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Yandex Announces Second Quarter 2022 Financial Results
MOSCOW and AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands, July 26, 2022 -- Yandex (NASDAQ and MOEX: YNDX), one of Europe's largest internet companies, today announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022.
Q2 2022 Financial and Operational Highlights1,2
(1) Pursuant to SEC rules regarding convenience translations, Russian ruble (RUB) amounts have been translated into U.S. dollars in this release at a rate of RUB 51.1580 to $1.00, the official exchange rate quoted as of June 30, 2022 by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. (2) The following measures presented in this release are “non-GAAP financial measures”: ex-TAC revenues, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin and adjusted net income. Please see the section “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for a discussion of how we define these measures, as well as reconciliations at the end of this release of each of these measures to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measures. (3) GMV (or gross merchandise value) of Mobility is defined as the total amount paid by customers for ride-hailing, car-sharing and scooters rent services booked through our platform, including VAT. (4) GMV of E-commerce is defined as the value of all merchandise sold through our Yandex Market marketplace and Yandex Lavka as well as the value of products sold through Yandex Eats grocery service (delivered and paid for), including VAT. (5) GMV of other O2O (online-to-offline) services includes the total amount paid by customers and partner businesses for Yandex Delivery services, the value of orders, delivered through Yandex Food Delivery service, Lavka Israel, and several other smaller O2O experiments, including VAT.
Financial outlook
Given that uncertainty concerning future geopolitical developments and the macro environment remains high, our visibility over the short- and medium-term is limited and we remain unable to provide any forward-looking outlook at this stage. We aim to remain transparent about the performance and key trends across our businesses with our quarterly Letter to Shareholders.
Corporate and Subsequent Events
Consolidated Results
The following table provides a summary of our key consolidated financial results for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2021 and 2022:
Our segment disclosure is provided in the Segment financial results section below. Cash, cash equivalents and term deposits as of June 30, 2022:
Segment financial results
Starting in Q2 2022, we introduced the following changes to our segments under which we reported our quarterly financial results previously, in order to better reflect operational structure of our businesses:
Search & Portal
Our Search and Portal segment includes Search, Geo, Yandex 360, Weather, News, Travel, Alice voice assistant and a number of other services offered in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Key operational trends:
Revenues increased by 31% and Revenues Ex-TAC grew by 34% year-on-year in Q2 2022. The growth was driven by solid trends in both the Yandex Advertising Network and our core search business (supported by further improvement of our search share, especially on iOS) with SMB (small and medium business) clients leading the growth. This solid performance was underpinned by the ongoing improvement in ad technologies and products (including for SMB) as well as market share gains resulting from the reallocation of advertising budgets on the back of the changes in competitive landscape. Adjusted EBITDA margin came to 55.6% in Q2 2022 significantly improving compared with 47.3% in Q2 2021. The key drivers behind the margin expansion were rigorous cost control and optimization of the volume and timing of certain operational expenses (in light of the overall group’s focus on cash preservation and stricter capital allocation) as well as a positive operating leverage effect driven by strong advertising revenue growth.
E-commerce, Mobility and Delivery
The E-commerce, Mobility and Delivery segment includes our transactional online-to-offline (O2O) businesses, which consist of (i) the mobility businesses, including ride-hailing in Russia and other countries across CIS and EMEA and Yandex Drive, our car-sharing business for both B2C and B2B and scooters; (ii) the E-commerce businesses in Russia and CIS, including Yandex Market, our multi-category e-commerce marketplace, Yandex Lavka Russia, our hyperlocal convenience store delivery service, and the grocery delivery service of Yandex Eats; and (iii) other O2O businesses, including Yandex Delivery, our last-mile logistics solution for individuals, enterprises and SMB; Yandex Eats Food Delivery, our ready-to-eat delivery service from restaurants; Lavka Israel, our hyperlocal convenience store delivery service; and several smaller experiments.
Key operational trends:
Yandex Market
Mobility
(6) An active buyer is a buyer who made at least 1 purchase in the last 12 months prior to the reporting date. (7) An active seller is a seller who made at least 1 sale in the last 1 month prior to the reporting date.
(8) Revenues related to sales of goods include revenues from Yandex Market 1P sales, revenues from Yandex Lavka 1P sales in Russia, where we use a first-party (1P) business model and act as a direct retailer, and excludes delivery fee revenues related to these businesses. (9) Commission and other e-commerce revenues include Yandex Market marketplace (3P) commission, delivery, service fee and advertising revenues of grocery delivery services of Yandex Eats, as well as delivery fee and advertising revenue of Yandex Lavka in Russia and other revenues.
