Interim Statement 1 January – 30 September 2019
Qt Group Plc Stock Exchange Release 1 November 2019 at 3:00 p.m.
Third quarter:
The growth of net sales accelerated as expected (growth of 36.8 percent)
July–September 2019
• Net sales increased by 36.8 per cent year-on-year to EUR 14,700 thousand (10,748)*. At comparable exchange rates, net sales increased by 32.5 per cent.
• The operating result was EUR 72 thousand (-1,045).
• The operating margin (EBIT -%) was 0.5 per cent (-9.7%).
• Earnings per share were EUR -0.01 euro (-0.05).
January–September 2019
• Net sales increased by 20.4 per cent to EUR 41,466 thousand (34,452). At comparable exchange rates, net sales increased by 15.8 per cent.
• The operating result was EUR 267 thousand (-670).
• The operating margin (EBIT %) was 0.6 per cent (-1.9 %).
• Earnings per share were EUR -0.01 (-0.04).
* the figures in brackets refer to the comparison period, i.e. the corresponding period in the previous year.
Business Report
Financial performance:
Qt Group Plc’s net sales for the third quarter amounted to EUR 14,700 thousand (EUR 10,748 thousand), up 36.8 percent. License sales and consulting grew by 47.5 percent, while maintenance revenue increased by 17.5 percent. The effect of exchange rates on the comparison period’s net sales was EUR 351 thousand and at comparable exchange rates, net sales increased by 32.5 percent.
Qt's net sales for the review period January-September amounted to EUR 41,466 thousand (EUR 34,452 thousand), up 20.4 percent. License sales and consultancy grew by 20.2 percent while maintenance sales increased by 20.7 percent. The effect of exchange rates on the comparison period's net sales was EUR 1,363 thousand and at comparable exchange rates, net sales increased by 15.8 percent.
Qt Group’s operating result in the third quarter was EUR 72 thousand (EUR -1,045 thousand). In January-September, the operating result was 267 thousand (-670 thousand). Qt Group has made investments in growth and recruited new personnel in line with its growth strategy. The Group had 339 employees at the end of the third quarter, compared to 295 a year earlier. The increase in the number of employees has been strongest in the Asian and US sales and consulting organizations.
Juha Varelius, President and CEO:
Qt Group’s growth accelerated as expected in the third quarter of 2019. We signed several significant licensing deals in all geographical areas and in several different industries. The demand for consulting services has also improved due to a growing need for Qt experts in the licensing customers’ projects. In addition to our own resources, we use consultants from our partner network in our customer projects.
The increase in net sales was boosted by the strengthening of the US dollar against the euro. About two-thirds of the sales of Qt are USD-based. Typically, the net sales and growth of Qt’s individual quarters fluctuate significantly also in the future due to the timing of large deals.
We have continued to make investments in growth and recruited new personnel in line with our growth strategy, with a particular focus on expanding our global sales and consulting network.
In August, we introduced Qt for MCUs, a solution that enables companies to create fluid and rich user interfaces (UIs) on cost-effective low-power microcontrollers (MCUs). Qt for MCUs substantially expands Qt’s target market and, going forward, it will present considerable device volume potential for our distribution license business. Qt for MCUs is very well suited for the implementation of user interfaces for wearable smart devices, home electronics, and vehicles as well as smart home, industrial and medical devices.
We also announced that the hypercar manufacturer Koenigsegg has selected Qt’s framework for the development of its in-vehicle infotainment systems and instrument clusters. Qt’s consulting services have supported Koenigsegg in achieving its goals in software development. Qt enables Koenigsegg’s digital cockpit to provide a unified and streamlined user experience. Qt provides a streamlined development workflow from graphic designer to software developer, significantly reducing time-to-market, as well as the number of mock-up prototype iterations.
Our most important customer segments are the automation industry, the medical devices industry and the automotive industry. We are continuing to enhance the performance and resource efficiency of Qt applications in addition to offering targeted applications to our most important customer segments. Products programmed on Qt can be used during free time, at work, at home and in vehicles. Qt is used, for example, in airplane entertainment systems, as a platform for digital televisions, in automotive digital cockpits, in the user interfaces of medical devices and small household electronics.
Our performance during the period under review means we are well positioned to continue the implementation of our growth strategy.
Future Outlook
Operating environment and market outlook
The company estimates the growth prospects for its business in the next few years as very promising.
The Group’s business development efforts will particularly focus on desktop applications as well as embedded systems in the automotive, medical devices and industrial automation sectors. Product development efforts will also focus on the value-added features and tools needed in the creation of embedded systems.
Sales growth associated with embedded systems will also reflect on the earnings logic. Volume-based distribution license revenue from these sales accumulates over the long term. The company estimates that the growth of volume-based distribution license revenue from the sales of embedded systems will accelerate to a more significant degree starting from 2020.
Outlook 2019
We expect the strong growth of net sales to continue in the final quarter of the year. At comparable currencies, net sales in 2019 are estimated to increase by over 15 per cent year-on-year. The company’s operating result is expected still in 2019 to show a loss due to growth investments.
Events after the review period
The company had no other significant events deviating from normal business operations after the end of the review period.
Helsinki, November 1, 2019
Qt Group Plc
Board of Directors
Communications
The company does not hold briefings on interim statements. The interim statement will be available in the Investors section at www.qt.io from 3:00 pm on 1 November 2019.
Further information
Juha Varelius, CEO, tel. +358 9 8861 8040
DISTRIBUTION
NASDAQ Helsinki
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