HeadHunter Group plc (HHR: NSDQ), a Moscow-based job board operator, reported revenue yesterday of RUB 1.67 billion (USD 25.8 million) for the first quarter ended 31 March 2019, an increase of 31.8% compared to the previous year.

HeadHunter launched its IPO earlier this month and began trading shares on the US Nasdaq Stock Market. HeadHunter was founded in 2000 and is owned the Elbrus Capital fund, which bought it in 2016 from Mail.Ru Group.

Revenue growth in the first quarter was primarily due to the increase in revenue in the group’s Russia segment.

Net Income recovery was driven by the increase in revenue and timing of the group’s marketing expenses, offset by the increase in income tax due to the increase in taxable profit. Adjusted EBITDA was up 75.7% and the Adjusted EBITDA Margin was up to 46.1% from 34.6%, primarily due to the increase in revenue and timing of the group’s marketing expenses.

The company organises its operating segments based on the geography of its operations. The operating segments include “Russia,” “Belarus,” “Kazakhstan” and other countries. As each segment, other than Russia, individually comprises less than 10% of the group’s revenue, for reporting purposes, HeadHunter combines all segments other than Russia into the “Other segments” category.

Revenue by segment

Russia segment revenue up 30.8% mainly driven by the increase in the number of paying customers in Small and Medium Accounts and the increase in average revenue per customer (ARPC) in key accounts in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

“We are pleased with the operational and financial results that the Company has achieved in the first quarter of 2019,” Mikhail Zhukov, CEO of HeadHunter Group, said.

“HeadHunter Group’s strategy is to drive growth in Russian regions, as well as in Small and Medium Accounts,” Zhukov said. “To support these priorities, the company has recently carried out significant organisational capability upgrades. We are happy to see strong customer base expansion in both areas, while at the same time, increasing ARPC across all customer segments.”

“The company is delivering on its ambitious technology road map, with a particular focus on mobile platforms. In the first quarter of 2019, over 77% of our traffic came via mobile devices, and more than half of our traffic came from visitors who only used our mobile platform,” Zhukov said.

“We are happy to kick off our life as a public company with this strong set of quarterly results, and we are excited to explore the opportunity ahead of us to the benefit of our shareholders,” Zhukov said.

Looking ahead, the company said it currently expects revenue to grow in the range of 27% to 30% year-over-year and Adjusted EBITDA Margin to be between 48% and 50% for the year 2019.

“This outlook reflects our current view based on the trends that we see at this time and may change in light of market and economic developments in the business sectors and jurisdictions in which we operate,” the company stated.

HeadHunter Group set a new high during yesterday's trading session when it reached USD 17.56, shares closed at this price, up 2.45% on the day. Since the IPO on 9 May 2019, the share price is up 11.49%. Based on its current share price the company has a market value of USD 880.45 million.