First Berlin Equity Research has published a research update on ad pepper media International N.V. (ISIN: NL0000238145). Analyst Dr. Karsten von Blumenthal reiterated his BUY rating and maintained his EUR 3.50 price target.

Abstract
ad pepper’s final Q2 figures matched preliminary numbers. Revenue declined 8% y/y to €5.4m, while EBIT improved slightly from €-472k to €-385k. The net result benefitted from lower income to non-controlling interests and rose by €279k to €-450k. Despite the still challenging macro-economic environment, APM is cautiously optimistic for H2 because of a tentative recovery in customers’ e-commerce and advertising activity and initiated cost savings. We expect H2 to be stronger than H1 and stick to our forecasts. We believe that the main share price driver will be the planned purchase of a majority stake in solute Holding GmbH & Co. KG (solute), a leading price comparison portal business in the German market (billiger.de and shopping.de). The consolidation of solute would more than double revenue to almost €60m and increase the number of employees to >400 (currently 234). An updated DCF model, which does not yet incorporate the planned transaction, yields an unchanged price target of €3.50. Our rating remains Buy.