NEW WORK SE increases Q1 revenues despite effects of coronavirus

• B2B E-Recruiting segment grows 24 per cent 
• CEO Vollmoeller: “Business remains stable during coronavirus crisis”
• NEW WORK SE brands offer members, users and customers a wide range of support during coronavirus situation

Hamburg, 7 May 2020 – NEW WORK SE (formerly XING SE), which also operates the XING and kununu platforms, today reported its figures for the first quarter of 2020. Despite the considerable effects of the coronavirus pandemic on B2B new customer acquisitions, NEW WORK SE reported revenue growth of 10 per cent, up from €62.6 million in Q1 2019 to €68.9 million in Q1 2020. Following adjustment for the Honeypot GmbH acquisition in 2019, this equates to growth of 9 per cent. 

B2B E-Recruiting segment grows 24 per cent

NEW WORK SE also saw its main revenue-generating segments grow during the first quarter. While B2C revenues rose by 2 per cent, the B2B E-Recruiting segment climbed 24 per cent (22 per cent when excluding Honeypot) in spite of the major downturn as a result of the coronavirus pandemic in March. The B2B Marketing Solutions & Events segment also felt the effects of the coronavirus situation, with advertising clients reducing their spending on XING and many other providers. On top of this, authorities the world over have required organisers to cancel events. As expected under these circumstances, revenues in this segment were down by around 25 per cent, dropping from €6.1 million in Q1 2019 to €4.6 million in Q1 2020.  

Despite major growth in the company’s operational business, the reported EBITDA of €15.9 million decreased by around 10 per cent YoY (€17.7 million in Q1 2019) as a result of one-off negative effects in Q1 2020 and one-off positive effects in 2019. Following adjustment for special effects, the pro forma EBITDA grew by 12 per cent from €16.9 million in Q1 2019 to €18.8 million in Q1 2020. In light of this, the pro forma group profit actually increased by 29 per cent from €7.0 million (Q1 2019) to €9.0 million (Q1 2020).

CEO Vollmoeller: “Business remains stable during coronavirus crisis”

CEO Thomas Vollmoeller said: “Naturally we’re also feeling the effects of the pandemic, and this is particularly the case with our E-Recruiting new customer acquisitions, as well as with marketing and events. Nevertheless, our business remains stable during the coronavirus crisis as our existing B2C and B2B models are all based on prepaid subscriptions. We anticipate a more moderate pace in customer acquisitions over the coming months, but the medium and long term trends underpinning our activities remain intact.” Estimates show that the working population in Germany is set to decline by 4 to 6 million people by 2035, which is set to drive demand for knowledge workers in the future. NEW WORK SE is well positioned to help companies hire the right people thanks to its cost-effective products. 

During the first quarter, XING, the largest online business network in German-speaking countries, saw its membership figures grow by 478,000 to 17.7 million. At present, XING has around 18 million registered members. The new XING Premium was launched on 24 March 2020, with exclusive offerings including a personal strengths analysis and digital training courses, along with revised technical solutions that deliver greater profile visibility on the platform. In addition, Premium members can now tailor their skills and overall presence on XING to match typical searches run by recruiters and HR decision-makers. March 2020 saw a sharp rise in platform interaction levels, with clicks on news items and the number of active news users growing clearly by double digit. Also in March, XING started publishing coronavirus hacks to provide members with tips and tricks on coping with the pandemic.

kununu, the original company review platform, also developed strongly during the quarter under review. The number of Workplace Insights from the DACH region (consisting of company ratings as well as salary and cultural information) grew by 50 per cent from 2.6 million to 3.9 million as of the end of Q1 2020. In addition, kununu launched a covid campaign to find out how employees rate their employers in terms of handling the crisis, and to share best practices with other companies.  

NEW WORK SE brands offer members, users and customers a wide range of support during coronavirus situation

NEW WORK SE is about to launch the NEW WORK ARBEITGEBERSIEGEL (employer seal of approval) with scientific analysis provided by HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management. This seal of approval is awarded to companies offering an employee-centric working environment where staff are given free rein to unleash their potential. It serves as a guide for managers, employees and jobseekers, while also bringing the many facets of New Work to the fore. CEO Vollmoeller added: “This seal of approval is special because it’s the first time that companies are being assessed in line with quantifiable New Work criteria, backed up by scientific analysis performed by HHL and incorporating employee opinions from our kununu platform.”

Vollmoeller also said: “The coronavirus pandemic is having a huge impact on people’s lives and the economy. Some of our members and users are working under challenging conditions, or may have been furloughed or even made redundant. At the same time, many of our corporate clients are reporting significant revenue losses and are extremely concerned about the future. In view of this, many of our brands have taken action to help customers during these very difficult times.”

Here is an overview of the action taken:

• XING and HalloFreelancer launched a campaign called #WirHelfenFreelancern (we help freelancers). Here, companies can buy vouchers for freelancer services to be redeemed at a later time so freelancers still have a source of income during the coronavirus lockdown. 
• XING News: More than 400 experts post articles almost on a daily basis, explaining how to navigate the uncertainties of the coronavirus crisis. The XING News editorial team has also created a coronavirus hacks section where it collates and serves the best articles and advice. 
• The Covid Employer Transparency Ticker was introduced as part of the kununu covid campaign to promote collaboration between employers and employees, particularly during times of crisis. Employees can use the ticker to anonymously rate their employers in terms of how they’re handling the coronavirus situation. To date, over 35,000 people have submitted a rating.
• XING introduced a group called Mitarbeitertausch by XING (employee exchange) where furloughed workers are connected with companies in urgent need of staff to meet increased demand. Here, XING delivers the platform along with assistance on how to handle the formalities and practicalities of working at a different company.
• XING E-Recruiting provides free jobs ads to essential medical institutions urgently looking to hire staff. The XING TalentpoolManager is also free of charge during the pandemic, while the XING TalentManager offers a 30-day trial so companies have the opportunity to target potential new hires. In addition, every XING E-Recruiting 360° customer is entitled to consulting sessions in the form of webinars, online training or one-to-one sessions aimed at recruiting and employer branding during the coronavirus crisis.
• XING Events launched a local campaign called “Stay at home, meet online”, which is aimed at promoting online events. The XING Events team are using the hashtag #StayAtHome to encourage people to organise and to sign up to online events. 

About NEW WORK SE 

The NEW WORK SE Group builds upon the XING SE success story by offering brands, products and services that foster a more fulfilling world of work. Founded by Lars Hinrichs as the OpenBC professional network, the company was renamed XING in 2006. In 2019, the company was renamed again to New Work SE as a reflection of its commitment to a better working world and to bring all of its business activities under the umbrella of New Work. The company has been listed on the stock exchange since 2006. NEW WORK SE is a central leadership and management holding, serving as a service department for its subsidiaries. The Group is headquartered in Hamburg and currently employs 1,900 people at offices including Munich, Vienna and Porto. Visit https://new-work.se and https://nwx.new-work.se/ for more information.