Interim report January - March 2024 Cabonline Group Holding AB (publ)
JANUARY - MARCH
- Revenue amounted to SEK 1,287 million (1,450 million January-March 2023), a decrease of 11%. Organically, revenue decreased by 10%.
- Adjusted EBITA amounted to SEK 48 million (58), and the corresponding margin was 3.7% (4.0).
- Operating profit amounted to SEK 43 million (57), including items affecting comparability of SEK -1 million (6).
- Net income for the period amounted to SEK -26 million (-9).
- Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK -50 million (56).
Significant events during the reporting period
As of January 1 2024 the three Norwegian companies Norges Taxi Öst AS, Norges Taxi Nord AS and Norges Taxi Vest AS were merged into Cabonline Norge AS in Norway.
On February 29 2024 it was announced that Cabonline Group had reached an agreement to sell all of its operations in Denmark to the Danish taxi company Taxa Syd Gruppen A/S.
Significant events after the end of the reporting period
On April 2 2024 the Board of Directors at Cabonline Group Holding AB announced that they have appointed Charlotta Söderlund, currently the Company’s Chief Operating Officer, as acting President and CEO. Dag Kibsgaard-Petersen has thereby left the company.
On April 3 2024 the Swedish Companies Registstration Office (Bolagsverket) gave permission to merge companies Taxi Helsingborg AB and Taxi Skåne AB into Caboline Region Syd AB.
On April 4 2024 Cabonline appointed Erik Skånsberg as the new CFO, starting on April 15. Fredrik Lundqvist thereby leaves the company.
CEO´s comment
Continued market challenges - high rate of investment builds for the future and a milestone in sustainability
The quarter was characterised by continued market challenges for the private travel customer group (B2C). Our strategy and the strength of our business model with three overall customer groups, B2P (public), B2B (business), and B2C (private), have helped us navigate these challenges to minimise the impact on earnings. The quarterly result was also affected by vehicle capacity shortages and a high investment rate in digital development for the future.
In the first quarter, Cabonline achieved a turnover of MSEK 1,287 compared to MSEK 1,450 in the same quarter last year and an operating profit of MSEK 43 compared to MSEK 57, a decrease of 24%. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by 14% in the first quarter compared to last year's period.
Development during the quarter
Our travellers appreciate our focus on quality. App traveller satisfaction in the quarter reached 4.62 on a 5-point scale, up from 4.59 in the same period last year. This demonstrates the strength of our customer offering and reinforces our competitive advantage.
Our effort in the business travel (B2B) customer group has paid off. We have seen a continued upturn during the quarter, leading to a 21% year-on-year revenue growth. Even considering Easter's impact, our unique Flytaxi concept has proved stable, with a 1% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
Macroeconomic challenges continue to affect private (B2C) travel. The trend of declining private travel continued for the fourth consecutive quarter. We saw a 36% decrease in B2C travel compared to the same period last year while excluding Denmark's March figures, the decrease was 29%. These figures reflect the impact of the economy on our business. The lack of car capacity during the quarter also affected the result.
During the quarter, we have continued to win public procurements (B2P), which shows confidence in Cabonline. Examples of these are school transport in the City of Mölndal in Sweden and renewed confidence to run school transport in the City of Malmö, service transport in Region Sörmland and school transport in Umeå Municipality.
Preparations for implementing our new booking and dispatch platform have continued during the quarter. The process has taken longer than expected, and we are actively managing it through rigorous quality controls and workflow optimisation. We aim to gather all our brands on a single booking and dispatch platform in 2024-2025, which is expected to increase efficiency and improve the customer experience. In the long term, we are confident that our investments in digital development will offer significant benefits and open up new opportunities for Cabonline.
A milestone in sustainability and responsibility
In our endeavour to lead the way towards a more sustainable future, Cabonline has reached a significant milestone. We are proud to become the first taxi company in Northern Europe with climate targets in line with the Paris Agreement's 1.5-degree target, approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
SBTi has created a framework for science-based climate targets for companies and organisations. For validation, companies must map emissions across the entire value chain (Scope 1, 2 and 3) and set targets that meet or exceed the ambitions of the Paris Agreement.
Cabonline's climate targets cover all emissions in the value chain, both upstream from suppliers and downstream from its operations. Most of the emissions are generated by connected taxis. The company's target, to reduce emissions in line with the 1.5 degree target of the Paris Agreement, was approved in April 2024.
In the first quarter, the share of electric cars increased to 29% of the total fleet, and the share of the passenger car fleet that is fossil fuel independent (electric or biogas vehicles) increased to 57%.
Changes in the management team
On 2 April 2024, Charlotte Söderlund was appointed acting CEO and President. Dag Kibsgaard-Petersen has thus left the company. Charlotta was recruited to Cabonline Group in 2017. She will continue in her previous role as COO and distribute responsibilities and tasks within the operational part of Cabonline.
Magnus Creutz took over as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) on 8 April 2024. He has a solid commercial background in the B2B and B2C segments, most recently as Director of B2B Nordics at Allente.
On 15 April, Erik Skånsberg took over as the new CFO. He has a versatile background in business planning, M&A and corporate and managerial finance.
Business in Denmark sold
On 29 February 2024, Cabonline sold its Danish operation, Taxi 4x27, to the Taxa Syd Group as part of its strategic business plan to focus on operations in Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The deal included Cabonline Danmark ApS and Taxi 4x27 A/S, and Taxa Syd took over all employees and contracts.
Looking ahead
I am humbled and grateful to have been given the opportunity to take over the role of acting CEO of Cabonline Group. I look forward to continuing to work closely with all my fantastic colleagues to drive Cabonline forward and strengthen our position in the Nordic market.
This report emphasises the importance of intensifying our work on a new booking and dispatch platform and solving our capacity challenges. These measures are crucial to ensuring our competitiveness and ability to meet customer needs effectively.
As we move through 2024, conditions remain uncertain and are characterised by macroeconomic market challenges. We, therefore, face the rest of the year with great humility and focus on what we can influence.
Finally, I want to express my deep gratitude to our team, drivers, and transporters for their tireless work and commitment. Your work is at the heart of our success. To our travellers and customers, your trust is our greatest asset. Together, we are building a stronger and more sustainable future.
Stockholm May 2024
Charlotta Söderlund
Acting CEO and President
For further information, please contact:
Charlotta Söderlund, tf VD, tel +46 70 453 77 70, charlotta.weigel@cabonline.com
Erik Skånsberg, CFO, tel +46 79 062 38 84, erik.skansberg@cabonline.com
About Cabonline Group:
Cabonline is the leading taxi company in the Nordic region, with ~2,200 connected transporters and ~4,100 vehicles in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. Cabonline operates a series of well-known brands, such as TaxiKurir, Taxi Skåne, Umeå Taxi, Sverigetaxi, TOPCAB, Norgestaxi, Kovanen, Fixu Taxi and Flygtaxi. Through Cabonline, transporters can access attractive customer agreements, support from industry-leading technology and efficient services where shared infrastructure delivers economies of scale. In 2023, Cabonline’s revenue was approximately SEK 5.6 billion. For further information: cabonlinegroup.com/en