Enento Group Plc | Stock Exchange Release | February 09, 2024 at 12:00:00 EET
SUMMARY
October – December 2023 in brief
- Net sales declined by 5,5% excluding the impact from the discontinued Tambur service at comparable exchange rates.
- Net sales amounted to EUR 38,9 million (EUR 42,9 million), a decrease of 9,3% (at comparable exchange rates decrease of 6,5%).
- Adjusted EBITDA was EUR 13,4 million (EUR 16,0 million), a decrease of 16,2% (at comparable exchange rates decrease of 13,9%).
- Adjusted EBITDA margin was 34,4% (37,2%), a decrease of 2,8 pp (at comparable exchange rates decrease of 2,9 pp).
- Adjusted EBIT was EUR 10,5 million (EUR 13,3 million), a decrease of 20,9% (at comparable exchange rates decrease of 18,7%).
- Operating profit (EBIT) was EUR 5,9 million (EUR -0,5 million).
- The efficiency program targeting at least 8-million-euro efficiencies by the end of 2024, has progressed according to the plan. The measures implemented by the end of the fourth quarter are estimated to have an annual run-rate impact on the profitability of around EUR 6,3 million and Enento is planning to extend the program.
January – December 2023 in brief
- Net sales declined by 1,4% excluding the impact from the discontinued Tambur service at comparable exchange rates.
- Net sales amounted to EUR 155,9 million (EUR 167,5 million), a decrease of 6,9% (at comparable exchange rates decrease of 2,6%).
- Adjusted EBITDA was EUR 57,1 million (EUR 61,2 million), a decrease of 6,7% (at comparable exchange rates decrease of 2,9%).
- Adjusted EBITDA margin was 36,6% (36,6%), an increase of 0,1 pp (at comparable exchange rates a decrease of 0,1 pp).
- Adjusted EBIT was EUR 46,0 million (EUR 49,1 million), a decrease of 6,3% (at comparable exchange rates decrease of 2,5%).
- Operating profit (EBIT) was EUR 30,4 million (EUR 25,8 million).
- The full-year net sales guidance was adjusted on 9 October 2023. Enento estimated its full-year 2023 net sales to decline between 0% – 1,5% (previous growth of 0% – 5%), excluding the impact from the discontinued Tambur service, at comparable exchange rates compared to 2022.
- The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting a dividend of EUR 0,50 per share, followed by a second instalment of up to EUR 0,50 in November, subject to Board decision.
In October–December 2023, the items affecting comparability amounted to EUR -2,3 million (EUR -11,0 million) and in January–December 2023 to EUR -6,1 million (EUR -11,5 million), including mainly restructuring and other efficiency program-related costs. Reference period costs arose mainly from write-downs of platform development investments made in December 2022.
In October–December 2023, the amortization from fair value adjustments amounted to EUR -2,4 million (EUR -2,8 million) and in January- December 2023 to EUR -9,5 million (EUR -11,8 million).
KEY FIGURES
| EUR million | 1.10. – 31.12.2023 |
1.10. – 31.12.2022 |
1.1. – 31.12.2023 | 1.1. – 31.12.2022 |
|||
| Net sales | 38,9 | 42,9 | 155,9 | 167,5 | |||
| Net sales change, % (comparable fx rates) | -6,5 | 4,1 | -2,6 | 5,1 | |||
| Net sales change, % (reported fx rates) | -9,3 | -0,4 | -6,9 | 2,5 | |||
| Operating profit (EBIT) | 5,9 | -0,5 | 30,4 | 25,8 | |||
| EBIT margin, % | 15,1 | -1,2 | 19,5 | 15,4 | |||
| Adjusted EBITDA | 13,4 | 16,0 | 57,1 | 61,2 | |||
| Adjusted EBITDA margin, % | 34,4 | 37,2 | 36,6 | 36,6 | |||
| Adjusted operating profit (EBIT) | 10,5 | 13,3 | 46,0 | 49,1 | |||
| Adjusted EBIT margin, % | 27,0 | 30,9 | 29,5 | 29,3 | |||
| New services of net sales, % | 8,5 | 4,0 | 9,5 | 4,6 | |||
| Free cash flow | 8,9 | 10,5 | 32,0 | 33,9 | |||
| Net debt to adjusted EBITDA, x | 2,4 | 2,2 | 2,4 | 2,2 | |||
| Earnings per share, EUR | 0,09 | -0,08 | 0,74 | 0,72 | |||
| Comparable earnings per share, EUR* | 0,17 | 0,02 | 1,05 | 1,11 | |||
* Comparable earnings per share does not contain amortization from fair value adjustments related to acquisitions or their tax impact.
FUTURE OUTLOOK
The operating environment for Enento remains challenging and volatile due to the uncertainty in the general economic situation in our operating countries. This instability is expected to affect Enento’s financial performance, notably within the Swedish consumer credit information sector. The first half of the year is expected to be challenging and while some recovery signs are visible for the second half of the year, these remain uncertain.