The growth in GMV of Mobility reached 29% year-on-year in Q2 2022, driven by the similar increase in number of rides, driven by growth of rider base and their frequency. The growth in GMV of E-commerce reached 67% year-on-year in Q2 2022 affected by the higher focus on cash preservation this quarter as well as the normalization of the overall e-commerce market growth post peak demand in March 2022. The growth in GMV of other O2O services reached 56% year-on-year in Q2 2022, with Yandex Delivery, closely followed by Yandex Food Delivery service, being the largest contributors.
The E-commerce, Mobility and Delivery segment revenues increased by 53% year-on-year, mainly driven by Mobility and E-commerce services (where Yandex Lavka was the largest contributor to growth, followed by Yandex Market). Mobility revenues increased by 62%, driven by solid growth in rides and GMV in ride-hailing as well as by improvement in marketplace efficiency and driver supply. E-commerce revenues increased by 36% in Q2 2022 compared to Q2 2021. The slower-than-GMV revenue growth is primarily explained by the changes in 1P/3P revenue mix in Yandex Market (increase in the share of 3P GMV to 84% in Q2 2022 compared with 70% in Q2 2021). 1P revenues grew 20% year-on-year supported by the growth of Yandex Lavka (on the back of the controlled expansion in the number of dark stores in selected regions) and partly offset by a decrease in Yandex Market 1P sales (mostly as a result of planned strategy to preserve stock aimed at reduction of shortages in light of the increased complexity of the supply chain). Commission and other E-Commerce revenues grew by 109% due to 3P GMV growth and an improved effective take rate in Yandex Market. Other O2O services revenues delivered solid 80% year-on-year growth primarily driven by the growth of Yandex Delivery and Yandex Food Delivery, with Yandex Lavka Israel being the third largest contributor to the revenue growth.
Eliminations related to the E-commerce, Mobility and Delivery segment represent the eliminations of intercompany revenues between different businesses within the segment. The year-on-year dynamic was mainly attributed to a higher volume of E-commerce orders fulfilled by our Yandex Delivery business growing from a low base as well as the growing volume of Yandex Market orders delivered using our Yandex Drive fleet.
Adjusted EBITDA of E-commerce, Mobility and Delivery was RUB 2,139 million in Q2 2022 compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of RUB 9,062 million in Q2 2021. This significant increase in profitability was driven primarily by improvements in operational efficiency across most of the key businesses included in the segment, as well as a group-wide focus on cash generation and stricter cost control, which included a hiring freeze, optimization of marketing expenses and other overheads, among others.
Plus and Entertainment Services
The Plus and Entertainment Services segment includes our subscription service Yandex Plus, Yandex Music, Kinopoisk, Yandex Afisha and our production center Yandex Studio.
Key operational trends:
Plus and Entertainment Services revenues grew 50% in Q2 2022 compared with Q2 2021. The increase was primarily driven by the growth of subscription revenue on the back of the expanding base of paid subscribers and changes in tariff mix, as well as good performance in other revenue streams (including licensing and Afisha). Adjusted EBITDA loss of RUB 2.6 billion reflects the increase of the business growth to underpin expansion of the Yandex Plus subscriber base.
Classifieds
The Classifieds segment includes Auto.ru, Yandex Realty and Yandex Rent.
Classifieds revenues increased by 5% in Q2 2022 compared with Q2 2021. The positive growth was supported by improvements in our monetization strategies and value-added services, increased dealers’ retention as well as strong performance of Yandex Realty, which offset the adverse impact of the significant downturn on a new car market. Adjusted EBITDA amounted to RUB 0.5 billion in Q2 2022 compared with RUB 0.7 billion in Q2 2021 with margin decreasing 11 pp year-on-year as a result of the revenue growth deterioration, partially offset by the group-wide cost optimization.
Other Business Units and Initiatives
The Other Business Units and Initiatives segment includes our self-driving vehicles business (Yandex SDG), Zen, Yandex Cloud, Yandex Education, Devices, FinTech, Toloka, RouteQ and number of other experiments.
