ENENTO GROUP PLC, STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 11 FEBRUARY 2022 AT 12.30 EET
Enento Group’s Financial Statement release 1.1. – 31.12.2021: Year ended with strong growth, full year growth reached 8,1 %
SUMMARY
October – December 2021 in brief
- Net sales amounted to EUR 43,1 million (EUR 40,2 million), an increase of 7,2 % (at comparable exchange rates an increase of 6,0 %).
- Adjusted EBITDA excluding items affecting comparability was EUR 14,6 million (EUR 14,4 million), an increase of 2,0 % (at comparable exchange rates an increase of 1,0 %).
- Adjusted EBIT excluding items affecting comparability and amortisation from fair value adjustments related to acquisitions was EUR 12,1 million (EUR 11,9 million), an increase of 1,5 %.
- Operating profit (EBIT) was EUR 7,8 million (EUR 6,1 million). Operating profit included amortisation from fair value adjustments of EUR 3,2 million (EUR 3,1 million) related to acquisitions and EUR 1,2 million (EUR 2,8 million) items affecting comparability mainly arising one off expense of EUR 1,1 million relating to IFRS Interpretations Committee agenda decision relating to customisation and configuration costs in cloud computing arrangements, as well as M&A related expense adjustment. More information on agenda decision in note 2.1 Accounting policies of the Financial Statement release.
- New services represented 7,4 % (6,8 %) of net sales.
- Free cash flow amounted to EUR 10,0 million (EUR 9,1 million). The effect of items affecting comparability on free cash flow was EUR -0,1 million (EUR -2,4 million).
- Earnings per share was EUR 0,22 (EUR 0,15).
- Comparable earnings per share were EUR 0,33 (EUR 0,25)1.
January – December 2021 in brief
- Net sales amounted to EUR 163,5 million (EUR 151,3 million), an increase of 8,1 % (at comparable exchange rates an increase of 5,9 %).
- Adjusted EBITDA excluding items affecting comparability was EUR 59,1 million (EUR 54,0 million), an increase of 9,5 % (at comparable exchange rates an increase of 7,8 %).
- Adjusted EBIT excluding items affecting comparability and amortisation from fair value adjustments related to acquisitions was EUR 49,0 million (EUR 45,0 million), an increase of 9,1 %.
- Operating profit (EBIT) was EUR 35,2 million (EUR 27,8 million). Operating profit included amortisation from fair value adjustments of EUR 12,7 million (EUR 12,3 million) related to acquisitions and items affecting comparability of EUR 1,1 million (EUR 4,9 million), mainly arising from one off expense of EUR 1,1 million relating to IFRS Interpretations Committee agenda decision relating to customisation and configuration costs in cloud computing arrangements, M&A related expenses, reversal of excess redundancy provisions, received insurance compensation. More information on agenda decision in note 2.1 Accounting policies of the Financial Statement release.
- New services represented 7,3 % (5,6 %) of net sales.
- Free cash flow amounted to EUR 29,8 million (EUR 32,6 million). The effect of items affecting comparability on free cash flow was EUR -0,3 million (EUR -4,4 million).
- Earnings per share was EUR 1,08 (EUR 0,81).
- Comparable earnings per share were EUR 1,49 (EUR 1,21)1.
- Board of Directors propose EUR 1,00 per share distribution of funds to the Annual General Meeting.
1 The comparable earnings per share does not contain amortisation from fair value adjustments related to acquisitions or their tax impact.
KEY FIGURES
| EUR million | 1.10. – 31.12.2021 |
1.10. – 31.12.2020 |
1.1. – 31.12.2021 | 1.1.–31.12.2020 | |||
| Net sales | 43,1 | 40,2 | 163,5 | 151,3 | |||
| Net sales growth, % | 7,2 | 2,6 | 8,1 | 3,7 | |||
| Operating profit (EBIT) | 7,8 | 6,1 | 35,2 | 27,8 | |||
| EBIT margin, % | 18,0 | 15,1 | 21,6 | 18,4 | |||
| Adjusted EBITDA | 14,6 | 14,4 | 59,1 | 54,0 | |||
| Adjusted EBITDA margin, % | 34,0 | 35,7 | 36,2 | 35,7 | |||
| Adjusted operating profit (EBIT) | 12,1 | 11,9 | 49,0 | 45,0 | |||
| Adjusted EBIT margin, % | 28,1 | 29,7 | 30,0 | 29,7 | |||
| New services of net sales, % | 7,4 | 6,8 | 7,3 | 5,6 | |||
| Free cash flow | 10,0 | 9,1 | 29,8 | 32,6 | |||
| Net debt to adjusted EBITDA, x | 2,4 | 2,6 | 2,4 | 2,6 | |||
FUTURE OUTLOOK
The general macroeconomic environment and the pandemic are persisting uncertainties. However, the increased market demand for Enento Group’s services is expected to continue. This, combined with introduction of new services are expected to support growth in 2022. However, the recent weakening of Swedish Krona cause uncertainty in relation to growth outlook and may impact the net sales growth with reported exchange rates in 2022.
Enento group expects that the platform transformation–related costs will continue to impact the results in 2022.
GUIDANCE
Net Sales: Enento Group expects its net sales growth in 2022 at comparable exchange rates to be toward the lower end of the long-term target range (5-10 %).
EBITDA: Enento Group expects its adjusted EBITDA margin at comparable exchange rates to improve somewhat in 2022 compared to previous year.
Comparable exchange rates mean that the effects of any changes in currencies are eliminated by calculating the figures for the previous period using current period’s exchange rates.
