Qt Group Plc - Interim statement January-March 2023
Qt Group Plc, stock exchange release, April 28, 2023 at 8.00 am EEST
This release is a summary of Qt Group Plc’s Interim Statement for January-March 2023. The complete report is attached to this release as a PDF file, and it is also available on the company's website at www.qt.io/investors
First quarter 2023: Strong start for the year – revenue increased 27 percent, and EBITA increased 40 percent
January-March 2023
- Net sales increased 26.6 percent to EUR 40.0 million (EUR 31.6 million). The effect of exchange rates on the comparison period’s net sales was EUR 0.7 million, and at comparable exchange rates, net sales increased by 24.0 percent.
- Operating profit (EBITA) was 7.8 million (EUR 5.6 million) or 19.5 percent (17.7%) of net sales.
- Operating profit (EBIT) was 5.8 million (EUR 4.7 million) or 14.5 percent (14.8%) of net sales.
- Earnings per share were EUR 0.17 (EUR 0.15).
The figures in brackets refer to the comparison period, i.e., the corresponding period in the previous year. The percentage of change in net sales at comparable exchange rates is calculated by translating the net sales from the comparison period of 2022 with the actual exchange rates of the reporting period of 2023 and by comparing the reported net sales in 2023 with the calculated 2022 net sales at comparable exchange rates.
Key figures
| EUR 1,000 | 1-3/2023 | 1-3/2022 | Change, % | 1-12/2022 |
| Net sales | 39,971 | 31,572 | 26.6% | 155,318 |
| Operating profit (EBITA) | 7,800 | 5,586 | 39.6% | 42,249 |
| EBITA, % | 19.5% | 17.7% | 27.2% | |
| Operating profit (EBIT) | 5,792 | 4,667 | 24.1% | 36,870 |
| EBIT, % | 14.5% | 14.8% | 23.7% | |
| Return on equity, % | 4.9% | 7.9% | 49.6% | |
| Return on investment, % | 4.7% | 6.9% | 41.5% | |
| Interest-bearing liabilities1 | 28,271 | 20,472 | 38.1% | 28,159 |
| Cash and cash equivalents1 | 23,071 | 35,315 | -34.7% | 8,815 |
| Net gearing, % 1 | 5.7% | -32.6% | 22.3% | |
| Equity ratio, % 1 | 54.2% | 37.7% | 52.8% | |
| Earnings per share (EPS), EUR | 0.17 | 0.15 | 11.9% | 1.36 |
| Diluted earnings per share, EUR | 0.17 | 0.15 | 14.8% | 1.36 |
| Personnel, on average | 699 | 535 | 30.7% | 603 |
1 At the end of period
Juha Varelius, President and CEO
Qt Group’s net sales developed well and according to our expectations in the first quarter of 2023. In January-March 2023, net sales were EUR 40 million, and net sales growth at comparable currencies was 24 percent.
Operating profit (EBITA) was EUR 8 million or 20 percent of net sales during the first quarter, an increase of 40 percent compared to the first quarter of 2022. In January-March 2023, our personnel increased by 18 employees and totaled 706 at the end of March. Compared to the end of March last year, our personnel has increased by 26 percent. As part of our growth strategy, we are continuing to recruit employees for sales and R&D teams.
We launched Qt Insight 1.0 analytics solution at the beginning of the year 2023 to offer actionable data for companies on the usage and performance of their applications and devices. Understanding user behavior and how they navigate applications is essential to deliver an outstanding customer experience. However, particularly in embedded devices, it can be challenging to collect and analyze the data. Our analytics solution is a great example of our customer-focused R&D, where we aim to increase customers’ productivity through the entire product development lifecycle. We also released Design Studio 4.0, Qt Creator 10, and Coco 6.1 during the first quarter. The completely renewed, intuitive UI in Design Studio is designed for non-technical users, and the update brings significant improvements to the use of various photorealistic materials and moving between 2D and 3D views.
Qt Group’s first-quarter results create a great foundation for business development in 2023. Despite the market uncertainty, we have an excellent opportunity to grow our position in software development tools and quality assurance markets. By executing our growth strategy with agility and precision, we are confident that we can create added value for our customers and shareholders in both the short and long term.
Outlook for 2023
We estimate that our full-year net sales for 2023 will increase by 20-30 percent year-on-year at comparable exchange rates and that our operating profit margin (EBITA-%) will be 20-30 percent in 2023.
News conference
A news conference, where CEO Juha Varelius and CFO Jouni Lintunen will present the results, will be held on April 28, 2023, at 11.00–12.00 noon EEST in Helsinki, Finland, and as a webcast at http://www.qt.io/investors. Analysts and investors can participate in the news conference in person and via conference call at http://palvelu.flik.fi/teleconference/?id=10010160
Further information:
President and CEO Juha Varelius, tel. +358 9 8861 8040
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Key media
www.qt.io