Other Business Units and Initiatives revenues increased 107% year-on-year in Q2 2022, driven mainly by Devices, Cloud and Education. Devices revenue increased 165% year-on-year to RUB 4.3 billion in Q2 2022 driven by solid demand for our smart devices, including the recently launched second generation of the flagship Yandex Station, supported by the gradual recovery of logistics and production in China after COVID-related lockdowns. Cloud revenue grew 207% year-on-year, which was driven by the increasing demand for Cloud services and solid improvement in our market share on the back of the product portfolio expansion and changing competitive landscape on the domestic market.
The adjusted EBITDA loss amounted to RUB 2.9 billion (including RUB 1.5 billion investments on SDG), compared to RUB 2.8 billion in Q2 2021. The segment demonstrated a material improvement of relative losses as a percentage of revenue primarily driven by solid performance in Cloud and Devices, which have now both reached positive Adjusted EBITDA for the first time.
Eliminations
Eliminations related to our revenues represent the elimination of transactions between the reportable segments, including advertising revenues, intercompany revenues related to brand royalties, data centers, devices intercompany sales and others.
Eliminations related to our revenues increased 44% in Q2 2022 compared with Q2 2021. The increase was mainly attributed to the intercompany revenue in Search and Portal (related to cross service advertising and marketing activities, data centers rent paid by business units and brand royalties).
Consolidated Operating Costs and Expenses
Our operating costs and expenses consist of cost of revenues, product development expenses, sales, general and administrative expenses (SG&A), and depreciation and amortization expenses (D&A). Apart from D&A, each of the above expense categories include personnel-related costs and expenses, relevant office space rental, and related share-based compensation expenses. Increases across all cost categories reflect investments in overall growth. In Q2 2022, our headcount decreased by 191 full-time employees. The total number of full-time employees was 18,870 as of June 30, 2022, down by 1% compared with March 31, 2022, and up 27% from June 30, 2021. The decrease primarily reflected the hiring freeze that we implemented during the quarter as a result of our focus on stricter budgeting and cost control due to the high level of uncertainty in the macro environment. The employee turnover remained at a normal level during Q2 2022.
Operating Expenses
Total operating expenses increased 27% in Q2 2022 compared with Q2 2021, decelerating from 45% year-on-year growth in Q1 2022. The increase was mainly due to personnel expenses and headcount growth across most of our business units attributed to the growth of the business, сost of revenues related to E-commerce, Mobility and Delivery businesses and Plus and Entertainment services, partially mitigated by the optimization of advertising and performance marketing activities.
TAC grew 18% in Q2 2022 compared with Q2 2021 and represented 6.2% of total revenues, down 142 basis points compared with Q2 2021. The year-on-year dynamic of TAC as a share of revenue was primarily driven by a decrease in the share of advertising revenues as a percentage of total revenues as well as the optimization of TAC rates.
Total SBC expenses increased 34% in Q2 2022 compared with Q2 2021. The growth was primarily related to settlement of Business Unit Equity Awards in cash, which led to additional cost recognized immediately in Q2 2022. As disclosed in our Annual Report, in light of the current geopolitical and macroeconomic crisis and suspension of trading in our Class A shares on Nasdaq, our Board of Directors approved an amendment of our outstanding equity incentive awards. Accordingly, during the remainder of 2022 participants will receive cash compensation on the vesting dates of the relevant equity awards, in an amount equal to the target value of each tranche of such awards.
Income/(loss) from operations
Income from operations amounted to RUB 8.7 billion in Q2 2022 compared to loss from operations of RUB 4.7 billion in Q2 2021. The increase of the income reflects the improvement of Adjusted EBITDA to RUB 25.7 billion from RUB 5.8 billion in Q2 2021 on the back of the increased operational efficiency and stricter cost control across the group.
Other income/(loss), net for Q2 2022 was loss of RUB 6,105 million, down from income of RUB 230 million in Q2 2021. Other income/(loss), net includes foreign exchange losses in the amount of RUB 5,903 million and RUB 555 million in Q2 2022 and Q2 2021 respectively. The increase of foreign exchange losses reflects the appreciation of Russian ruble against to US dollar by 64% and 5% during Q2 2022 and Q2 2021 respectively.
Income tax expense for Q2 2022 was RUB 3,732 million, up from RUB 485 million in Q2 2021. Our effective tax rate in Q2 2022 was positive of 31.7% compared to negative tax rate of 11.6% in Q2 2021. If we remove the effects of deferred tax asset valuation allowances, SBC expense, tax on dividends, tax provisions recognized, tax effects on debt relief income exemption and permanent difference both related to restructuring of convertible debt, our effective tax rate for Q2 2022 was 20.5%, compared to 21.3% for Q2 2021 as adjusted for similar effects, except of those related to restructuring of convertible debt. The change in the tax rate without above-mentioned effects was primarily driven by the permanent difference between US GAAP and tax accounting in the books of certain of our subsidiaries and reduced tax rate in certain Russian subsidiaries.
