Eezy Plc's Financial Statements Bulletin 1-12/2022: Revenue growth slowed
EEZY PLC -- FINANCIAL STATEMENTS BULLETIN -- 16 FEBRUARY 2023 AT 8:00
Eezy Plc's Financial Statements Bulletin 1-12/2022: Revenue growth slowed
October–December 2022
- Revenue was EUR 62.2 million (EUR 60.5 million in October–December 2021).
- Revenue grew by 3%.
- EBITDA was EUR 4.6 million (5.3).
- EBIT was EUR 2.7 million (3.2) and was 4.3% of revenue (5.2%).
- The impact of higher sick-leave costs was EUR 0.4 million more than in the comparison period.
- Non-recurring costs related to change negotiations and the CEO change were approx. EUR 0.7 million.
- Earnings per share was EUR 0.08 (0.08).
January–December 2022
- Revenue was EUR 247.6 million (EUR 203.3 million in January–December 2021).
- Revenue grew by 22%.
- EBITDA was EUR 18.2 million (19.5*).
- EBIT was EUR 10.0 million (11.8*) and was 4.0% of revenue (5.8%).
- EUR 2.6 million higher sick-leave costs than last year have negatively affected profit.
- Non-recurring costs related to acquisitions, change negotiations and the CEO change were approx. EUR 1.0 million.
- Earnings per share was EUR 0.29 (0.31).
*) 1–12/2021 EBITDA and EBIT included EUR 2.7 million non-recurring income (Corona subsidy EUR 1.0 million, VAT refund EUR 1.7 million).
Dividend proposal
Board of Directors proposes a dividend of EUR 0.15 per share, of which EUR 0.10 will be paid in April and EUR 0.05 in October.
Outlook for 2023
Eezy expects revenue to be approx. EUR 250 million and EBIT-% to grow in 2023.
Key figures (IFRS)
| EUR million, unless otherwise specified | 10–12/2022 | 10–12/2021 | 1–12/2022 | 1–12/2021 |
| Revenue | 62.2 | 60.5 | 247.6 | 203.3 |
| EBITDA | 4.6 | 5.3 | 18.2 | 19.5 |
| EBITDA, % | 7.5% | 8.7% | 7.4% | 9.6% |
| EBIT | 2.7 | 3.2 | 10.0 | 11.8 |
| EBIT, % | 4.3% | 5.2% | 4.0% | 5.8% |
| EPS, undiluted, EUR | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.29 | 0.31 |
| EPS, diluted, EUR | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.28 | 0.30 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | - | - | 2.9 x | 2.4 x |
| Chain-wide revenue | 86.4 | 89.7 | 351.6 | 305.5 |
Interim CEO Pasi Papunen:
Strong investment into building our future and into profit improvement
“Economic expectations of our main customer segments and the consumer confidence were on a downward trend in the last quarter. In the fourth quarter we still achieved 3 percent growth and revenue was EUR 62 million. Operating profit was EUR 2.7 million, 4.3 percent of revenue. It is positive for our main business that a shortage of skilled workforce continues on the markets. In the tighter economic situation, our customers have also increased needs for data-based management, successful recruitments and clear strategies and concepts, which helps our professional services to succeed.
In 2022 Eezy’s revenue grew to EUR 248 million and growth was 22 percent. Operating profit was EUR 10.0 million in 2022, 4.0 percent of our revenue. Profitability was burdened by clearly higher sick-leave costs, which decreased our profit approx. EUR 2.6 million compared to the previous year.
Challenges being tackled
Last year’s largest challenges for us were the high sick-leave rates, personnel turnover and a few units performing weakly. We have analyzed these factors and have launched action plans to fix those.
In late 2022 we adjusted our organization to slower economic growth. We also renewed our sales organization by moving from a sector-based organization to a region-based one. This helps us to service our customers more efficiently in all parts of Finland to find skilled employees, both in uncertain times and in high-growth periods.
Service offering diversified
In line with our strategy, we have built new business areas to succeed well in varying economic conditions. The staffing services for pharmacies and doctors are examples of expanding our main staffing business to less cyclical areas. Investments into developing our professional services have caused those units to grow significantly. Especially the employment services for the public sector enjoyed a strong growth, as well as the employee experience survey products and consulting services from Eezy Flow. The Light entrepreneur business developed steadily. Regarding acquisitions, we focused on targets that diversify our offering and offer increased value, like Farenta, Siqni and Leidenschaft.
Our diversified customer base both decreases our dependency on a single customer and enables us to keep our employees at customers who continue to do well.
Our franchise business is an important part of our business model and forms an efficient way to operate country-wide, near customers and employees. In autumn Eezy was given the award for the second-best franchise chain in Europe, which makes us proud.
Increased efficiency through organization and operational models
We have built future success by strong investments on developing our processes and organization, as well as developing new technology, both in the staffing services and in the professional services. During the year we have e.g. started an IT systems renewal that aims to digitalize our staffing business and to grow its automation and scalability. Through the development we will improve the customer experience both for companies and for individual employees. Our goal is to adopt the new system in several phases starting in autumn 2023.
Profitability improvement as primary target
The clear #1 priority for 2023 is to improve profitability. We focus on active sales work, increasing the skills and efficiency of our employees and on sensible money spending. We focus on developing the current businesses, but not forgetting possible acquisitions.
Thanks to our committed and professional personnel, we can increase our EBIT-% during the year 2023. The Board’s dividend proposal of EUR 0.15 per share shows confidence in our good future."
Result publication event:
A Finnish-language briefing for analysts and media will be held on 16 February 2023 at 13.00 Finnish time as a webcast at https://eezy.videosync.fi/2022-q4-results
The briefing will be hosted by Interim CEO Pasi Papunen and CFO Hannu Nyman. During the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. The presentation material will be available at the company website at https://eezy.fi/en/financials/reports-and-presentations/ before the conference. A recording of the audiocast will be available at the same website later.
Attachment: Financial Statements Bulletin January–December 2022 in PDF format
Further information:
Pasi Papunen
Interim CEO
[email protected]
tel. +358 (0)40 501 3128
Hannu Nyman
CFO
Eezy Plc
[email protected]
tel. +358 (0)50 306 9913
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