ELINA STRÅHMAN, CFO, INTERIM CEO 1.11.-31.12.2021
Enento’s year ended with strong growth and we achieved 8,1 % growth at reported exchange rates during the financial year. Thanks to our resilient and scalable business model, our business has adapted fairly well to the diverse impacts of the pandemic, and we upgraded our guidance in the beginning of July. Global economy, on the other hand, is still being shaken by COVID-19, but inflation and labor shortage are also emerging as a significant factors.
Our revenue grew in line with our expectations in the final quarter of 2021. The Group’s net sales amounted to EUR 43,1 million, representing year-on-year growth of 7,2 % (at comparable exchange rates 6,0 %). Adjusted EBITDA increased by 2,0 % (at comparable exchange rates 1,0 %) and amounted to EUR 14,6 million. The Group’s adjusted operating profit excluding items affecting comparability increased by 1,5 % (at comparable exchange rates 0,5 %) and amounted to EUR 12,1 million. Innovative service development and new services are an important driver of growth for us. The new service development portfolio remains strong and its share of net sales was 7,4 % during the period under review. Profitability, on the other hand, was impacted investments made to support future growth.
Net sales increased in all three of our business areas in the fourth quarter. In the Consumer Insight Business Area, net sales were particularly supported by the strong demand for consumer information services in Finland and Sweden and the normalization of the Finnish interest rate cap legislation. In the Business Insight Business Area, net sales increased moderately compared to the reference period, with the year-on-year development still showing the effect of the reduced use of our services caused by the pandemic. The continued strong growth of the Premium Solutions business, especially in the Swedish and Norwegian markets, brought positive development to the Business Area. The growth rate of the Digital Processes Business Area’s real estate and collateral information services leveled off from the corresponding period in both markets as the strongest pace of market demand slowed down.
Sustainability is at our core and we have a key role in supporting sustainable economy, lending and preventing over-indebtedness in the society. The discussion regarding over-indebtedness is ongoing in our markets, but especially in Sweden, where over-indebtedness is an increasing problem for some part of the population. Our core business is to contribute to a sustainable economy in the society in general, to support sustainable lending of our customers and to decrease over-indebtedness. By our offering, we promote the availability of unique data and expertise on positive credit information. Our positive data in Sweden is very comprehensive, and already covers more than 98 % of all the consumer loans. In 2022 our plan is to introduce a daily credit register, to provide on-time positive credit data for decisioning purposes. Decreasing over-indebtedness requires combination of various measures in the financial ecosystem. Such measures could include regulatory adjustments in relation to data handling. In Finland we also continuously develop our unique offering in positive data. We serve customers with positive data from more than 40 financial sector service providers with customer consent. The positive data is in important role when preventing over-indebtedness, and in Finland the consumer payment defaults decreased for the first time in years. In Finland, we also introduced the first positive data sharing service, Business Loan Information System BLIS, for B2B lending in 2021, to support sustainable business and trade between companies.
We focus on sustainability in all fronts. We are and want to be a sustainable employer, sustainable investment but also support our customers in making more sustainable decisions. Enento Group wants to be a leading provider of ESG services with a comprehensive range of sustainability services that companies can use for risk management, credit processes, procurement and customer management. The first ESG Report service for unlisted companies, which is already available in the Finnish market, will be launched in Sweden in 2022.
Overall, we succeeded well in 2021: we continued to deliver growth and resilient results while we went through significant changes and operating environment continued to be unpredictable. Our financial guidance for 2022 takes into account the continuing uncertainty in the operating environment and the pandemic. Our long-term financial targets remain unchanged and we continue to target profitable growth according to these targets. In addition, as proof of our ability to increase shareholder value, our Board of Directors are proposing to the Annual General Meeting that funds to be distributed is increased to EUR 1.00 per share.
Enento’s innovative service development, the synergies achieved through acquisitions and excellent employees provide Enento with a great opportunity to achieve success by providing customers with even better services to support sustainable decision-making. We will continue to build our future on these strengths under the leadership of our new CEO Jeanette Jäger, who took up her position at the beginning of 2022.
NEWS CONFERENCE: WEBCAST AND CONFERENCE CALL
Enento Group will hold a webcast and conference call for analysts, investors and media in English on Friday, 11 February 2022 at 2.00 p.m. EET where CEO Jeanette Jäger and CFO Elina Stråhlman will present the performance and events of the fourth quarter 2021.
You can follow the English webcast and conference call at:
https://cloud.webcast.fi/enento/enento_2022_0211_q4
To participate in the conference call, please dial in using one of the numbers below:
Finland: +358 (0)9 7479 0572
Sweden: +46 (0)8 5664 2754
United Kingdom: +44 (0)33 033 69600
United States, LA: +1 323-701-0170
United States, NY: +1 646-828-8082
The conference ID code: 953251
The presentation material will be available on the company’s investor website at 1.30 p.m. EET and a recording of the webcast later during the day.
Helsinki, 11 February 2022
ENENTO GROUP PLC
Board of Directors
For further information:
Jeanette Jäger
CEO
Enento Group Plc
Tel. +46 72 141 00 00
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Major media
enento.com/investors
Enento Group is a Nordic knowledge company powering society with intelligence since 1905. We collect and transform data into intelligence and knowledge used in interactions between people, businesses and societies. Our digital services, data and information empower companies and consumers in their daily digital decision processes, as well as financial processes and sales and marketing processes. Approximately 432 people are working for Enento Group in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The Group’s net sales for 2021 was 163.5 MEUR. Enento Group is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki with the trading code ENENTO.
