SimCorp reports 2017 revenue growth of 11% and EBIT margin of 26%

SimCorp generated total revenue of EUR 343.4m in 2017 compared with restated* revenue of EUR 309.2m and reported revenue of  EUR 295.9m in 2016. The increase was driven by strong growth in both professional services and license sales to existing clients, while licenses to new customers were lower than in 2016.

Revenue increased by 11.0% compared with restated 2016 revenue. In local currencies, revenue increased by 12.5%, of which EUR 5.8m, equal to 1.9%, came from the acquisition of SimCorp Italiana. Consequently, organic revenue growth was 10.6%.

SimCorp generated EBIT of EUR 88.9m compared with EUR 81.5m in restated and EUR 68.2m in reported EBIT in 2016. This was an increase of 30% compared with reported 2016 EBIT and 9% compared with restated 2016 EBIT. The profit for the year was EUR 66.5m compared with EUR 61.0m in restated and EUR 51.0m in reported profit in 2016.

EBIT margin was 25.9% compared with 26.4% in restated and 23.1% in reported EBIT margin in 2016. Measured in local currencies, the EBIT margin was 26.0%. Excluding the impact of the acquisition of SimCorp Italiana, the 2017 EBIT margin was 26.4%, the same as the restated 2016 EBIT margin. This, despite a higher proportion of the 2017 revenue deriving from professional services, which carries a higher relative cost.

Annual order inflow was EUR 81.8m compared with EUR 85.1m last year. The order book increased by EUR 8.8m from restated end-2016 order book value of EUR 16.0m, and amounted to EUR 24.8m at December 31, 2017. The order book increased as income recognition for a few orders was deferred until certain predefined contractual conditions are met.

Eight new SimCorp Dimension license contracts were signed in 2017, including four in the strategic North American market.

Free cash flow was EUR 51.3m compared with EUR 60.8m in 2016, and SimCorp had a positive net cash position of EUR 1.4m at December 31, 2017.

SimCorp enters 2018 with EUR 215.8m of the full year’s revenue secured on contract – an improvement of EUR 8.5m compared with last year.

The Board of Directors intends to recommend to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting 2018 that dividends be declared at the rate of DKK 6.50 per share compared with DKK 6.25 last year, equivalent to 52% of profit for the year and 67% of free cash flow in 2017.

For 2018, SimCorp expects revenue to grow between 10% and 15% and EBIT margin to be between 24.5% and 27.5% measured in local currencies. SimCorp Italiana is expected to account for 3%-points of the revenue growth. Based on the exchange rates prevailing at the end of January 2018, SimCorp estimates reported revenue to be negatively impacted from currency fluctuations by around 3%. The impact from currency fluctuations on reported EBIT margin is expected to be negative by around 0.5%-points.

SimCorp CEO, Klaus Holse comments: “2017 was another good year for SimCorp driven mainly by increased sales to existing clients and a significant uptick in professional services. With organic growth of more than 10%, we continue to deliver against our aspirations of being a growth company driven by innovation. We welcomed eight new SimCorp Dimension clients and extended the relationship with many of our existing customers proving the value of the integrated system.”

The full annual report has been submitted to NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen A/S in pdf. The annual report is also available for download from SimCorp’s website: https://www.simcorp.com/en/annual-report-2017

* 2016 figures restated in accordance with IFRS 15 for illustrative purposes only 

Investor presentation
SimCorp’s Executive Management Board will present the report at a conference call today at 2:00 pm (CET). Please use any of the following phone numbers to dial in to the conference call:                                           

At the end of the presentation there will be a Q&A session.  

It will also be possible to follow a live audio webcast of the call via this link: https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/zge8q8zd. 

The powerpoint presentation will be available prior to the conference call via SimCorp’s website www.simcorp.com.

Enquiries regarding this announcement should be addressed to:
Investor contacts:
Klaus Holse, Chief Executive Officer, SimCorp A/S (+45 3544 8802, +45 2326 0000)
Michael Rosenvold, Chief Financial Officer, SimCorp A/S (+45 3544 6858, +45 5235 0000)
Anders Hjort, Head of Investor Relations, SimCorp A/S (+45 3544 8822, +45 2892 8881)

Media contact:
Anders Crillesen, Group Communications Director, (+45 3544 6474, +45 2779 1286)

Company Announcement no. 01/2018