Social Chain, which was co-founded by new Dragons' Den star Steven Bartlett, has increased its full-year forecast after revenue surged by more than 40% during the first three months of 2021, new figures have revealed.
The company, which was established in Manchester and now headquartered in Berlin, has reported a revenue of €70.4m for the first quarter of the year, up from €49.7m during the same period in 2020.
Its adjusted EBITDA also "significantly recovered" from -€3.4m to -€1m, the business also confirmed.
For the current second quarter, Social Chain AG said it expects revenue in the range of €100m for the first time and a "clearly positive" EBITDA.
Based on the "successful business performance to date", Social Chain AG has now increased its revenue forecast for the 2021 financial year from €320m to €350m.
Social Chain AG added that it will consequently generate organic growth of around 50% compared to 2020 (€230m).
Chief executive Wanja S. Oberhof said: "Our social commerce growth strategy remains sustainable. We will also grow significantly in the second quarter and aim to achieve a quarterly revenue of around €100m for the first time.
"Our EBITDA will turn clearly profitable in the second quarter. The encouraging business performance of Social Chain AG has led us to raise our previous revenue target for 2021 to €350m. I am convinced that we will maintain this growth rate also after Corona.
"Our ecosystem of owned brands, reach, creative marketing and technology makes us extremely resilient, especially due to our great flexibility.
"Social commerce can identify consumer needs quickly and efficiently, develop products and distribute them directly to its own customer base.
"With an increasingly broad range of brands and products, we add value to people's lives in many key areas.
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"Our company structure is also aligned with this focus, with four social commerce verticals: food, home & living, beauty, and fitness."
The Social Chain AG‘s headquarters are in Berlin, with additional locations in Munich, London, Manchester, New York, San Diego and Los Angeles.
The company employs a total of around 720 people. The Social Chain AG shares are traded on XETRA and several German stock exchanges.
In November 2014, Mr Bartlett and Dominic McGregor launched Social Chain with a financial backing of almost £300,000 from investors.
The group became a public company on October 2019, with Mr Bartlett announcing that the company shares are traded in XETRA/Frankfurt. The business had market valuation exceeding €200m at the time.
In August 2020, Mr Bartlett and Mr McGregor announced they were to leave Social Chain.
It was then revealed in February 2021 that Mr Bartlett had joined the board of a £72m-turnover food replacement company Huel, becoming a non-executive director.
