05/09/2022
q.beyond increases revenues by 10% in first quarter of 2022
- High growth in cloud business as key driver
- Strong new orders of € 76.3 million in Q1 2022
- Full-year forecast confirmed for 2022
Cloud & IoT segment grows by 22%
The cloud business in particular grew substantially in the first three months of the current year. Revenues in the “Cloud & IoT” segment rose year-on-year by 22% to € 32.0 million. This high growth was driven by success in the business with cloud and software as a service (SaaS) solutions, as well as by the consolidation of two specialists taken over in 2021, namely datac (digital workplaces) and scanplus (managed services from the cloud). These two new subsidiaries offset the revenues no longer reported due to the successful sale of the colocation business in the third quarter of 2021. The second segment, “SAP”, generated revenues of € 9.3 million in the first quarter of 2022, compared with € 11.2 million in the previous year. Here, the pandemic made it necessary for entire teams both at customers and at q.beyond to stay in quarantine. This segment is expected to return to growth by the second half of the year at the latest.
As previously announced, q.beyond is consistently working on further developing its SaaS business. As of 31 March 2022, the company already employed more than 170 SaaS experts. EBITDA was shaped by these investments in the company’s future growth, as well as by changes in its cost structure following the acquisitions and disposals in the past financial year. As planned, EBITDA amounted to € 0.8 million in the first quarter of 2022, compared with € 0.7 million in the previous year. Free cash flow improved to € -1.6 million, up from € -4.2 million in the first quarter of 2021. With net liquidity of € 47.2 million and almost no debt at the end of March 2022, the company is very solidly financed.
Revenue growth of at least 16% budgeted
q.beyond has not amended its forecast for 2022 as a whole and still plans to raise its revenues by at least 16% to between € 180 million and € 200 million, and generate EBITDA of € 8 million to € 16 million and free cash flow at a maximum of up to € -10 million. This forecast accounts for an extension in the range of SaaS solutions, also via targeted acquisitions, and an accelerated rate of developing and marketing these solutions. Examples in the existing portfolio include the award-winning StoreButler retail platform, first solutions for the logistics sector, such as a pricing manager, and “q.beyond IoT-SIM”, which offers an easily manageable way of integrating IoT devices into the cloud.
q.beyond has budgeted SaaS revenues of € 15 million to € 20 million for 2022 already. The “beyond 2022” growth strategy presented at the beginning of April 2022 provides for SaaS revenues growing to between € 50 million to € 80 million by 2025. Overall, in 2025 the company intends to generate total revenues of € 270 million to € 300 million, an EBITDA margin of 14% to 16%, and free cash flow of between € 15 million and € 25 million.
78% of revenues are recurring
Jürgen Hermann, q.beyond’s CEO, explains: “q.beyond will achieve strong growth in the years ahead as well.” The company has a solid and profitable Cloud and SAP business with a high share of recurring revenues (Q1 2022: 78%) and combines this with a high-margin SaaS business. Its focus is still on SME customers and on the retail, logistics, manufacturing and energy. “The high volume of demand shows that our Cloud, SAP and SaaS portfolio is meeting our customers’ needs. Working with q.beyond enables them to exploit the full potential of digitalisation”, he stresses.
Key figures at a glance
| € million | Q1 2022 | Q1 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenues | 41.2 | 37.5 |
| - Cloud & IoT | 32.0 | 26.3 |
| - SAP | 9.3 | 11.2 |
| EBITDA | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| EBIT | (3.3) | (3.4) |
| Consolidated net income | (3.5) | (3.5) |
| Free cash flow | (1.6) | (4.2) |
| Equity ratio at 31 March | 75% | 74% |
| Employees at 31 March | 1,126 | 955 |
Notes:
This Corporate News contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations and forecasts on the part of the management with regard to future events. Due to risks or erroneous assumptions, actual events may deviate materially from these forward-looking statements. The complete Quarterly Statement is available at www.qbeyond.de/en/investor-relations.
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 and SaaS. With nationwide locations 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
