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- Strong growth in H1 2025 with Group revenue increasing by 14.4% vs. H1 2024 to CHF 161.5 million, driven by growth in all segments with particularly strong performance of the Automotive segment
- Increased profitability with Group Adj. EBITDA1 up by 34.3% vs. H1 2024 to CHF 87.6 million, while Adj. EBITDA margin improved by 8.1 percentage points to reach 54.3%
- SMG confirms FY2025 targets: revenue growth of 13 – 15% and a Group Adj. EBITDA margin approaching mid-50%s
Christoph Tonini, CEO of SMG Swiss Marketplace Group, commented: “We are delighted with our strong performance in the first half of the year. This success is the result of our team’s tireless efforts and our dedication to efficiency and innovation.
Switzerland’s steadily growing economy and population provide fertile ground for further growth, and SMG is well positioned to both benefit from and contribute to this development. Our success in the first half of the year leaves us confident that we are firmly on track to reach our 2025 targets. Looking ahead, we remain focused on driving sustainable and profitable growth.
We are constantly developing solutions that make our platforms more secure, more intuitive and more effective – for individuals and businesses alike. By focusing on relevance, trust and simplicity, we enable millions of people across Switzerland to find what they need faster, transact with greater confidence, and grow their businesses more successfully. This is how we deliver digital innovation – made in Switzerland, for Switzerland.”
In the first half of 2025, SMG Swiss Marketplace Group achieved a 14.4% increase in revenue compared to the first half of 2024, reaching CHF 161.5 million. Growth was led by particularly strong revenue growth in the Automotive segment, which increased by 19.1% compared to the H1 2024. Real Estate and General Marketplaces also demonstrated solid double-digit growth, up 12.5% and 11.2% respectively, reflecting the Group’s balanced momentum across its diversified portfolio of leading marketplaces.
SMG has also substantially improved its profitability. Group Adj. EBITDA rose by 34.3% to CHF 87.6 million. Group Adj. EBITDA margin improved to 54.3%, up 8.1 percentage points compared to the first half of 2024. This strong performance was primarily driven by robust revenue growth, amplified by operating leverage resulting from strategic growth initiatives and the successful implementation of efficiency measures in recent years, creating a scalable and efficient cost structure. Consequently Cash Conversion2 increased by 3.7 percentage points to 81.3%, or CHF 71.2 million. SMG’s Adj. Earnings After Tax (“EAT”) for the first half of 2025 increased by 31.4% relative to the prior year to CHF 56.8 million.
SMG has confirmed its 2025 targets, as initially disclosed on June 30, 2025, projecting revenue growth of 13 – 15% and a Group Adj. EBITDA margin approaching the mid-50s%.
Key Segment Highlights
Real Estate
In the first half of 2025 Real Estate achieved revenue growth of 12.5% to CHF 79.4 million and demonstrated improving profitability, with the Adj. EBITDA margin expanding by 9.8 percentage points to reach 59.7%. This performance was fueled by enhanced monetisation efforts and successful implementation of upselling strategies in Professional Classifieds. The ARPA (Average Revenue per Agency) rose to CHF 1,991, marking a 17.7% increase and reflecting improved value capture per customer. The average monthly number of agencies stood at 3,871, representing a 4.7% decline, mainly resulting from the package harmonisation implemented last year. This strategic initiative, designed to streamline SMG’s offerings and drive long-term value, temporarily elevated churn, particularly among smaller agencies, leading to a year-over-year decline in agent count; however, agency churn has normalised from Q2 2025 onwards. Other revenues5 also supported overall growth, while the introduction of a revised PPA (pay-per-ad) pricing logic in 2024 resulted in a significant uplift of average revenue per listing.
SMG also expanded its Tenant+ service, allowing subscribers to contact landlords up to seven days before listings go public and offering landlords access to credit-checked tenant profiles. Subscriber numbers more than doubled year-on-year, demonstrating strong demand and validating user willingness to pay for this service. Other introduced features for seekers include commute insights, EV charging locations, and improved listing filters. For business clients, SMG launched a new offering with Flatfox integrated into the core packages, enabling a fully digital rental process and reducing administrative efforts. AI-driven tools, such as automated property descriptions and two-factor authentication, further strengthened the platform, underscoring SMG’s position as a leader in digital real estate solutions.
