Ads giant Adevinta to pull out of South Africa

Norwegian classified ads giant Adevinta said Thursday it will pull out of Australia and South Africa as it focuses on its five main European markets.

Adevinta has “refreshed” its strategy and reviewed its brand portfolio following its acquisition of eBay’s Classifieds Group unit, the company’s chief executive, Rolv Erik Ryssdal, said in a statement.

“Going forward, we will concentrate our investment capacity on five Core Markets: Germany, France, Spain, Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) and Italy,” he said.

“We remain very excited about the significant growth opportunities and our unique positions to capture those” markets, Ryssdal added.

The company has decided to divest from Australia and South Africa from early next year. Its Gumtree platform is present in both countries, while Autotrader and Carsguide operate in Australia.

Adevinta made the announcement in an earnings statement showing that it was 29 million euros ($33 million) in the red in the third quarter. It had lost more than twice as much in the same period last year.

Its core profit — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) — fell by seven percent to 127 million euros. 

But EBITDA was up 19 percent in the first nine months of the year at 395 million euros.