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Gofore Oyj - Interim report (Q1 and Q3)

Gofore Plc's Interim Report January-March 2024: Adjusted EBITA for the quarter 13.8%, no net sales growth


19.4.2024 09:00:00 EEST | Gofore Oyj | Interim report (Q1 and Q3)

Gofore Plc
Interim Report
19 April 2024 at 9.00 a.m. EET

Gofore Plc’s Interim Report January-March 2024: Adjusted EBITA for the quarter 13.8%, no net sales growth 

January-March 2024

  • Gofore was not immune to industry over capacity and price competition, but managed to maintain good profitability. Adjusted EBITA 6.8 (8.3) million euros, 13.8%.
  • No net sales growth, 0%, net sales were 49.2 (49.1) million euros. Organic growth -2%.
  • Beginning of the year saw ending projects and savings measures that put a strain on the utilisation rate.
  • Improving demand and sales successes lead to a moderate improvement in utilisation rate towards the end of the quarter.
  • There was one less working day than in the comparison period, profitability impact of an estimated 0.7 million euros.
  • Customer prices rose +0.9%, average salary +2,2%.
  • Number of employees grew to a total of 1,456 (1,354) people. 

Significant event after the review period was Gofore’s Annual General Meeting 2024 on 4 April 2024. AGM decisions and authorisations given to the Board of Directors are listed in the report’s section Corporate Governance and Share Information.

The interim report is attached to this release and can be found on Gofore’s IR website at https://gofore.com/en/invest/. The report includes e.g. the most significant new agreements, an extensive key figure table, profit and loss statement and balance sheet, as well as Gofore’s market outlook and near-term risks. This is an IAS34 compliant interim report. The numbers are unaudited.  

Key figures 

Group Key Figures Summary, MEUR

Q1/2024

Q1/2023

2023

Net sales

49.2

49.1

189.2

Organic Growth of Net Sales, %

-1.9%

32.4%

22.0%

Adjusted EBITA

6.8

8.3

26.7

Adjusted EBITA, %

13.8%

16.9%

14.1%

EBITA

6.8

8.1

27.1

Operating Profit (EBIT)

5.8

7.1

23.0

Earnings per share (EPS), undiluted

0.27

0.34

1.15

Earnings per share (EPS), diluted

0.27

0.34

1.15

Number of employees at the end of period

1,456

1,354

1,465

Overall capacity; in-house and subcontracted staff (FTE),
at the end of period

1,531

1,461

1,529

CEO Mikael Nylund: 

“Net sales of the year’s first quarter were 49.2 million euros. Compared to last year’s corresponding quarter in what was a better market situation, no growth was generated. Profitability-wise, however, we succeeded well all things considering, resulting in 13.8% adjusted EBITA. 

Multiple new projects were started with customers over the quarter. Thanks to this, the amount of free capacity came down and utilisation rate improved along the quarter, supporting profitability. Starting point of the year was, however, weak, so there was still room for improvement at the end of the review period. What’s important is that things have gone to the right direction.  

The tight competitive situation of the industry, driven by over capacity, continued in the first quarter. Price competition has been very visible in public sector tenders for quite some time. In the beginning of the year, many private sector customers have also wanted to revise their price level and consolidate their supplier selection. This development could be seen as weaker than before customer price development. Gofore has, however, managed to hold onto its long-term customer relationships, thanks to offering that answers the customers’ wide-ranging needs, and our expertise. Simultaneously, the consolidation development also offers new opportunities to deepen customer relationships and create new strategic partnerships with customers. 

In our eyes, the first quarter seems like the low point of this weaker market situation. Especially the beginning of the year saw ending projects and budget cuts, but also starts to new projects. This was evident in both the public and the private sector. As net development, the positive trend has been comparably slow, and we naturally hope to see more volume especially in private sector investments. 

Gofore has every opportunity to answer the improving customer demand when the time comes. We have chosen to hold onto our own skilled people, to secure the long-term success made together with Goforeans. 

In times of less growth, we have also been able to renew our operations. In line with our strategy, we have strengthened our offering to select customer groups, with an objective of producing meaningful, comprehensive service that is of value to our customers in the Digital Society and Intelligent Industry sectors. We continue to be competitive and able to answer the needs of new growth with the help of e.g. our proven efficiency in recruiting. 

Although risks remain in both geopolitics and macro economy, we believe that the growth lever from the market is strengthening. We especially have faith in the Gofore team’s ability to use opportunities that arise and return us to a strong growth curve.”

Monthly net sales development in 2024 

The numbers are unaudited. The below table includes a correction to the FTE number for February 2023 that was incorrectly stated as 153 in February’s business review. The correct number is 184. 

Month

Net sales,
MEUR 

LTM pro
forma
net sales

No. of employees
at end of period

No. of working days
in Finland

Overall capacity
FTE

Subcontracting, FTE

January

16.9 (15.8)

193.3

1,463 (1,318)

22 (21)

1,372 (1,225)

147 (186)

February

16.3 (15.3)

193.7

1,461 (1,342)

21 (20)

1,372 (1,256)

149 (184)

March

16.0 (18.1)

191.3

1,456 (1,354)

20 (23)

1,371 (1,271)

160 (189)

Next financial disclosure 

Gofore’s next financial disclosure will be the Half-year Report 2024 on 15 August 2024. Gofore also publishes business reviews for the months that are not included in interim reports or the half-year report, in the beginning of the month following the month reported.  

Contacts

About Gofore Oyj

Gofore is an international digital transformation consultancy with Finnish roots. We have over 1,400 impact-driven people in 19 locations across Finland, Germany, Austria, Spain, Estonia and Italy. With our technology and business expertise we build an equal digital society and create sustainable solutions for the intelligent industry. Our diverse group of professionals shares a pioneering ambition to create a more humane, sustainable and ethical digital world. Our values guide our business: Gofore is a great workplace that thrives on customer success. In 2023, our net sales amounted to EUR 189.2 million. Gofore Plc’s share is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. in Finland. Our vision is to be the most significant digital transformation consultancy in Europe. Learn to know us better at gofore.com