Net income was RUB 8.1 billion in Q2 2022, compared with net loss of RUB 4.7 billion in Q2 2021. The changes were mainly attributable to significant growth of operational profitability, as well as a gain on restructuring of our convertible debt in Q2 2022 which were partly offset by growth of foreign exchange losses and income taxes.
Net cash flow from operating activities for Q2 2022 was RUB 20.9 billion ($408.1 million) and capital expenditures were RUB 7.7 billion ($150.6 million).
The total number of shares issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2022 was 358,940,491, including 323,241,816 Class A shares, 35,698,674 Class B shares, and one Priority share and excluding 558,663 Class A shares held in treasury and all Class C shares outstanding solely as a result of the conversion of Class B shares into Class A shares. Any such Class C shares will be cancelled.
There were also employee share options outstanding to purchase up to an additional 2.9 million shares, at a weighted average exercise price of $44.32 per share, 2.1 million of which were fully vested; equity-settled share appreciation rights (SARs) for 0.1 million shares, at a weighted average measurement price of $32.85, all of which were fully vested; restricted share units (RSUs) covering 12.6 million shares, of which RSUs to acquire 6.2 million shares were fully vested; performance share units (PSUs) for 0.3 million shares; synthetic options for 2.0 million, 0.7 million of which were fully vested; Business Unit Equity Awards for 1.9 million, 1.2 million of which were fully vested.
Impact of the current geopolitical crisis
Current geopolitical tensions and their impact on the Russian and global economy have created an exceptionally challenging environment for our business and our team.
These developments have adversely impacted (and may in the future materially adversely impact) the macroeconomic climate in Russia, resulting in significant volatility of the ruble, currency controls, materially increased interest rates and inflation and a potential contraction in consumer spending, as well as the withdrawal of foreign businesses and suppliers from the Russian market. We provided detailed information on our risk exposure and possible adverse impacts on our businesses in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021, which was filed April 20, 2022.
We continue to provide services to our users and partners as usual. We are taking appropriate measures to conserve cash, consider our capital allocation and budget appropriately during this period of uncertainty, while remaining committed to continue investing in the development of our key businesses and services. We are closely monitoring sanctions and export control developments and the macroeconomic climate in Russia and we are assessing contingency plans to address potential developments. Our Board and management are focused on the wellbeing of our approximately 19,000 employees in Russia and abroad, while doing everything we can to safeguard the interests of our shareholders and other stakeholders.
With regards to our financial position as of June 30, 2022, our analysis of the effect from the current geopolitical crisis on goodwill and non-current assets shows no material impact.
ABOUT YANDEX
Yandex (NASDAQ and MOEX: YNDX) is a technology company registered in the Netherlands that builds intelligent products and services powered by machine learning. Our goal is to help consumers and businesses better navigate the online and offline world. Since 1997, we have delivered world-class, locally relevant search and navigation products, while also expanding into e-commerce, online entertainment, cloud computing and other markets to assist millions of consumers in Russia and a number of international markets. More information on Yandex can be found at https://ir.yandex/.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical facts, including, without limitation, statements regarding our future financial and business performance, our business and strategy and the impact of the current geopolitical and macroeconomic developments and of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic on our industry, business and financial results, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “guide,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “will” and similar expressions and their negatives are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted or implied by such statements, and our reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted or implied by such statements include, among others, macroeconomic and geopolitical developments affecting the Russian economy or our business, changes in the political, legal and/or regulatory environment, the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and regulatory and business responses to that crisis, competitive pressures, changes in advertising patterns, changes in user preferences, technological developments, and our need to expend capital to accommodate the growth of the business, as well as those risks and uncertainties included under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021 and “Risk Factors” in the Shareholder Circular filed as Exhibit 99.2 to our Current Report on Form 6-K, which were filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 20, 2022 and November 18, 2019, respectively, and are available on our investor relations website at https://ir.yandex/sec-filings and on the SEC website at https://www.sec.gov/. All information in this release and in the attachments is as of July 26, 2022, and Yandex undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.
