In 2010 the performance of Mail.ru Group, an LSE-listed Russian internet group, was remarkable in many respects, according to the financial results it released yesterday.
The group’s aggregate revenues grew to $324 million, a 64% increase from 2009 – or 58% excluding the impact of the ICQ acquisition completed in July 2010. Its net income was $76.7 million (up 27% from 2009, or 63% excluding the ICQ acquisition).
Mail.ru, the portal and email service, accounted for $226.3 million; social networking site Odnoklassniki for $68.9 million; and the recruiting site hh.ru for $28.7 million.
Advertising revenues reached $124 million, an increase of 56% from the previous year. Revenues from online games reached $99.8 million and internet value-added services brought in $70.2 million.
Not only did the group overperform in the market (according to Mindshare Interaction, advertising expenses on the Russian internet grew by 40% in 2010), but its revenues grew faster than the number of its users, seeming to reflect better monetization.
The average monthly audience of the group’s 30 projects reached 27.2 million unique users, up 21% from the previous year, as measured by TNS Gallup. This performance is slightly higher than the overall growth of Russian internet traffic (approx. +15%)
Europe’s largest listed internet-related business
Mail.Ru Group is one of the top internet players in the Russian-speaking world. The group operates Mail.Ru, Russia’s leading portal and e-mail service; Mail.Ru Agent and ICQ, the two largest IM networks in Russia, acquired from AOL in 2010; and of the three largest Russian-language social networks, the group operates two – MoiMir and Odnoklassniki.ru – and owns a strategic minority equity stake in the third and leading one, Vkontakte.ru.
The group has also developed strong positions in the fields of e-commerce – via an alliance with the Allegro group – and online games.
Mail.ru Group was formerly known as DST, Russia’s leading IT investment fund. In September 2010, DST renamed its operational wing “Mail.ru Group,” while the investment fund became “DST Global.”
In October 2010, Mail.ru Group began trading on the London Stock Exchange. The IPO was oversubscribed by a factor of 20 and provided the group and its owners with $912 million in cash. Based on the initial price, the group was valued at $5.71 billion, making Mail.ru Group Europe’s largest listed internet-related business.
Source : Mail.ru Group
