Asiakastieto Group Plc, stock exchange release 8 NOVEMBER AT 11.00 EET
Asiakastieto Group's Interim Report 1.1. - 30.9.2017: The strong growth continued in the third quarter
SUMMARY
The figures presented in this Interim Report are unaudited.
July - September 2017 in short
- Net sales amounted to EUR 13,3 million (EUR 11,7 million), an increase of 14,0 %.
- Adjusted EBIT excluding non-recurring and other adjusted items was EUR 5,3 million (EUR 4,8 million), an increase of 10,7 %.
- Operating profit (EBIT) was EUR 5,3 million (EUR 4,6 million). Operating profit included non-recurring expenses and other adjusted items of EUR 0,1 million (EUR 0,2 million).
- The share of new products and services of net sales was 8,6 % (6,0 %).
- The share of value-added services of net sales was 69,4 % (65,0 %).
- Free cash flow amounted to EUR 5,9 million (EUR 5,2 million). The impact of non-recurring and other adjusted items on free cash flow was EUR -0,1 million (EUR -0,2 million).
- Earnings per share were EUR 0,26 (EUR 0,23).
January - September 2017 in short
- Net sales amounted to EUR 41,6 million (EUR 36,5 million), an increase of 13,9 %.
- Adjusted EBIT excluding non-recurring and other adjusted items was EUR 16,7 million (EUR 14,8 million), an increase of 12,8 %.
- Operating profit (EBIT) was EUR 16,5 million (EUR 15,7 million). Operating profit included non-recurring expenses and other adjusted items of EUR 0,2 million (EUR 0,2 million). Operating profit in the comparative period included EUR 1,1 million non-recurring, adjusted profit on sale of office premises.
- The share of new products and services of net sales was 9,0 % (8,2 %).
- The share of value-added services of net sales was 69,8 % (64,9 %).
- Free cash flow amounted to EUR 14,9 million (EUR 12,6 million). The impact of non-recurring and other adjusted items on free cash flow was EUR -0,1 million (EUR -0,3 million).
- Earnings per share were EUR 0,83 (EUR 0,80).
Future outlook 2017
Asiakastieto Group expects its net sales growth rate to be clearly above 10 % and the adjusted net operating profit is expected to grow nearly at the same pace as the net sales.
KEY FIGURES
| 1.7. - | 1.7. - | 1.1. - | 1.1. - | 1.1. - | |
| EUR million | 30.9.2017 | 30.9.2016 | 30.9.2017 | 30.9.2016 | 31.12.2016 |
| Net sales | 13,3 | 11,7 | 41,6 | 36,5 | 49,2 |
| Net sales growth, % | 14,0 | 11,6 | 13,9 | 12,9 | 12,5 |
| Adjusted EBITDA1 | 6,1 | 5,4 | 18,9 | 16,6 | 21,7 |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin, %1 | 45,7 | 46,0 | 45,4 | 45,4 | 44,1 |
| Adjusted operating profit (EBIT)1 | 5,3 | 4,8 | 16,7 | 14,8 | 19,2 |
| Adjusted EBIT margin, %1 | 40,1 | 41,3 | 40,2 | 40,5 | 39,1 |
| New products and services share of net sales, % | 8,6 | 6,0 | 9,0 | 8,2 | 7,4 |
| Free cash flow2 | 5,9 | 5,2 | 14,9 | 12,6 | 17,2 |
| Net debt to adjusted EBITDA, x | 2,0 | 2,2 | 1,9 | 2,2 | 2,2 |
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1 Adjusted key figures are adjusted by following items: M&A related fees for legal and other advisory services, redundancy payments and compensations paid. The above listed adjusted items were EUR -0,1 million for the third quarter 1 July - 30 September 2017, EUR -0,2 million for the comparative period 1 July - 30 September 2016, EUR -0,2 million for interim period 1 January - 30 September 2017, EUR -0,2 million for the comparative period 1 January - 30 September 2016 and EUR -0,3 million for the financial year 2016. Adjusted key figures for the financial year 2016 are also adjusted by the non-recurring profit on the sale of shares of office premises EUR 1,1 million.
2 The impact of adjusted items on free cash flow was EUR -0,1 million for the third quarter 1 July - 30 September 2017, EUR -0,2 million for the comparative period 1 July - 30 September 2016, EUR -0,1 million for the interim period 1 January - 30 September 2017, EUR -0,3 million for the comparative period 1 January - 30 September 2016 and EUR -0,4 million for the financial year 2016.
JUKKA RUUSKA, CEO
"In the third quarter of the financial year, Asiakastieto Group continued its strong growth, being 14,0 per cent. Our services launched during the early part of year have adapted well to the needs of our clients and have been received well, which is indicated by the further growing share of new services of the net sales. The general economic activity has also increased. These factors have supported the Company's growth during the financial year 2017.
Asiakastieto Group's net sales amounted to EUR 13,3 million in the third quarter (EUR 11,7 million). The adjusted net operating profit of the Group grew to EUR 5,3 million in the third quarter, whereas it was EUR 4,8 million in the comparative period 2016.
The significance of responsibility in our own business and that of our clients increases constantly. We are a publicly listed company, and we have in our database a large quantity of data concerning companies and consumers. Therefore, responsible operations, such as strict observance of the law and regulations have always been an inseparable part of our business. It is important to us that also our clients can follow the principles of responsibility and transparency with the services we have processed from the data. Thus, we are particularly proud to be able to point out that with the new ESG Report companies can now genuinely practice responsibility and ensure its fulfilment also in other companies of their supply chain, whether they are large companies reporting of their own responsibility or small companies free of the obligations. Until now, responsibility in business can have been required, but its control in practice has been difficult.
We find that a growing part of responsibility is to see to high-quality data security. In our experience, a large part of companies do not yet understand that EU's Data Protection Regulation GDPR sets requirements to almost all companies. Asiakastieto Group takes the regulation into account both as registrar and processor of consumer data and as service provider. As part of this preparation, we have acquired digital marketing and newsletter service provider Emaileri Oy. With Emaileri, we will be able to formulate target group data and make its use even easier to our clients and, from the point of view of data security, form better service entities."
FUTURE OUTLOOK 2017
Asiakastieto Group expects its net sales growth rate to be clearly above 10 % and the adjusted net operating profit is expected to grow nearly at the same pace as the net sales.
The outlook is subject to risks related to, among other factors, the development of the Finnish economy and the business operations of the Group. The most significant risks related to business operations include, for example, risks related to the success of product and service development activities, launches of new products and services and risks related to competitive tenders and to losing significant customer accounts.
Asiakastieto Group's business risks have been described in more detail on the Company's investor pages at investors.asiakastieto.fi.
Helsinki, on 8 November 2017
ASIAKASTIETO GROUP PLC
Board of Directors
For further information:
Jukka Ruuska, CEO
Asiakastieto Group Plc
tel. +358 10 270 7111
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd
major media
investors.asiakastieto.fi
Asiakastieto Group is one of the leading Finnish providers of business and consumer information services. The Group's products and services are primarily used for risk management, finance and administration, decision-making and sales and marketing purposes. At the end of 2016, the Group had around 19 000 clients, of which 11 000 were contractual clients. The Group serves several industries, the largest ones including finance and banking as well as wholesale and retail sectors and expert service companies. In 2016, the Group's net sales were EUR 49,2 million and it had 170 employees at the end of 2016. Asiakastieto Group is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki with the ticker ATG1V. More information about Asiakastieto Group is available at www.asiakastieto.fi.