USE OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
To supplement the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, we present the following non-GAAP financial measures: ex-TAC revenues, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin and Adjusted net income. The presentation of these financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the tables captioned “Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest comparable U.S. GAAP measures”, included following the accompanying financial tables. We define the various non-GAAP financial measures we use as follows:
These non-GAAP financial measures are used by management for evaluating financial performance as well as decision-making. Management believes that these metrics reflect the organic, core operating performance of the company, and therefore are useful to analysts and investors in providing supplemental information that helps them understand, model and forecast the evolution of our operating business.
Although our management uses these non-GAAP financial measures for operational decision-making and considers these financial measures to be useful for analysts and investors, we recognize that there are a number of limitations related to such measures. In particular, it should be noted that several of these measures exclude some recurring costs, particularly share-based compensation. In addition, the components of the costs that we exclude in our calculation of the measures described above may differ from the components that our peer companies exclude when they report their results of operations.
Below we describe why we make particular adjustments to certain U.S. GAAP financial measures:
TAC
We believe that it may be useful for investors and analysts to review certain measures both in accordance with U.S. GAAP and net of the effect of TAC, which we view as comparable to sales bonuses but, unlike sales bonuses, are not deducted from U.S. GAAP revenues. By presenting revenue, net of TAC, we believe that investors and analysts are able to obtain a clearer picture of our business without the impact of the revenues we share with our partners.
SBC
SBC is a significant expense item, and an important part of our compensation and incentive programs. As it is highly dependent on our share price at the time of equity award grants, we believe that it is useful for investors and analysts to see certain financial measures excluding the impact of these charges in order to obtain a clearer picture of our operating performance.
Foreign exchange gains/(losses)
Because we hold significant assets and liabilities in currencies other than our Russian ruble operating currency, and because foreign exchange fluctuations are outside of our operational control, we believe that it is useful to present adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income and related margin measures excluding these effects, in order to provide greater clarity regarding our operating performance.
Amortization of debt discount and issuance costs
We also adjust net income/(loss) for interest expense representing amortization of the debt discount related to our convertible senior notes due 2025 issued in Q1 2020. We have eliminated this expense from adjusted net income as it is non-cash in nature and is not indicative of our ongoing operating performance.
Expenses related to contingent consideration
We may incur expenses in connection with acquisitions that are not indicative of our recurring core operating performance. In particular, we are required under U.S. GAAP to accrue as an expense the contingent compensation that is payable to certain employees in connection with certain business combinations. We eliminate these acquisition-related expenses from adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income to provide management and investors a tool for comparing on a period-to-period basis our operating performance in the ordinary course of operations.
Goodwill and other intangible assets impairment
Adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA for Q2 2022 exclude a loss from intangible assets impairment related to E-commerce, Mobility and Delivery business of RUB 2,740 million (the amount of excess of fair value of intangible assets over its carrying value) and related income tax gain of RUB 548 million.
Gain on restructuring of convertible debt
Adjusted net income, adjusted EBITDA and related margin measures for Q2 2022 exclude gain on restructuring of our convertible debt. Adjusted net income for Q2 2022 and its margin measures also exclude income tax attributable to this gain. In June 2022, Yandex completed the purchase of 93.2% in aggregate principal amount of its $1.25 billion 0.75% Convertible Notes due 2025 and provided with a call option giving a right to redeem all remaining Notes ending on September 12, 2022. As a result of the restructuring, a gain in the amount of RUB 9,305 million and a related income tax expense in the amount of RUB 751 million were recognized.
The tables at the end of this release provide detailed reconciliations of each non-GAAP financial measure we use from the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure. YANDEX N.V. Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (in millions of Russian rubles and U.S. dollars, except share and per share data)
* Derived from audited consolidated financial statements YANDEX N.V.
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in millions of Russian rubles and U.S. dollars, except share and per share data)
YANDEX N.V.
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in millions of Russian rubles and U.S. dollars)
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Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in millions of Russian rubles and U.S. dollars)
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RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES TO THE NEAREST COMPARABLE U.S. GAAP MEASURES
Reconciliation of Ex-TAC Revenues to U.S. GAAP Revenues
Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to U.S. GAAP Net Income/(loss)
Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income to U.S. GAAP Net Income/(loss)
Contacts:
Investor Relations Yulia Gerasimova Phone: +7 495 974-35-38 E-mail: askIR@yandex-team.ru
Media Relations Ilya Grabovskiy Phone: +7 495 739-70-00 E-mail: pr@yandex-team.ru
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