03/03/2023

q.beyond increases revenues by 11% to € 173.0 million in 2022 financial year

• Preliminary results for 2022: EBITDA stood at € 5.4 million and free cash flow amounted to € ‑9.7 million
• Consolidated net income for 2022 adversely affected by one-off impairments of goodwill and intangible assets expected to amount to € 21 million
• Thanks to numerous contract extensions, new orders in past year reached a new record level of € 227.8 million

Cologne, 3 March 2023. In a year marked by great economic uncertainty, based on preliminary calculations q.beyond increased its revenues by 11% to € 173.0 million. The IT service provider benefited from its business model, which is well focused and largely crisis resistant. Of 2022 revenues, 76% were recurring, while 61% were generated in the three focus sectors of retail, logistics and manufacturing.

Revenues showed a further significant increase in the final fourth quarter of 2022 and, despite individual projects being postponed due to economic developments, rose from € 38.9 million in the previous year to € 46.6 million. As a result of this substantial growth, which was also driven in part by one-off revenues, q.beyond all but met its full-year revenue forecast (€ 174 million to € 178 million). The same is true for its EBITDA which, based on preliminary calculations stood at € 5.4 million and thus almost reached the forecast (€ 6 million to € 8 million). As planned, the free cash flow of € ‑9.7 million remained within the € ‑10 million threshold.

Cloud revenues rise by 22% to € 139.2 million

“Cloud & IoT”, the larger segment, posted a highly dynamic performance throughout 2022. Revenues here grew by 22% to € 139.2 million. In this segment, q.beyond offers a broad spectrum of services. The team accompanies SME customers from initial consulting via solutions implementation to the operation of hybrid cloud solutions. By contrast, “SAP”, the second segment, felt the effects of the macroeconomic downturn in particular in 2022 and generated revenues of € 33.8 million, compared with € 41.5 million in 2021. As announced, a turnaround arose here in the fourth quarter of 2022, with revenues already rising by 6% compared with the previous quarter.

Based on the work currently underway to prepare the consolidated financial statements, it is apparent that consolidated net income will be negatively influenced by an expected amount of € 21 million. This is due to one-off, non-cash impairments on goodwill in the “Cloud & IoT” segment, which included the software-as-a-service business, as well on intangible assets. The impairments result on the one hand from the change in the company’s medium-term planning following discontinuation of the software-as-a-service business, and on the other from the marked rise in market interest rates, which are factored into the calculation of this key figure via the capitalisation interest rate.

Presentation of outlook and medium-term planning at end of March 2023

At a virtual analysts and investors conference to be held on 30 March 2023, the Management Board will provide detailed information about current planning through to 2025 and on the associated further development in the business model, as well as on the 2022 consolidated financial statements and the forecast for the 2023 financial year. The company’s two new Management Board members − Thies Rixen (COO and from 1 April 2023 CEO) and Nora Wolters (CFO) – will comment in greater detail on key focuses of the strategy with which they intend to sustainably improve the company’s earnings and financial strength.

The record new orders of € 227.8 million received in 2022 provide a strong foundation for the process already initiated of further developing the business model. The company succeeded above all in extending the terms and even the scopes of contracts due to expire with large existing customers. In the current financial year, q.beyond will focus in particular on extending its advisory and development expertise in its application and cloud business. This way, it will create additional touchpoints for existing and new customers. In parallel, the company will press ahead with integrating the acquisitions made in recent years and standardising processes from sales to operations to administration.


About q.beyond AG

q.beyond AG is the key to successful digitalisation. We help our customers find the best digital solutions for their business and then put them into practice. Our strong team of 1,100 people accompanies SME customers securely and reliably throughout their digital journey. We are experts in Cloud, SAP, Microsoft and software development. With locations throughout Germany, as well as in Latvia and Spain, and its own certified data centres, q.beyond is one of Germany’s leading IT service providers.

Contact
q.beyond AG
Arne Thull
Head of Investor Relations/Mergers & Acquisitions
T +49 221 669 8724
invest@qbeyond.de