11/09/2020

q.beyond posts further record new orders and continues to grow

• New orders rise to € 52.3 million in third quarter of 2020
• Revenues of € 35.1 million mark fifth consecutive quarter of growth
• As planned, EBITDA of € -0.6 million approaches break-even; sustainably positive EBITDA from Q4 2020
• q.beyond expects strong final quarter and confirms forecast for 2020

Cologne, 9 November 2020 – q.beyond AG, which resulted from the rebranding of QSC AG in mid-September, increased its revenues for the fifth consecutive quarter in the third quarter of 2020, in this case to € 35.1 million. Despite the severest recession in post-war German history, the IT service provider generated year-on-year growth of 9%. Digitalisation, whose importance to and acceptance by SMEs is now undisputed, has received a further boost due to the coronavirus crisis. This is documented by q.beyond’s new orders, the core indicator of its medium-term growth. In the third quarter of 2020, this key figure reached a new record of € 52.3 million, equivalent to an increase of 45% on the previous quarter. Around 70% of these orders were received from new customers, particularly in q.beyond’s sector focuses of retail and manufacturing.

Cloud & IoT business posts double-digit growth

The Covid-19 crisis has created particularly strong demand for cloud solutions, with a key focus on the implementation and operation of digital workplaces. Revenues in q.beyond’s Cloud & IoT segment therefore grew year-on-year by 11% to € 25.1 million in the third quarter of 2020. Revenues in the SAP segment rose over the same period by 4% to € 10.0 million. Coronavirus-related restrictions on contact held back the consulting business on location at customers. However, the broad-based positioning of this segment paid off, with SAP operations and application management hardly affected by the lockdown.

As q.beyond’s revenues have risen, its earnings performance and financial position have also improved. EBITDA came to € -0.6 million in the third quarter of 2020 and, as planned, improved by more than 70% on the figure of € -2.2 million reported for the previous year’s period. Operating earnings (EBIT) for the past quarter stood at € -4.9 million, as against € -6.3 million in the third quarter of 2019. The free cash flow also improved year-on-year, in this case from € -11.8 million to € -3.9 million.

Double-digit revenue growth planned for 2020

For 2020 as a whole, q.beyond still expects its full-year revenues to grow by at least 13% to more than € 143 million and thus to see a strong fourth quarter of 2020. Towards the end of the year, the Company will benefit from the high volume of new orders received in the year to date, which total € 122.0 million. This forecast, which dates back to spring 2020, is still based on the assumption that economic activity will normalise and that companies will maintain their operations even during the partial shutdown in November 2020. In view of its record order volumes and the high share of recurring revenues, however, q.beyond is also well positioned for a more prolonged situation in connection with the pandemic.

Given strong developments on the new business front, q.beyond will continue consistently implementing its “2020plus” growth strategy in the fourth quarter of 2020. It is investing in its future growth, developing new digital services and recruiting IT specialists. As a result, the Company still expects to generate EBITDA of up to € -5 million and free cash flow of up to € -16 million this year. As planned and previously communicated, q.beyond expects to generate sustainably positive EBITDA from the fourth quarter of 2020, and sustainably positive free cash flow from the fourth quarter of 2021. Explains CEO Jürgen Hermann: “In this historically exceptional situation, q.beyond has once again reported record new orders and continuous revenue growth.” The Company’s solid equity ratio of 74% forms the basis for consistently implementing its growth strategy.

Key figures at a glance

Notes:

This Corporate News contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations and forecasts on the part of the management of q.beyond AG with regard to future events. Due to risks or erroneous assumptions, actual events may deviate materially from these forward-looking statements.

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 900 people accompanies SME customers securely and reliably throughout their digital journey. We are experts in Cloud, SAP and IoT.
q.beyond AG results from the rebranding of QSC AG in September 2020. With nationwide locations and its own certified data centres, it is one of Germany’s leading IT service providers.

Contact
q.beyond AG
Jan Erlinghagen
Corporate Communications
Mathias-Brüggen-Str. 55
50829 Cologne
T +49 221 669-8119
presse@qbeyond.de