Increased profit and strong cash flow for HiQ
Sales for the first half of the year increase to SEK 965.5 million. Operating profit for the same period increases to SEK 121.4 million. In the second quarter of the year, sales increase to SEK 477.2 million. Cash flow for the first half of the year amounts to SEK 137.3 million and liquid assets total SEK 110.3 million. This means that our financial position remains strong. During the quarter, as announced earlier, we divested our holding in Westend Affärscentrum Oy, which is our former office space in Finland. The divestment generated a profit of SEK 22.8 million.
“As usual, the second quarter is seasonally weak with extra days off and leave. This year even more challenging compared to last year’s second quarter, with significantly less time. All in all, the first half of the year we deliver strong earnings in Finland, while in Sweden we do not live up to our expectations. To some extent, developments in Sweden were affected by weaker demand from the public sector and locally in the telecom sector in Blekinge,” says Lars Stugemo, President and CEO of HiQ.
Despite this, HiQ has never sold more in a second quarter, and our operating profit is the best for an individual quarter in HiQ’s history. This is partly explained by the divestment of our previous offices in Finland, which HiQ reported earlier.
“Demand for our services is good during the first half of the year and we win a lot of exciting new business. Above all, we deepen our partnerships with our major customers, which has been a conscious strategy. We see that demand in the important industry segment continues to increase - an area clearly characterized by R&D, which is HiQ’s core competence,” says Lars Stugemo, President and CEO of HiQ.
Among the news in the second quarter, we see how HiQ works with Scania to develop a mobile solution that allows lorries to get faster help with unplanned stops. Service station chain ST1 and Shell begin working with HiQ to get help with digitalising parts of their business. Car rental company Sixt gets help from HiQ to develop services that make short- or long-term car rental easy. And the software for tech start-up InviSense’s products, which is one of Sweden’s 33 most innovative companies according to tech publication Ny Teknik, is delivered by HiQ.
“Technological developments are progressing at full speed and force – and I truly believe that it is our best tool for building a better, more fun and more sustainable world. And that’s exactly what all our skilled employees at HiQ do at work. Together with our fantastic clients we are building solutions that make the world better, simpler, safer, more fun – and more sustainable,” says Lars Stugemo, President and CEO of HiQ.
HiQ's President and CEO, Lars Stugemo, will present the report today, Tuesday, 16 July, at 09:00 CET at HiQ's office at Katarinavägen 15, 7th floor, in Stockholm.
The report can be downloaded from www.hiq.se
For more information, please contact:
Lars Stugemo, President and CEO of HiQ, tel: +46 8 588 90 000, e-mail: lars.stugemo@hiq.se
Erik Ridman, Head of Communications HiQ, tel: +46 70-750 80 60, e-mail: erik.ridman@hiq.se
This information is information that HiQ International AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person above, at 07.30 CET on 16 July 2019
HiQ helps to make the world a better place by using technology, design and communication solutions to make people’s lives simpler and better. We are the perfect partner for everyone eager to achieve results that make a difference in a digital world. Founded in 1995, HiQ currently has over 1600 specialists in four countries and is listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm MidCap list. For more information and inspiration, please visit www.hiq.se
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