Q1 Report 2021
Release no. 24/2021
Q1 2021
A profitable start to the year
“Despite an overall decline in revenue of 8% in the first quarter of 2021, Columbus delivered a significant EBITDA growth of 40%. With a profitable result, improved customer loyalty, the initial execution of Focus23 in Q1 and the forthcoming onboarding of our new CEO Søren Krogh Knudsen, we are confident that 2021 will be a successful year for Columbus”, says Chairman of the Board, Ib Kunøe.
Financial highlights for the period 1 January to 31 March 2021
| DKKm | Q1 2021 | Q1 2020 | Development |
| Revenue reported | 421 | 457 | -7.9% |
| Foreign exchange | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Organic revenue | 423 | 457 | -7.5% |
| EBITDA reported | 55 | 39 | 40.2% |
| Adjustment of provision for loss making contract | 0 | 4 | -100.0% |
| Normalized EBITDA | 55 | 44 | 26.1% |
| Normalized EBITDA-margin | 13.0% | 9.6% | 36.3% |
All numbers and comments in the Q1 report are on the continued business, thus excluding the divested entities To-Increase and Baltics.
Financial figures
Revenue specification
| DKKm | Q1 2021 | Q1 2020 | 2020 |
| Sale of services | |||
| Cloud ERP | 194 | 212 | 697 |
| Columbus Care | 63 | 65 | 235 |
| Digital Commerce | 40 | 38 | 128 |
| Data & Analytics | 5 | 5 | 18 |
| Customer Experience & Engagement | 8 | 6 | 24 |
| Other Local Business | 39 | 44 | 159 |
| Total sale of services | 349 | 370 | 1,261 |
| Sale of products | |||
| Cloud ERP | 42 | 53 | 188 |
| Columbus Care | 4 | 5 | 20 |
| Digital Commerce | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| Data & Analytics | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Customer Experience & Engagement | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Other Local Business | 21 | 25 | 95 |
| Total sale of products | 72 | 87 | 317 |
| Total net revenue | 421 | 457 | 1,578 |
Performance highlights for Q1 2021:
- Revenue declined by 8% in Q1 2021 to DKK 421m (Q1 2020: 457m)
- EBITDA increased by 40% in Q1 2021 to DKK 55m (Q1 2020: 39m)
- Record-high EBITDA margin of 13% due to high utilization in our consultancy business
- Extraordinary dividend payout of DKK 6 per share, corresponding to DKK 776m
Our new CEO, Søren Krogh Knudsen will be joining Columbus 7 June 2021.
Columbus realised a strong start to the year with high utilization in our consultancy business resulting in a record-high EBITDA margin of 13%.
Completion of the divestment of our software company, To-Increase and our Baltic companies in Estonia and Lithuania were important milestones in executing our Focus23 strategy.
Outlook for 2021
Columbus maintains outlook for 2021:
- Revenue is expected to be in the range of DKK 1,650m and DKK 1,800m.
- EBITDA is expected to be in the range of DKK 125m and DKK 150m.
Live webcast and conference call
Columbus is hosting a live webcast and conference call on 18 May 2021 at 13:00 CET. The webcast is hosted by Interim CEO & Corporate CFO Hans Henrik Thrane.
Webcast: Please login to the webcast via Columbus’ investor site: https://ir.columbusglobal.com/calendar-and-events
Conference call dial-in details:
- Denmark: +45 32 72 04 17
- UK/International: +44 (0) 2071928338
- USA: +1 6467413167
- Conference-ID: 9759546
Please dial in a few minutes before to allow time for registration of name and company. Questions can be raised during the webcast.
For further information, please contact:
- Hans Henrik Thrane, Interim CEO & Corporate CFO, [email protected], +45 7020 5000
- Tine Rasmussen, Communication Director, [email protected], +45 2969 0677
About Columbus
Columbus is a global digital consultancy headquartered in Denmark. For +30 years, we have helped more than 5.000 ambitious companies transform, maximize, and futureproof their business digitally. Columbus employs more than 1,800 digital advisors and consultants focused on the manufacturing-, retail & distribution-, and food & process industries. We offer end-to-end digital services and solutions within Strategy & Change, Cloud ERP, Data & Analytics, Application Management, Digital Commerce, and Customer Experience. Columbus has offices and partners all over the world and we deliver our solutions and services locally – on a global scale. Columbus A/S is listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen – COLUM
For more information visit www.coloumbusglobal.com.
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