Enento continues to streamline its operations through the efficiency program, prioritizing careful cost control to maintain profitability level in a challenging market situation. The profitability of the company may also be affected by variations in the sales mix.
Given these conditions, Enento will not issue precise financial guidance for net sales or profitability at this stage.
Jeanette Jäger, CEO
Enento’s year 2023 ended with a strong profitability level and declining net sales. The year, marked by a turbulent macroeconomic environment, has tested our resilience. Under the circumstances and despite the marginal net sales decline, we have kept our profitability at a good level thanks to successful efficiency measures and savings actions. We anticipate ongoing challenges in the macroeconomic environment to continue during the first half of 2024 and to start showing signs of a more favorable market environment in the second half. In 2024 we are executing our strategy and improving the efficiency of our operations. We are seeking scalable growth through new services, increased market share, digitalization of the customer journey as well as cost synergies brought by the common Nordic capabilities and operational excellence.
The organic net sales of the fiscal year was EUR 155,9 million and decreased by 1,4% at comparable exchange rates due to sluggish demand for credit information services in Sweden. Simultaneously, we successfully progressed with our 8-million-euro efficiency program and maintained our profitability level close to previous year’s level and within the guidance range. Our adjusted EBITDA was EUR 57,1 million and decreased by 2,9% at comparable exchange rates, resulting in a margin of 36,6%. In the fourth quarter of 2023 our organic net sales amounted to EUR 38,9 million, representing a year-on-year decline of 5,5% at comparable exchange rates. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by 13,9% at comparable exchange rates and amounted to EUR 13,4 million. The share of new services from net sales was 9,5%, an impressive improvement from the level of 4,0% in 2022.
Business Insight business area continued the positive development track in Finland, Norway, and Denmark while in Sweden the macroeconomic challenges are also impacting the demand for our business information services. In the fourth quarter, the net sales decreased by 1,1% excluding the impact of the discontinued Tambur service. During 2023, we have progressed in building the Nordic compliance offering to drive our future growth alongside the other strategic growth choices. Sustainability is increasingly important in decision-making, and at Enento, we are evolving our services and business to align with this trend. Both the Compliance and ESG services continued with double-digit growth in the fourth quarter. The new Business Information API service introduced during the spring in Sweden has created significant attraction, which we expect to continue in 2024. Also, the Real Estate Information Services had a strong ending for 2023.
Consumer Insight business area continued on a stable track in Finland during the fourth quarter, but continued to face challenges in Sweden, primarily due to the weak demand for credit information services. Net sales in Consumer Insight declined by 11,1%. Swedish consumers remain cautious with their spending habits and new loan intakes due to high interest and inflation rates. Consequently, both real estate transactions and unsecured loan volumes are low with the market downturn accelerating in the fourth quarter. Some lenders have exited the market or stopped using loan brokers, further impacting transaction volumes. Recognizing these challenges, we find it even more important to stay close to our customers, and we did not lose any customers to competition in 2023. One important near-term priority for Consumer Insight is the adaption of our credit information services for the Finnish positive credit register that will start its operation in April 2024. As a testament to our knowledge and expertise in this area, we support many of our customers in integrating the positive data from the public register in their lending processes. We have successfully secured significant customer contracts for our service in this area.
What also makes me confident about our future success is the development of our customer and employee satisfaction indexes. Our customer Net Promoter Score in our strategic and large customers segment increased to a record-high 56, well above the industry peers. We also maintained our employee temperature index and personal development scores at a high level.
Furthermore, our 8-million-euro efficiency program has advanced as planned and achieved almost 80% of its target on a run-rate basis by the end of 2023. We have streamlined our operations and established Nordic solutions to consolidate our capabilities at the Nordic level to secure cost-efficient, scalable, and well-managed operations and we are now planning further actions to extend the program. During the year, we also succeeded in negotiating price adjustment mechanisms for most of our customer contracts within the large customer segment.
Looking ahead, the first half of 2024 is expected to be challenging for our Consumer Insight business, especially in the Swedish market due to ongoing macroeconomic difficulties. However, there are signs of stabilization, with slowing inflation and stabilizing interest rates contributing to a more favorable market environment. Despite these challenges, Enento is well-positioned, thanks to our proactive service development and efficiency measures. We remain confident in our resilience and ability to achieve sustainable growth and meet our financial targets for the 2024–2026 strategy period. For the 2023 fiscal year, the Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting a dividend of EUR 0,50 per share, followed by a second instalment of up to EUR 0,50 in November, subject to Board decision.
I would like to thank all our customers, employees, partners, and shareholders for your support throughout 2023.
WEBCAST
Webcast for analysts, investors and media will be arranged on Friday, 9 February 2024, starting at 2.00 p.m. (EET). CEO Jeanette Jäger and CFO Elina Stråhlman will present the results in English.
The webcast can be followed at: https://enento.videosync.fi/2024-02-09-q4
The presentation material and the webcast recording will be available on Enento’s investor website.
Helsinki, 9 February 2024
ENENTO GROUP PLC
Board of Directors