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Sitowise announces strategy for 2023–2025 with focus on innovation, sustainability and efficiency

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Sitowise Group Plc, Other information disclosed according to the rules of the Exchange, 28 February 2023 at 8.25 a.m. EET
 

Sitowise Group Plc’s new strategy for the period of 2023–2025 focuses on innovation, sustainability, and efficiency. Through its strong expertise, the company aims for continued sustainable profitable growth and value creation for Sitowise’s clients, other stakeholders and society at large.

Strategy builds on existing strengths

The strategy builds on Sitowise’s existing strengths as specialist in built environments, and the progress made during the previous strategy period. Since its initial public offering in March 2021, Sitowise has strengthened its position as one of the leading technical consulting and digital service providers in its field. Through acquisitions, Sitowise has expanded in services that will be more and more important in future – climate and sustainability services, SaaS business, specialized design and sustainable renovation design– and increased its presence in Sweden. In addition, its position and attractiveness as an employer have clearly strengthened. Sitowise's comprehensive service offering, wide customer base and strong digital expertise have proven to be strengths also in a more uncertain market environment.

Market environment and growth drivers

Sitowise's growth is supported by the megatrends of urbanization, renovation backlog, sustainability and digitalization. Increasing construction complexity, increasing technology content, the shift in transportation modes and methods, the tightening of regulation, the green transition, the emphasis on sustainability and the focus on life cycle costs of the built environment all increase the demand for Sitowise's services. The changing operating environment requires new ways of operating and contributing to sustainable business.

“Sustainability, together with digitalization, is shaking up the entire industry, but also society. We need to be able to see how this affects the everyday of people living in the built environment, our clients’ needs and projects that we do,” says Heikki Haasmaa, the CEO of Sitowise. “With our new vision, Redefining smartness in cities, we voice our ambition to be the pioneer and partner whose expertise brings added value in the middle of this continuous change.”

Strategy implementation is based on innovation, sustainability and efficiency

Sitowise seeks growth in Finland and Sweden in its existing business areas in buildings, infrastructure and digital services. The strategic pillars of the strategy period are:

  • The most innovative – Major changes require new kind of thinking and new kinds of services. Customer-centric innovation culture that generates new business and changes society presents a significant opportunity. Sitowise has named its innovation culture as The Smart City Lab. The Smart City Lab is a platform that unites Sitowise’s various innovation activities and enables creative culture that serves both client needs and creates new business.
  • The most sustainable – Sustainability is in the core of Sitowise’s business and developed in three streams:
    • identifying and developing the sustainability impacts in Sitowise’s current businesses. Sitowise has created its own responsibility tool to be used in client projects. The tool helps to activate client projects related to sustainability and to develop Sitowise’s own sustainability.
    • creating new business related to emerging new client needs, for example when clients need to understand the sustainability impacts of their business or the impacts of, for example, the climate change on their operations.
    • investing in the sustainability of Sitowise’s own operations as outlined in its Responsibility Program 2025. Sitowise’s goals are carbon neutrality, equality, thought leadership and sustainable business.
  • The most efficient – In expert work, it is important to be able to focus on projects and customer work. This requires well-functioning processes that streamline work. For this need, Sitowise has developed the Voima platform, which can be used to drive efficiency to a new level.

Sitowise has also specified six strategic focus areas that guide the strategy execution:

  • Creating new smart services
  • Accelerating growth in Sweden
  • Expanding digital solutions business
  • Becoming a thought leader in sustainability
  • Being the most well-known and desired employer
  • Finding the smartest ways to work

The strategy implementation is also guided by Sitowise’s purpose "Empowering passionate experts to solve complex challenges", which was for the first time defined in connection of the strategy process, as well as the company’s values – client understanding, trust, working as one team, openness and being brave – that remain unchanged.

Sitowise targets 10% annual growth and industry leading profitability

Sitowise starts the new strategic period from a good financial position. The company's long-term financial goals and dividend policy remain unchanged.

Financial targets:

  • Growth: Annual net sales growth of over 10 percent, including acquisitions.
  • Profitability: Adjusted EBITA margin of at least 12 percent.
  • Leverage: Net debt in relation to adjusted EBITDA should not exceed 2.5x, except temporarily in conjunction with acquisitions

Dividend policy:

  • Sitowise’s objective is to pay annually a dividend corresponding to 30–50 percent of net profit to its shareholders. 

When distributing a possible dividend, business acquisitions, the company's financial situation, cash flow and future growth opportunities are taken into account.

"Reaching Sitowise’s vision and financial goals requires us to continuously develop and grow our business," says CEO Heikki Haasmaa. "Our main focus will be on serving our clients. To succeed in that, we will at the beginning of the strategy period also put our efforts into our product development and innovation activities, in The Smart City Lab, and into our internal processes. Our goal is to be the most profitable company in our industry, but instead of shortsightedly optimizing profitability, we will emphasize, especially in 2023, strengthening our long-term success factors and developing our service platform and our whole.”

Webcast and Capital Markets Day

Sitowise’s 2023–2025 strategy will be discussed in the Company’s Q4 2022 earnings webcast, which will be held today, 28 February 2023, at 1 pm EET. The webcast can be accessed either live or as a replay available at https://sitowise.videosync.fi/2022-q4-results/register

The strategic direction will be further elaborated in Sitowise’s Capital Markets Day, which is planned to be held on Wednesday 7 June 2023. A formal invitation including agenda and registration details will be distributed closer to the event.

Additional information:

Heikki Haasmaa, CEO, Sitowise Group Plc, tel. +358 50 304 7765

Distribution:

Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd
Major media
www.sitowise.com

About Sitowise

Sitowise is a Nordic expert in the built environment with strong focus on digitality. We provide design and consulting knowhow to enable more sustainable and smarter urban development as well as smooth transportation. Sitowise offers services related to real estate and buildings, infrastructure, and digital solutions both in Finland and in Sweden. Global megatrends drive huge changes that require a re-evaluation of the smartness in the built environment – therefore we have set our vision to be Redefining Smartness in Cities. Sitowise Group Plc is listed on the main list of Nasdaq Helsinki under the trading symbol SITOWS.

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