This week, CLIQ released solid preliminary FY'23 results, marked by a slightly softer-than-expected top and bottom line, but strong cash generation:

• Sales: FY'23 sales were up 18.2% yoy to € 326.4m (eNuW: € 331m), albeit below expectations due to a slower-than-expected revenue ramp-up, but solid overall, considering the rather demanding comps from FY'22, in which sales had grown 84% yoy to € 276m. Top line development was mainly driven by online advertising campaigns aimed at increasing the quality of the membership base. As a result, the company significantly increased the LTV per customer by 17% yoy to € 85, likely due to a heightened focus on bundled content.
• EBITDA: FY'23 EBITDA came in slightly lower than expected at € 50.3m (eNuW: € 53m) with the margin contracting by c. 40bps yoy to 15.4% (eNuW: 15.9%), largely driven by higher customer acquisition and marketing costs (higher ad prices) amounting to € 135m (+21% yoy) as well as one-off other operating expenses in Q4'23.
• Free cash flow:  Operating free cash flow amounted to € 18.6m, up 21% yoy, building up the already formidable net cash position by 60% yoy to c. € 16m (eNuW: € 17m), roughly in line with our expectations. CLIQ’s debt-free balance sheet and strong FCF generation should support its 40% payout ratio and ~10% dividend yield.

Growth drivers and 2024e outlook. Although sales are likely to be affected by a continued muted consumer sentiment, leading us to slightly adjust our FY24e sales estimates to c. € 401.5m (eNuW old: € 407.5m), EBITDA is still seen to come in at c. € 63m (eNuW old: € 63.4m) for the full year. Three drivers should contribute to this development: (1) The quality of the membership base is continuously improving with an LTV at € ~90 due to selling bundled content as opposed to single content, (2) further geographic expansion (e.g. Latin America and Asia), and (3) exploring B2B partnerships and intensifying affiliate marketing with trusted partners to position CLIQ as a unique D2C brand.

CLIQ remains a BUY with a changed PT of € 75.00 based on FCFY 24e.