-Store, predominantly driven by pricing evolution.

Post-Purchase Solutions delivered revenue growth of 26% year-over-year, reaching €8.6 million, driven by a strong performance in the ZigZag business.

Contribution

Given the strong focus on variable cost optimization, the Group delivered a contribution of €101.4 million contribution, a 21% year-over-year increase, and maintained a high level of contribution margin with Tax-Free Shopping Solutions at 87%, FX Solutions at 94%, and Post-Purchase Solutions at 55%.

Adjusted EBITDA

Strong revenue growth together with Global Blue's high operating leverage profile resulted in an Adjusted EBITDA of €52.2 million, a 31% year-over-year increase. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by 3.4pts to 39.7%, with a 56% drop-through.

9M FY24/25 Financial Performance

Revenue

The Group delivered revenue of €381.1 million, a 20% year-over-year increase, driven by a particularly strong performance in Tax Free Shopping Solutions.

Tax Free Shopping Solutions delivered revenue of €290.8 million, a 24% year-over-year increase, benefiting from strong progression in Sales-in-Store. Revenue in Continental Europe reached €243.6 million, a 21% year-over-year increase, while revenue in Asia Pacific reached €47.2 million, a 43% year-over-year increase.

Payments delivered revenue of €68.8 million, a 12% year-over-year increase, ahead of the 6% growth in Sales-in-Store, driven by the increased margin on treasury gains and pricing evolution. Revenue in FX Solutions reached €33.3 million, a 7% year-over-year increase, while revenue in Acquiring reached €34.3 million, a 17% year-over-year increase, and revenue in the Hospitality Gateway business reached €1.3 million, a 32% year-over-year increase.

Post-Purchase Solutions delivered revenue of €21.5 million, a 5% year-over-year increase. Revenue growth was impacted by management's decision to move away from certain ZigZag carrier contracts.

Contribution

Given the strong focus on variable cost optimization, the Group delivered a contribution of €297.9 million, a 22% year-over-year increase, and maintained a high level of contribution margin with Tax Free Shopping Solutions at 86%, FX Solutions at 94% and Post-Purchase Solutions at 58%.

Adjusted EBITDA

The Group delivered Adjusted EBITDA of €153.9 million in 9M FY24/25, a 34% year-over-year increase, reflecting strong revenue growth and the high operating leverage profile of the business. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 4.2pts to 40.4%, with a 61% drop-through. Consequently, there has been a continued improvement in the LTM Adjusted EBITDA to €188 million, up from €175 million in the previous quarter.

Adjusted Profit before Tax

The Group delivered Adjusted Profit Before Tax of €73.9 million in 9M FY24/25, a 46% year-over-year increase. The strong growth reflects the increase in Adjusted EBITDA, partially offset by an €8.8 million increase in depreciation and amortization, largely attributed to increased capital expenditure in improving technology base over the last two years, and a €6.9 million increase in net finance costs due to higher interest expenses during the period.

Cash Flow, Balance Sheet, and Net Debt

Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditure increased by €30.5 million year-over-year to €117.3 million. This increase, combined with the normalization in Working Capital, and taking into account lease payments, interest and income tax, contributed to an increase in Free Cash Flow⁽⁷⁾ of €24.4 million to €55.3 million vs. €30.9 million in the same period last year.

As at December 31, 2024, Group Net Debt⁽⁸⁾ decreased to €488.2 million, consisting of Gross Financial Debt of €610.0 million and Cash & Cash Equivalents of €121.8 million, resulting in a net leverage ratio of 2.6x, a significant improvement from 3.6x at December 31, 2023.

Furthermore, in December 2024, the Group successfully allocated the repricing of the Term Loan and Revolving Facility, reducing the interest rate margin on the Term Loan by 50 basis points from 3.75% p.a. to 3.25% p.a. In aggregate, over the last twelve months, Global Blue achieved a 175 basis points reduction in the Term Loan margin to 3.25% p.a.

FINANCIAL GUIDANCE

Reflecting the strong performance in the period, and notwithstanding the additional €5 million of fixed costs to accelerate investments in future growth initiatives, Global Blue has reiterated its financial guidance for FY24/25 Adjusted EBITDA of €185 - 205 million and expects to achieve towards the top half of this range.

¹The table below provides a reconciliation between Profit and Adjusted EBITDA.

*Exceptional Items consist of items which Global Blue does not consider indicative of its ongoing operating and financial performance, not directly related to ordinary business operations and which are not included in the assessment of management performance.

²Drop-through refers to the portion of Revenue growth that drops through to the Adjusted EBITDA line.

³A reconciliation of the foregoing guidance for the non-IFRS metric of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss) cannot be provided without unreasonable effort because of the inherent difficulty of accurately forecasting the occurrence and financial impact of the various adjusting items necessary for such reconciliation that have not yet occurred, are out of our control, or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, the Company is unable to assess the probable significance of the unavailable information, which could have a material impact on its future IFRS financial results.

⁴Net Leverage refers to Net Debt divided by the last 12 months Adjusted EBITDA.

⁵Contribution refers to revenue less variable costs.

⁶Sales-in-Store refers to the Issued Sales-In-Store (Spend), like-for-like (at constant merchant scope and exchange rates).

⁷The table below provides a reconciliation of Free Cash Flow.

⁸The table below provide a reconciliation of net debt.

WEBCAST INFORMATION

An audio recording of commentary on the results, along with supplemental financial information, can be accessed via the Investor Relations section of the company's website at