Axactor SE: Fourth quarter 2021 financial results

Fri, Feb 18, 2022 07:00 CET

Axactor SE (Axactor, OSE: ACR) announced the preliminary results for the fourth quarter in a market update on 17 January 2022. The numbers published in the fourth quarter report are in line with the numbers published in the market update.

Key figures Q4 2021 (Q4 2020 in brackets)*

Gross revenue of EUR 86m (EUR 92m)
Total income of EUR 22m (EUR 55m)
EBITDA of EUR -27m (EUR 17m)
Cash EBITDA of EUR 55m (EUR 61m)
Net profit before tax of EUR -42m (EUR -3m)
NPL portfolio investments of EUR 54m (EUR 22m)

The company is pleased to see that the 3PC segment accounts for 17% of gross revenue in Q4. The negative trend on 3PC revenue y-o-y has turned into growth and the contribution margin has improved to 47% for the quarter (44%). Furthermore, the effects of the cost reduction program contributed to a reduction of OPEX and Amortization & Depreciation of 5% y-o-y (excluding OPEX related to the REO segment and settlement cost in a legal dispute booked in fourth quarter 2021). NPL portfolio investments are increasing steadily and came in at EUR 54m for the quarter, up from EUR 22m in Q4 2020 and up from EUR 32m in previous quarter.

“I am fully convinced that Axactor is on the right path. We are acquiring portfolios at attractive rates and have an investment capacity of almost 3x replacement capex. Customer satisfaction is very high, we are improving efficiency and reducing funding cost. We are well positioned to succeed going forward” says Johnny Tsolis, CEO of Axactor.

Discontinued business

Axactor has sold off ~90% of the REO portfolio**. Gross revenue for the segment
came in at EUR 40m in 2021 and consolidated book values are down to only EUR 29m
at year end. In 2022 the REO segment will be reported as discontinued operations
in the financial statement.

Outlook

The large negative NPL revaluation booked in the fourth quarter 2021 reduces downside risk for collection performance, which is expected to fluctuate around 100% going forward. Axactor expect to deploy between EUR 200 million and EUR 250 million in NPL portfolios for the coming twelve months, well above replacement capex of EUR 108m. Axactor has already estimated NPL investment commitments for EUR 117 million in 2022 at a satisfying gross IRR level of 22%.

The cost reduction program has delivered above expectation, rendering a lower cost base going into 2022 than the Group had going into 2021.

For the 3PC segment the acquisition of CRS in Italy comes with a recurring annual revenue of approximately EUR 6 million with effect from 1 January 2022.

Webcast

10:00 am CET: The results will be presented in a global investor webcast with a live Q&A session. A recording of the webcast will be made available after the live stream is concluded on axactor.com.

Webcast participation will be possible via the following:

Webcast link:
https://streams.eventcdn.net/axactor/q4-2021/

Webcast dial-in numbers:
Denmark: +4578150110
Norway: +4723500236
Sweden: +46850558373
United Kingdom: +443333009260
United States: +16467224957

For additional information, please contact:
Johnny Tsolis, CEO, Axactor
Tel: +47 913 35 461, e-mail: johnny.tsolis@axactor.com

Kyrre Svae, Chief of Strategy & IR, Axactor
Tel: +47 478 39 405, e-mail: kyrre.svae@axactor.com

To learn more, visit www.axactor.com

*EBITDA and other alternative performance measures (APMs) are defined and reconciled to the IFRS financial statements as a part of the APM section on page 32 of the fourth quarter 2021 financial report.

**Including revaluations.

This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This stock exchange announcement was published by Kyrre Svae, Chief of Strategy & IR at Axactor SE, on 18 February 2022 at 07:00 CET.