Year-end Report January - December 2023

OCT 1^ST – DEC 31^ST 2023

• Net sales of EUR 4 538 thousand (EUR 6 805 thousand in Q4 2022)
• EBITDA of EUR 848 thousand (589) and EBITDA margin of 18.7 percent (8.7%)
• EBIT of EUR 791 thousand (528) and EBIT margin of 17 percent (7.8%)
• Net earnings after tax of EUR 247 thousand (1 744) and net EAT margin of 5.4 percent (25.6%)

Jan 1^ST – DEC 31^ST 2023

• Net sales of EUR 15 871 thousand (EUR 25 497 thousand in 2022)
• EBITDA of EUR 2 006 thousand (1 020) and EBITDA margin of 12.6 percent (3.9%)
• EBIT of EUR 1 842 thousand (603) and EBIT margin of 11.6 percent (2.4%)
• Net earnings after tax of EUR 958 thousand (1 240) and net EAT margin of 6 percent (4.9%)

 

October - December key developments

• Focus on cashflow and streamlining of business operations
• Approximately EUR 400 thousand amortization and settlement payments made in 23Q4
• Disruptions within the board of directors and management led to the Chairman stepping in as interim CEO in October
• All Talkpool’s businesses performed well. The companies in Switzerland and Germany continued the positive trend. The business in Pakistan improved performance in Q4 after three poor quarters
• Earnings continue to improve: EBITDA, EBIT and EAT (Earnings After Tax)
• The process of selling our business in Pakistan has taken a very long time. A binding offer has been received but no agreement has been made and the outcome is still uncertain

 

CEO Comments

The company has during 2023 refocused its business on telecom network services while continuing the streamlining of its business. Operational performance improved and loans were reduced throughout 2023.

Profit and Loss Accounts as well as Balance Sheets continued to strengthen and shrink during the calendar year 2023. For the first time in many years, the:

• consolidated equity reached above zero
• Swiss headquarters reached a net profit in 23Q4 and for the full year 2023

Income from operations covered all HQ overhead costs including listing costs in Stockholm and Frankfurt.

The German fixed network planning operation continued to impress in the 4^th quarter. In addition to the increasingly positive operational cashflow, the German business has received (mainly unused) bank credit lines amounting to a total of around EUR 900 thousand.

A major shareholder (MW) that has sold a large amount of TALK shares over the market from 2021 until 2023, has sold his last Talkpool shares, so the downward trade sale pressure from that investor has ended.

Traders in Frankfurt and Stockholm shied away from assisting Talkpool with launching a share buy-back scheme as they fear the regulator are likely to disapprove of purchases while the trading volumes are so low.

 

Beginning of 2024

I’m filled with energy to take on any remaining challenges, trim our business further and prepare for a new dream. I believe this positive energy is starting to show results.

The sales attempts of the Pakistani business continue to drag on. Although an agreement with a buyer still isn’t unlikely after receiving a binding offer and concluding Due Diligence, the delay in negotiations with interested buyers continues to be a major insecurity. A decision has been made to discontinue attempts to sell the Pakistani business if it hasn’t been sold by the end of March 2024.

I’m very glad to announce that Erik Strömstedt has decided to stay with Talkpool as COO. Erik has been Talkpool’s CEO for over 20 years, so he knows the business and the telecoms industry very well. After I complete my interim period as CEO, I hope that Erik will resume as CEO of a quality-centric telecom network business.

Preparations for the launch of a share options scheme are well underway and I hope to announce the launch in March 2024.

We’ve started to develop a new strategy in Germany. After a German-centric strategy has been found, we will create a new overall growth strategy for Talkpool’s global business.

 

Further information

Magnus Sparrholm, Interim CEO   
Telephone: +41 79 758 15 48
[email protected]

Erika Loretz, Group Reporting       
Telephone: +41 79 333 59 71
[email protected]
  

Talkpool

Gäuggelistrasse 7	Telephone: +41 81 250 20 20
CH-7000 Chur	Mail: [email protected]
Switzerland	Web: www.talkpool.com

   

This information is inside information that Talkpool AG is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08:30 CET on Tuesday, 12 March 2024