The year of transformation enabling future growth
Nixu Corporation, Stock Exchange Release, February 10, 2022 at 8:00 AM EET
Financial Statements Release 1.1.-31.12.2021 (IFRS)
This release is a summary of Nixu Corporation’s January 1 – December 31, 2021 Financial Statements release. The complete report is attached to this release as a pdf-file and also available on the company website at https://www.nixu.com/investors.
Highlights for July–December 2021:
- Revenue: EUR 25,089 (25,617) thousand, change -2%.
- EBITDA: EUR 667 (2,836) thousand, share of revenue: 3% (11%).
- The weakening of EBITDA is explained by lower revenue than in the comparison period and weaker profitability of revenue mix. Other operating expenses were exceptionally low during the comparison period as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.
- Adjusted EBITDA: EUR 731 (2,586) thousand, share of revenue: 3% (10%).
- EBIT: EUR -289 (364) thousand, share of revenue: -1% (1%).
- Nixu published its growth ambition for 2022-2025 originating from its growth strategy and aiming towards compound annual growth of 25 % from both organic and inorganic sources.
Highlights for January–December 2021:
- Revenue: EUR 51,809 (53,272) thousand, change -3%.
- EBITDA: EUR 1,473 (2,895) thousand, share of revenue 3% (5%).
- Adjusted EBITDA: EUR 1,929 (3,350) thousand, share of revenue 4% (6%).
- EBIT: EUR -444 (-702) thousand, share of revenue -1% (-1%).
- Nixu renewed its operating model to increase cross-border alignment for improved client experience, improved brand recognition and efficiency in staffing and deliveries.
Financial Guidance for 2022
Nixu estimates its revenue to grow and its EBITDA to increase from the previous financial year.
Key Figures
| EUR thousand | 1 July - 31 Dec 2021 | 1 July - 31 Dec 2020 | 1 Jan - 31 Dec 2021 | 1 Jan - 31 Dec 2020 |
| Revenue | 25,089 | 25,617 | 51,809 | 53,272 |
| Profit/loss for the period | -532 | -378 | -984 | -1,835 |
| Earnings per share (EUR) | -0.07 | -0.05 | -0.13 | -0.25 |
| EBITDA | 667 | 2,836 | 1,473 | 2,895 |
| EBITDA, % of net sales | 2.7 % | 11.1 % | 2.8 % | 5.4 % |
| Adjusted EBITDA1 | 731 | 2,586 | 1,929 | 3,350 |
| Adjusted EBITDA, % of net sales1 | 2.9 % | 10.1 % | 3.7 % | 6.3 % |
| EBIT | -289 | 364 | -444 | -702 |
| EBIT, % of net sales | -1.2 % | 1.4 % | -0.9 % | -1.3 % |
| Adjusted EBIT1 | -226 | 114 | 13 | -247 |
| Adjusted EBIT %1 | -0.9 % | 0.4 % | 0.0 % | -0.5 % |
1Adjustment items are exceptional and non-recurring events that are not ordinary course of business. Such exceptional items include e.g. other operating expenses related to reorganization and business combinations. January-December 2021 EBITDA included the non-recurring costs EUR 456 (455) thousand. July-December 2021 EBITDA included the non-recurring costs EUR 64 (-250) thousand.
2The figures for the comparison period have been adjusted for Covid-19 NOW grant from other operating income to adjustment items. The effect on adjustment items is EUR 190 thousand in July-Dec 2020 and EUR 337 thousand in Jan-Dec 2020.
| EUR thousand | 31/12/2021 | 31/12/2020 |
| Equity ratio, % | 31.5 % | 34.4 % |
| Net interest-bearing debt | 3,237 | 2,244 |
| Net gearing, % | 25.3 % | 16.0 % |
The figures presented in the financial statements release are un-audited.
