Flatex - Waiting for the regulatory go-ahead

Flatex reported FY19 of earnings €14.9m (-15% y-o-y) and a ROE of 8.6%. Lower market volatility affected the results, as did the costs of expansion into the Dutch market before the decision to acquire 100% of DEGIRO in December 2019 for €60m cash plus €190m in shares. The EBITDA margin was 28.5%, down 16.8% y-o-y. The friendly acquisition of DEGIRO is transformational, with greater scale and breath of products. Management has identified €30m in annual synergies. The deal will make Flatex Europe’s largest retail online broker, present in 18 countries, although it is still awaiting regulatory approval. Although the share price has almost doubled since the announcement of the DEGIRO acquisition, the shares trade at a discount to peers on both P/E and EV/EBIT despite consensus forecasts of above-average growth.