Interim Report January-September 2020
Investments and profitability improvements
Third quarter
- Net sales amounted to MSEK 75.6 (68.0), rendering a net sales growth of 11% (23%). Organic net sales growth was 10% (18%)
- Recurring revenue amounted to MSEK 48.5 (42.5)
- The quarter was impacted by one-off items affecting comparison amounting to MSEK 0.0 (0.0).
- Adjusted EBITA amounted to MSEK 24.7 (19.3) which corresponds to an adjusted EBITA margin of 33% (28%)
- Net income amounted to MSEK 15.0 (12.1)
- Earnings per share, before dilution, amounted to SEK 1.13 (0.91) and diluted to SEK 1.13 (0.91)
The first nine months
- Net sales amounted to MSEK 245.6 (207.9), rendering a net sales growth of 18% (19%). Organic net sales growth was 14% (17%)
- Recurring revenue amounted to MSEK 143.9 (122.9)
- The first six months were impacted by one-off items affecting comparison amounting to MSEK 0.0 (0.9) The comparative figure is attributable to acquisitions and the company's listing on Nasdaq Stockholm
- Adjusted EBITA amounted to MSEK 70.0 (46.9) which corresponds to an adjusted EBITA margin of 29% (23%)
- Net income amounted to MSEK 42.6 (27.0)
- Earnings per share, before dilution, amounted to SEK 3.20 (2.03) and diluted to SEK 3.20 (2.03)
- Acquired an additional 35% of the shares in janjoo AB
CEO’s comments
I can proudly say that we continue to deal with the crisis like a tiger. We have all put in a lot of effort during the third quarter and we have continued to invest in marketing, sales and product development. We have commenced our biggest trainee program ever and trained about 40 new colleagues after the summer holidays.
We achieved 11% growth in the third quarter compared to the same quarter last year and we have reached 18% growth over the past 12 months. Operations in Sweden are still performing better than in Denmark, Finland and Norway, where the impact of the pandemic has been felt to a greater extent, due to more strict measures.
As we reported in the previous interim report, order intake from new customers was weak from mid-March to May as a direct result of Covid-19. As there is a certain lag, usually two to six months, from order to revenue, this had a negative effect on growth during the third quarter.
In the early stage of the pandemic, we decided to be a reasonable supplier and offered subscription suspensions to existing customers who were harshly impacted by the crisis. We also offered new customers a deferral of the first payment. This has resulted in lower than normal ARR growth.
As a team, we agreed to take holidays in July and then come back to work fully recharged early in August. At the same time, many companies and their employees decided to have extended holidays, making it tough for us to get up to speed in August.
In summary, we are in no way satisfied with the quarterly growth and continuously take actions to return to normal levels.
On a more positive note, we have seen stronger order intake from June until today compared to last year. We still believe our offerings are attractive to our target group and we have been able to succesfully close deals, not least within our industry verticals Real Estate and Energy. We are thrilled to welcome companies like Veidekke, Ishavskraft AS, Götene Energi, Karlshamn Energi and Sölvesborgs Energi as new customers during the third quarter.
In parallel with signing deals with major companies within our industry verticals, we have also closed a significant number of deals with small and medium sized companies across the Nordic region. We have welcomed about 200 new customers of varied size during the quarter. In summary, I strongly feel the business climate is gradually improving and I am more optimistic today than I was in July.
Our profitability is also progressively improving. EBITA increased by 28% compared to the same quarter last year, the EBITA margin reached 33%. The improvement in profitability is largely explained by increased sales per employee, our subscription revenues cover a larger part of our fixed expenses. We have had somewhat lower other costs due to fewer business trips and conferences during the pandemic. Bad debts and lost customers are only marginally higher than normally and has no major impact on the results.
We made promises – both in the first and second quarter – to invest in growth and to approach the situation as a tiger rather than a hedgehog. So, what have we done? Let’s show our cards!
We commenced our biggest trainee program ever in August. About 40 new colleagues started their training as sales representatives, consultants or developers. Historically, there is a strong correlation between how well we recruit new staff and our growth 2 to 3 years later. My sentiment is strong this year. I’m really keen to follow the progress of this team.
We have also made investments in product development. More new products and other news, than ever before, will be announced in the fourth quarter. This includes the forthcoming launch of Lime e-signing, which allows our Lime CRM customers to sign their offers and contracts digitally using e.g. BankID. Lime BI is another new feature in Lime CRM, allowing deep data analysis with the results visualised in reports and graphs. We are also about to launch a significant new release of Lime Go. The product has undergone a thorough improvement and is now even more user-friendly.
We continue to look for new acquisitions. In line with our acquisition strategy, the companies we look for should have a software that works as an add-on module to our Lime Go or Lime CRM platforms. The aim is to strengthen our product portfolio for new and existing customers. We are also looking into the possibility of acquiring CRM companies to be utilised as a platform on new markets. So far, no suitable match has been found, but our search continues.
It is still hard to predict how Covid-19 will impact our operations in the coming quarters. My opinion and our strategy remain, we will continue to prioritise growth through investments in sales, marketing and product development. I’m convinced that we, at the end of the crisis, will stand stronger than ever. For now, however, our focus is on the fourth quarter.
Erik Syrén, CEO of Lime Technologies
Read the entire report in the attached PDF.
Invitation to webcast for the presentation of Lime Technologies’ Interim Report for January-September 2020
On Thursday, October 22, at 09:30 CEST, are analysts, investors, media and other interested parties invited to attend a webcast where Lime’s CEO, Erik Syrén, and CFO, Magnus Hansson, will comment on the published report and answer questions. The presentation will be held in English.
The presentation material will be available on Lime’s website.
The link to the webcast can be found here.
For more information, contact:
Lime Technologies AB (publ)
Erik Syrén, CEO / +46 707-38 50 72 / erik.syren@lime.tech
Magnus Hansson, CFO / +46 708-55 55 40 / magnus.hansson@lime.tech
Lars Andersson, Head of Investor Relations /+46 704-33 53 83 / lars.andersson@lime.tech
This information constituted inside information prior to publication. This is information that Lime Technologies AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 08.00 CET on October 22, 2020.
About Lime
Lime helps businesses all over the Nordics to become better at customer care. The company develops and sells digital products for ”Customer Relationship Management”, development and management of customer relationships. Lime was founded in 1990 and has 290 employees. The company has offices in Lund, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Gävle, Oslo, Copenhagen, Utrecht and Helsinki. Their customers include everything from sole traders to large organisations.
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