Acando Interim report January 1 - March 31, 2017

First quarter January 1 – March 31, 2017

• Net sales totaled SEK 621 m (527)
• Operating profit amounted to SEK 75 m (34)
• The operating margin was 12.1% (6.4)
• Profit after tax was SEK 54 m (24)
• Earnings per share were SEK 0.52 (0.24)
• Cash and cash equivalents totaled SEK 84 m (78)

Statement by Carl-Magnus Månsson, CEO

Acando’s positive trend from 2016 continues with a strong start to 2017. Sales grew in all geographies by a total of 18 percent after adjustment for discontinued operations and profits more than doubled year-on-year. Our ongoing efforts to optimize the capture of customers’ needs in terms of more complex transformation projects and expert support for their own organizations contribute to better utilization of resources. We are continuing to package solutions to achieve cost and implementation efficiency, one example of which is Acando’s Digital Workplace. We continued to win new customers during the quarter and, in parallel, were rewarded for our innovative packaging when Microsoft raised our partner status.

We increasingly find ourselves in situations where we are working in fully integrated teams, together with our customers, on their core business development with both implementations as well as model and concept development. It is becoming increasingly clear that the divide between understanding customers’ and users’ behavior, and adapting the application of digital technology is becoming a decisive competitive issue for our customers. Our ability to support and drive issues throughout the flow, from strategic choices to the solution design, complex transformations and moves, is unique, and we are proud of the confidence shown in us by our customers — in terms of creating new opportunities, and in developing and managing existing solutions. Experimenting in digital modern environments becomes a must and there is an important purpose for Acando Digital Innovation Agency Itch.

To ensure we always remain relevant, we develop and expand our offerings geographically and concurrently conduct focused skills development to build entirely new skills or further refine what we already have. During the quarter, we expanded the operations of Acando’s digital innovation agency, Itch, to Norway. We have also made significant investments in Advanced Analysis and Machine Learning, where we have won our first assignments in the retail and healthcare segments. In Industrial IoT, we are building a position as both an advisor and system integrator as the internet of things merges with traditional business systems and analytics components. We have also noted strong demand in terms of information security and compliance, not least linked to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), where we have a strong offering.

We continue to record successes in many of the industries where we can see that digitalization has a vital role, such as, banking and finance, retail, healthcare and public administration. Our successes include signing new framework agreements with Systembolaget and Region Skåne, and winning framework agreements and a major delivery project with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority.

Our drivers include not only our customers’ expectations and needs, but the stimulation and challenges that each of us at Acando provide each other with on a daily basis. We are proud that Acando Germany won the A Great Place to Work award, and that the Group has expanded by a further 54 talented employees during the quarter. At the same time, we need many more who want to challenge and to be challenged.

This report comprises information that Acando AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Market Act. This information was submitted through the agency of the contacts for publication on May 4, 2017 at 13:00 p.m. (CET).

For further information, please contact:
Carl-Magnus Månsson, President and CEO, +46 (0)8 699 70 00
Anneli Lindblom, CFO, +46 (0)8 699 70 00

Acando is a consulting company whose business concept is, in partnership with its customers, to create business value by enhancing and streamlining processes, organizations and digital solutions. We stand out due to our ability to combine skills in strategy and business operations with sound technical expertise and deep understanding of how organizations function. The Group has approximately 1,700 employees allocated over five countries. Acando had sales of more than SEK 2 billion in 2016 and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.