Loihde Plc Company announcement 27 August 2024 at 8:00 a.m. EEST
The figures in the half-year report are unaudited.
In 2024, Loihde expects the Group's revenue to be on par with the previous year or grow.
The Group’s adjusted EBITDA is estimated to improve compared to 2023, when it was EUR 7.6 million.
Loihde Group aims to achieve an average annual revenue growth of approximately 10%, including potential acquisitions. The revenue target for the end of the strategy period, i.e. for 2027, is at least EUR 200 million.
In terms of profitability, the target is to achieve an adjusted EBITDA margin of 15% by the end of the strategy period.
The target return on investment (ROI) is 10% and net debt/EBITDA between 0–2x.
|
January–June, EUR 1,000 |
1‒6 2024 |
1‒6 2023 |
Change in % |
1–12 2023 |
|
Revenue, EUR 1,000 |
68,423 |
65,492 |
4% |
132,690 |
|
- Security Solutions |
36,041 |
32,013 |
13% |
67,552 |
|
- Cyber, Cloud & Connect |
15,715 |
14,274 |
10% |
28,978 |
|
- Data & AI |
8,176 |
9,619 |
-15% |
18,462 |
|
- Digital Services |
8,552 |
9,798 |
-13% |
18,128 |
|
- Other (incl. eliminations)1 |
-62 |
-213 |
71% |
-430 |
|
EBITDA |
3,640 |
405 |
798% |
6,669 |
|
Adjusted EBITDA, EUR 1,0001 |
4,161 |
896 |
364% |
7,569 |
|
Adjusted EBITDA, % |
6.1% |
1.4% |
|
5.7% |
|
EBITA, EUR 1,000 |
273 |
-2,621 |
110% |
422 |
|
Adjusted EBITA, EUR 1,0001 |
794 |
-2,130 |
137% |
1,322 |
|
EBITA, % |
1.2% |
-3.3% |
|
1.0% |
|
Operating profit (EBIT), EUR 1,000 |
-273 |
-3,308 |
92% |
-901 |
|
Adjusted operating profit (EBIT), EUR 1,0001 |
248 |
-2,817 |
109% |
-1 |
|
Profit/loss for the period, EUR 1,000 |
-644 |
-3,108 |
79% |
-620 |
|
Adjusted profit/loss for the period, EUR 1,0001 |
-227 |
-2,697 |
92% |
121 |
|
Equity-to-assets ratio, % |
67.8% |
71.4% |
|
69.6% |
|
Earnings per share (EPS), EUR, basic (undiluted)2 |
-0.11 |
-0.54 |
79% |
-0.11 |
|
Earnings per share (EPS), EUR, diluted2 |
-0.11 |
-0.54 |
79% |
-0.11 |
|
Return on investment (ROI), % |
2.9% |
-1.0% |
|
0.5% |
|
Adjusted return on investment (ROI), %1 |
3.8% |
0.0% |
|
1.3% |
|
Net debt/EBITDA |
-0.03 |
-1.72 |
|
-0.91 |
|
Net debt / adjusted EBITDA |
-0.03 |
-1.44 |
|
-0.80 |
|
Average number of employees |
835 |
876 |
-5% |
863 |
The figures in the table are those of continuous operations.
1 The adjusted EBITDA, the adjusted operating profit (EBIT) and the adjusted profit/loss for the period are calculated by excluding capital gains/losses arising from the disposal of properties, fixed asset shares and businesses, insurance and other compensations and other adjustments from the respective reported figure.
2 The parent company’s treasury shares (30,606 shares on average in January‒June 2024, 0 shares on average in January–June 2023 and 4,014 shares on average in January‒December 2023) are excluded from the total number of shares.
In April–June, Loihde's revenue came to EUR 35.4 (34.2) million, an increase of 3% year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA improved significantly (+153%) year-on-year to EUR 2.6 (1.0) million, or 7.2% of revenue.
The positive momentum of our continuous services related to security and business networks has continued in the second quarter of the year. Contracts signed early in the year were in production as planned before the summer holiday season and we entered into several new continuous service agreements with both public and private sector clients. Growth has been driven by services such as cyber surveillance (CSOC) and network operations control (NOC), as well as access control and other security technology solutions that Loihde offer as a service. Nurse call systems for hospitals and nursing homes also continued to grow briskly, as did identity and access management (IAM) consulting.
Our broad portfolio of services focused on security, networks and cloud solutions is competitive and suits customer needs well. For these services, the market outlook is fairly positive, although the general economic uncertainty may affect companies' investments in security and networks.
The market for bespoke software development and some data consultancy continued to be difficult. The utilisation rates were lower than targeted and weighed on the profitability of the company as a whole. However, we have done well in some of our areas of expertise, such as data platform consulting and analytics. We have won new clients
and strengthened our position in our most important client relationships, for example in the financial and industrial sectors.
In IT consulting, we have continued to take measures to improve our efficiency. Although the outlook for revenue for the remainder of the year is very cautious due to client demand and a lower number of consultants doing client work compared to last year, we expect the relative profitability of these service areas to improve slightly towards the end of the year.
According to a customer satisfaction survey we commissioned this spring, our customers' NPS was 42, indicating a high level of satisfaction with Loihde's services and the expertise of our employees.
The first half of the year has been very mixed. Security and corporate network consulting, projects and especially continuous services, which are of strategic importance to us, have developed nicely, while IT consulting has continued to face challenges throughout the first half of the year.
Overall, the company's profitability has improved clearly, and we are confident about the prospects for improved profitability for the full year.
There have been no significant events after the end of the review period.
In addition to the half-year report and the financial statements release, Loihde publishes a more concise business report for the first and third quarters of the year.
Financial reports are published on the company’s website at https://www.loihde.com/en/investors/reports-and-presentations.
27 August 2024
Loihde Plc
Board of Directors
Loihde’s CEO Samu Konttinen will present the results in a webcast today, 27 August 2024 at 11:00 a.m. EEST. The webcast is held in Finnish and will be live at https://loihde.videosync.fi/q2-2024.
The presentation and a recording of the webcast will later be available in Finnish on the company’s website at https://www.loihde.com/omistajille/raportit-ja-esitykset/.
CEO Samu Konttinen
Media contact: Director of Communications Tiina Nieminen, tel. +358 44 411 3480 or tiina.nieminen@loihde.com
Certified Adviser Aktia Alexander Corporate Finance Oy, tel. +358 50 520 4098
Loihde enables business continuity. We help our customers to gain a sustainable competitive edge through data, AI and digitalisation, to harness the potential of the cloud and to protect themselves against both physical and cyber threats. The combining of these skills is what makes Loihde a unique and comprehensive partner. We are approximately 850 skilled professionals, and our revenue in 2023 amounted to EUR 132.7 million. loihde.com