Petri Kairinen, CEO of Nixu:
“The year 2021 was a transformation year for Nixu on many fronts. In the spring, we launched the Better Together operating model, which provides all clients the same high-quality Nixu service experience in all our operating markets with the help of cross-border operations and teams. An important objective of the new operating model is to support the profitable growth of markets outside Finland, in particular, and to align recruitments on Nixu level. We were able to successfully complete the Better Together transformation project by the end of the year, and to our delight our clients and employees have welcomed the change. For example, we have agreed on new client assignments outside Finland that we would not have been able to implement with our old operating model. The worst pain of change is already behind us, and in 2022, we will be able to enjoy the benefits of our new operating model.
Financially, the transformation year was challenging for us. Our full year revenue remained on the same level with the comparison year. Unlike in the third quarter, revenue in the fourth quarter did not grow. This was a result of, among other things, delays in the start of a few large projects by several months due to customer related reasons. However, we were very pleased that our IoT and Advisory businesses grew significantly during the year and in the last quarter. Employee turnover decreased from the previous year, but was still higher than our target level. We were successful in recruiting new experts for our international teams and additionally launching a trainee program.
The Managed Services Business Area was affected by two significant transformations during the year. As part of our efforts to move towards more standardized services, we lost a few significant clients. At the same time, there was a technological shift in which the Microsoft technology-based security monitoring gained a significant foothold in the market. The combined effects of these transformations decreased the revenue of Managed Services in the second half, and correspondingly the profitability of operations. However, the prerequisites for future growth are strongly in place: Jan Mickos, the new leader of Managed Services Business Area, who started at Nixu in September, renewed the business area at the end of 2021 to better support international operations. In addition, our own Microsoft-based security monitoring solution is already in production. However, we estimate that the Managed Services will continue to operate at a loss in the first half of 2022. Our strengths, in the area of Managed Services, include in addition to security monitoring the high-quality and value-adding services that we provide, by example, for investigating data breaches.
We are starting 2022 with great confidence. With our new operating model, sales started to pay off well in the fourth quarter, and the client orders we received saw double digit growth compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year. We have managed to recruit the personnel required for growth, and the client projects that were delayed in the autumn have also got off to a good start. The acceleration of the Covid-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2022 has not affected our clients’ buying behaviour. Our clients’ trust in us remains strong, as reflected in high customer satisfaction for the past year (NPS 70).
Finally, I would like to thank all Nixu employees for their work in enabling our new operating model, and in particular for coping with the uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the lack of social interaction. With the reorganization now complete, we can fully focus on keeping the digital society running by providing cybersecurity services to our clients throughout Northern Europe, in line with our mission. At the same time, we aim for a good combination of growth and profitability in accordance with our growth ambition.”
Financial reporting in 2022
The planned date for the Annual General Meeting is Tuesday, April 19, 2022.
Nixu will publish its half-year financial report for January–June 2022 on Thursday, August 11, 2022. In accordance with its disclosure policy, Nixu will publish revenue, EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA information from the first and third quarters, as well as the CEO’s overview in addition to the half-year financial report and financial statements. The Q1/2022 CEO’s overview, revenue, EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA information will be published on April 14, 2022, and Q3/2022 will be published on October 13, 2022.
News conference
Nixu will organize a results briefing for analysts, investors and media representatives on February 10, 2022 at 9:30 AM EET. The event will be available through a live webcast at https://nixu.videosync.fi/2021-q4-results.
Espoo, February 9, 2022
Nixu Corporation
The Board of Directors
Attachment: Financial Statements release 1.1.-31.12.2021 (IFRS)
Further information:
CEO Petri Kairinen, Nixu Corporation
Telephone: +358 40 832 1832
e-mail: [email protected]
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Main media
www.nixu.com
Nixu in Brief:
Nixu is a cybersecurity services company on a mission to keep the digital society running. Our passion is to help organizations embrace digitalization securely. Partnering with our clients we provide practical solutions for ensuring business continuity, an easy access to digital services and data protection. We aim to provide the best workplace to our team of about 400 cybersecurity professionals with a hands-on attitude. With Nordic roots we serve enterprise clients worldwide. Nixu shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange.
www.nixu.com
