Company publishes annual report for 2019 – outlook remains good despite Corona

IT Competence Group SE published its final audited results for fiscal year 2019 today, confirming the preliminary results announced at the beginning of March.  
 
The Group achieved an overall performance amounting to EUR 24.2 million in the reporting year, which is similar to the previous year’s figure of EUR 24.3 million.
 
The gross profit declined slightly to EUR 18.0 million due to a slightly higher share of license revenues (gross profit for 2018: EUR 18.4 million). The operating result (EBITDA) amounted to EUR 1.3 million (EBITDA for 2018: EUR 1.5 million). This corresponds to an EBIDTA margin of 5.2%.
 
The Group’s EBIT amounted to EUR 1.0 million, compared with the previous year’s value of EUR 1.1 million. The earnings per share attributable to the shareholders amounted to EUR 0.29 (compared with EUR 0.37 the previous year).
 
As reported, the decline in the earnings figures was due to somewhat lower capacity utilization on the one hand and extraordinary costs sustained as a result of personal restructuring measures on the other. When the result was adjusted for these one-off expenses, it was only marginally lower than the result from the previous year.
 
Like in the previous year, the operating profit led almost completely to a corresponding inflow in liquidity with a cash flow from ongoing operations amounting to EUR 1.1 million. The cashflow from financing activities amounted to EUR -0.8 million due to loan repayments. Cash and cash equivalents increased to EUR 2.5 million, from EUR 2.2 million the previous year.
 
Equity increased significantly to EUR 3.1 million, from EUR 1.0 million the previous year. The increase can be traced back to the positive year-end result and a partial allocation of the former subordinated loan to the capital reserve. The equity ratio thus achieved a very solid value of 43% (compared with 12% the previous year).
 
The average number of Group employees in 2019 was 203. The revenue per employee once again increased compared with the previous year. This highlights the company’s increasing strategic orientation toward person-independent services. In the early months of 2020, the company succeeded in employing additional staff, who can also be deployed in customer projects at short notice. The number of employees in the Group is currently higher than the average for the previous year. 
 
The volume of orders on December 31, 2019 amounted to EUR 17.0 million, which represents a further increase on the previous year’s value of EUR 15.7 million.
 
The company took precautionary measures at an early stage to protect the health of its employees. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic the majority have been working from home.
 
Despite the changes in everyday working life, IT Competence Group’s business activities have not been negatively affected by the pandemic to date. Greater demand for mobile workplace services has so far compensated for minor falls in capacity utilization. For the next few months as well, there are no indications of any fall-off in orders. Nevertheless, the Board will continuously analyze the situation and evaluate any risks that may arise.
 
The full annual report is now available for download from the company’s website.
 
About IT Competence Group
 
IT Competence Group SE is an IT service company that operates in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland). The company offers tailor-made solutions for all aspects of IT infrastructure and business solutions, from consulting to implementation and operation. A specific business unit is dedicated to mobile data infrastructures, in particular the development and expansion of the 5G network. The Group’s customers include global corporations and medium-sized companies. Together with the strategic majority shareholder audius AG, the company’s goal is to grow both organically and through acquisitions. IT Competence Group SE shares are listed on the Basic Board of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and in the m:access midmarket segment on the Munich Stock Exchange.
 
About audius
 
Founded in 1991, audius operates in the areas of software, security and audit services, consulting, and managed services. The companies of the audius Group and IT Competence Group focus on strengthening their core competencies while broadening their service portfolio. Currently employing nearly 300 people, audius (without IT Competence Group) generated approximately EUR 27 million in revenue in 2019.
 

Die IT Competence Group SE ist eine IT-Service-Gesellschaft, die in der DACH-Region aktiv ist. Das Unternehmen bietet von der Beratung, Implementierung und dem Betrieb maßgeschneiderte Lösungen zu allen Fragen rund um das Thema IT-Infrastruktur und Business Solutions an. Ein weiterer Geschäftsbereich beschäftigt sich mit mobilen Dateninfrastrukturen, insbesondere dem Auf- und Ausbau des 5G-Netzes. Zu den Kunden der Gruppe zählen global agierende Konzerne sowie mittelständische Betriebe. Gemeinsam mit dem strategischen Mehrheitsaktionär audius AG ist das Ziel sowohl organisch als durch Zukäufe zu wachsen. Die Aktien der IT Competence Group SE notieren im Basic Board der Börse Frankfurt als auch im Mittelstandssegment m:access der Börse München.

Audius wurde im Jahr 1991 gegründet und ist in den Bereichen Software, Security & Audit Services, Consulting und Managed Services tätig. Damit verstärken sich die Unternehmen im Bereich ihrer Kernkompetenzen und verbreitern gleichzeitig ihr Leistungsportfolio. audius beschäftigt aktuell knapp 300 Mitarbeiter und erzielte im Jahr 2019 ohne die IT Competence Group einen Umsatz in Höhe von rund Euro 27 Mio.