Automotive
Automotive delivered the strongest growth momentum of SMG’s main segments in the first half of the year, with revenue increasing by 19.1% to CHF 39.6 million. The segment maintained a premium profitability profile, achieving an Adj. EBITDA margin of 67.5%, marking a significant 7.0 percentage points improvement year-on-year. This robust performance reflects the successful monetisation in Professional Classifieds, evidenced by an 18.1% increase in ARPD (Average Revenue per Dealer), which reached CHF 736. Growth was fueled by dynamic pricing, targeted upgrade and upsell campaigns, and low dealer churn. Average monthly dealer accounts rose 1.6% to 6,761, underlining the attractive value proposition of the platform. Other revenues6 also grew strongly in H1 2025, supported by value-based pricing and a redesigned insertion flow for PPA customers that encouraged longer listings.
AutoScout24 further developed its asset-light C2B platform during the first half of 2025, enabling private sellers to auction vehicles directly to dealers. The platform has facilitated over 2,000 car sales since launch in September 2024, highlighting strong market demand for this offering. This innovative solution reinforces SMG’s position as a digital pioneer in Switzerland’s automotive market. Additional platform enhancements like improved pricing tools, digital contracts for private sellers, and upgraded dealer pages further boost transaction efficiency and empower both private sellers and professional dealers.
General Marketplaces
General Marketplaces delivered strong performance in the first half of the year, with revenue increasing by 11.2% to CHF 37.3 million. Of this amount, 6.4 percentage points, or CHF 2.2 million, was attributable to a revision of terms with a shipping provider, which had a positive impact on gross revenue recognition but also related costs in 2025. On a like-for-like basis (i.e. excluding the effects of the revision), revenue growth was 4.8%. Backed by a scalable cost structure, Adj. EBITDA margin improved by 5.3 percentage points, reaching 46.3%. This growth was driven by solid momentum across both Transactional and Classifieds revenue streams and an increased take rate for Ricardo.
In the first half of 2025, Ricardo saw sustained user engagement and platform activity with year-on-year growth of inventory and transacting users. Despite this, GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) declined slightly by 1.5% to CHF 273.2 million, primarily due to the implementation of a new platform taxation law that came into force in January 2025, which mandates VAT collection from large sellers. The take rate for Ricardo increased by 0.5 percentage points to 9.2% driving Transactional revenue growth and resulting mainly from greater adoption of MoneyGuard, reflecting strong demand and enhanced monetisation while providing a secure transaction environment for second-hand goods. Within the classifieds platforms, SMG started PPA monetisation for vehicle listings, which also helped boost revenue.
Other
Revenue growth of 27.8% to CHF 5.8 million in the first half of 2025 was mainly driven by Finance & Insurance. Adj. EBITDA slightly improved by +2.4% to CHF -3.7 million, as margin improvement in Finance & Insurance offset higher group service costs. Revenue growth was fueled by the contribution from the Moneyland acquisition completed in July 2024 and continued organic expansion of the Finance & Insurance business. Vehicle insurance lead generation increased by 47.5% year-on-year, primarily driven by the growing adoption of the B2B2C product “PartnerHub.” Brokered loan volumes also saw a solid increase, supported by favorable interest rate trends and renewed momentum in consumer credit activity.
Divergence between TX Group and SMG disclosure
The figures reported by TX Group for SMG differ from those published by SMG. This is mainly due to three factors: (i) SMG presents adjusted key metrics used by management to assess business performance rather than IFRS-reported figures; (ii) a different valuation perspective was applied when the joint venture was established in 2021, which resulted in TX Group recognising higher amortisation of intangible assets identified through the purchase price allocation, as well as the related tax effects; and (iii) TX Group includes income from capitalised self-developed intangible assets in revenue, whereas SMG does not.
1 Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Adjusted EBITDA) is defined as profit / (loss) after tax excluding income tax, financial expense, financial income, depreciation, amortisation and impairment and adjustments related to: (i) share-based compensation, (ii) mergers and acquisitions, (iii) reorganisations, (iv) preparation of a potential initial public offering, and (v) selected IAS 19 pension components.
2 Defined as (Adj. EBITDA less Capex) / Adj. EBITDA
3 Incl. intra-group eliminations of CHF 561 thousand, related to revenue only
4 Adjusted earnings after tax (Adjusted EAT) is defined as profit / (loss) after tax, excluding the post-tax effects of amortisation and impairment of intangible assets recognised through purchase price allocations prior to, or arising from, the establishment of the Group in 2021. It also excludes the post-tax impact of adjustments related to: (i) share-based compensation, (ii) mergers and acquisitions, (iii) reorganisations, (iv) preparation of a potential initial public offering, (v) selected IAS 19 pension components and (vi) tax effects related to mergers, acquisitions and reorganisations.
5 Includes Other Classifieds, Services & Other, and Advertising revenues.
6 Includes Other Classifieds, Advertising, Services & Other, and Transactional revenues
Roswitha Brunner
Head Corporate Communication & Public Affairs
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