Basware Interim Report January 1 - March 31, 2017 (IFRS)
Basware Corporation, stock exchange release, April 21, 2017 at 08:45
BASWARE INTERIM REPORT JANUARY 1 - MARCH 31, 2017 (IFRS)
SUMMARY
Strong cloud order intake in the first quarter
January-March 2017:
- Net sales EUR 36 801 thousand (EUR 34 125 thousand): growth 7.8 percent
- Cloud revenue growth of 28.8 percent, amounting to 50.3 percent (42.1 %) of net sales
- Adjusted EBITDA EUR -1 602 thousand (EUR -517 thousand)
- Adjusted operating result EUR -4 194 thousand (EUR -2 366 thousand)
- Adjusted earnings per share (diluted) EUR -0.29 (-0.17)
- Operating result EUR -5 092 thousand (EUR -2 716 thousand)
- Earnings per share (diluted) EUR -0.37 (-0.21)
The Interim Report is unaudited.
Basware is targeting accelerated revenue growth during its strategy period 2017-2020. Basware's number one strategic priority is cloud revenue growth which it will achieve by extending its leadership in networked purchase to pay, growing its network and expanding value added services. For 2017, Basware expects its cloud revenues to grow by approximately 20 percent, and adjusted EBITDA at breakeven.
GROUP KEY FIGURES
| 1-3/ | 1-3/ | Change, | 1-12/ | ||||||||||||
| EUR thousand | 2017 | 2016 | % | 2016 | |||||||||||
| Net sales | 36 801 | 34 125 | 7.8 % | 148 580 | |||||||||||
| EBITDA | -2 500 | -867 | 188.2 % | -5 394 | |||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | -1 602 | -517 | 209.9 % | 2 063 | |||||||||||
| Operating result | -5 092 | -2 716 | 87.5 % | -13 946 | |||||||||||
| % of net sales | |||||||||||||||
| Adjusted operating result | -4 194 | -2 366 | 77.3 % | -6 490 | |||||||||||
| Result before tax | -6 086 | -3 773 | 61.3 % | -16 256 | |||||||||||
| Result for the period | -5 380 | -2 957 | 82.0 % | -14 318 | |||||||||||
| Return on equity, % | -16.6 % | -8.5 % | -10.5 % | ||||||||||||
| Return on investment, % | -11.8 % | -6.9 % | -9.5 % | ||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 32 281 | 54 654 | -40.9 % | 35 755 | |||||||||||
| Gearing, % | 6.3 % | -28.9 % | 8.7 % | ||||||||||||
| Equity ratio, % | 55.9 % | 66.3 % | 58.5 % | ||||||||||||
| Earnings per share | |||||||||||||||
| Diluted, EUR | -0.37 | -0.21 | 78.4 % | -1.00 | |||||||||||
| Adjusted earnings per share, diluted | -0.29 | -0.17 | 74.9 % | -0.45 | |||||||||||
| Equity per share, EUR | 8.85 | 9.64 | -8.2 % | 9.26 | |||||||||||
BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Basware is the global leader in networked purchase-to-pay solutions, including e-invoicing and financing services. Basware's commerce network connects businesses in over 100 countries and territories around the globe. As the largest open business network in the world, Basware provides scale and reach for organizations of all sizes, enabling them to grow their business and unlock value across their operations by simplifying and streamlining financial processes. Small and large companies around the world achieve significant cost savings, more flexible payment terms, greater efficiencies and closer relationships with their suppliers.
CEO Vesa Tykkyläinen:
As both a shareholder and the CEO of Basware, I am pleased to report that Basware made strong progress in the first quarter of 2017 towards its strategic priority of cloud revenue growth. Cloud revenues grew well and Basware laid the foundations for strong future cloud growth with a significant increase in subscription annual recurring revenue order intake compared to the first quarter of 2016.
At Basware, our mission is to help customers simplify operations and spend smarter. We help customers make all their purchasing processes paperless and we differentiate ourselves with the Basware Network, the largest e-invoicing network in the world. There is a huge market opportunity for Basware's services, worth EUR 15 billion annually in Europe and North America.
Basware won a number of significant new customers in the first quarter. A great example of a large customer operating in multiple jurisdictions that was won in the first quarter is Vinci Energies. It was also a strong quarter for order intake in the US with Intertape Polymer Group being a good example of a win there against the US competition. Other notable wins in the quarter included Danske Bank and Falck.
Successfully delivering our solutions to customers is key to both customer satisfaction and cloud revenue growth so I am pleased to be able to say that we delivered twenty one SaaS deals in the first quarter of 2017 compared to twelve in the first quarter of 2016.
Within cloud, Basware's SaaS revenues continued to be strong, more than doubling compared to the first quarter of 2016. The Basware Network is a key differentiator with customers as well as a huge data asset. It had its strongest ever month in March with 10.7 million transactions processed and transaction volume growth was 20 percent compared to the first quarter of 2016.
Since I became CEO of Basware some seven months ago, we have made significant operational improvements. In the first quarter of 2017 we decided to combine Basware's Network and Financing Services business areas in order to more effectively use research and development resources and focus on getting the most out of the data in our network. We have appointed a new SVP to head this team who will begin in the second quarter of 2017. These changes come on top of the initiatives begun already in the fourth quarter of 2016, including a productivity programme, the combination of Customer Services and Professional Services into a single unit, and the appointment of new sales heads in the US and Germany. We have a clear plan which we have started to execute. It will take time for the changes to be visible and we are only just beginning to see the positive effects of these changes.
In the first quarter, we announced new share incentive plans that equate in total to two percent of Basware's share capital. Not only will management receive Basware shares as part of their compensation, but they will also commit their own capital to buy Basware shares. As a result of these measures, management is now even more aligned with shareholders' interests than it has been in the past.
Basware is a global market leader as recognised by key industry analysts and continues to win the trust of new customers. Combined with the actions we are taking to further improve our operations, I am very confident that Basware is well positioned to capture the huge market opportunity ahead of it.
FUTURE OUTLOOK
Operating environment and market outlook
All organisations need to manage their purchasing processes from procurement through to handling invoices and paying them. Currently many organisations only have unsophisticated or partial tools to manage these processes and as a result many are faced with unmanaged spending, inefficient manual and paper-based processes and poor visibility of cashflows. Basware offers a uniquely complete solution for these challenges that is differentiated by the Basware network, the largest e-invoicing network in the world, and enables customers to manage 100% of their spending and make their purchasing processes completely paperless.
Basware expects the demand for networked purchase to pay services to continue to grow. The total potential market for networked purchase to pay services is estimated to be worth EUR 15 billion in annual revenues in Europe and North America.
Outlook 2017
Basware's number one strategic priority is cloud revenue growth during its strategy period 2017-2020 which it will achieve by extending its leadership in networked purchase to pay, growing its network and expanding value added services. For 2017, Basware expects its cloud revenues to grow by approximately 20 percent, and adjusted EBITDA at breakeven.
Espoo, Finland, Friday, April 21, 2017
BASWARE CORPORATION
Board of Directors
Vesa Tykkyläinen, CEO, Basware Corporation
For more information, please contact:
Niclas Rosenlew, CFO, Basware Corporation
Tel. +358 50 480 2160, niclas.rosenlew@basware.com
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Key media
www.basware.com/investors