Columbus delivers revenue growth of 16% and increases EBITDA* by 9%.


                                    

Release no. 13/2015
 

Interim Management Statement for Q1 2015

 

In accordance with the regulations for listed companies’ submission of interim statements, Columbus A/S hereby submits the interim management statement for the period 01.01.2015-31.03.2015 (3 months).

Revenue in Q1 amounted to DKK 240m (2014: 207.5m), corresponding to an increase of 16% compared to the same period last year. EBITDA1 amounted to DKK 14m (2014: 12.8m), corresponding to an increase of 9% compared to the same period last year.

The revenue growth is primarily affected by the acquisition of the US consultancy InterDyn BMI, which Columbus acquired 31 January this year, and secondarily by sale of own software.  

Strong growth in Columbus’ software business

Columbus’ software business started well in 2015 with total revenue growth of 64%. The increase is primarily in sale of Columbus licenses, but sale of Columbus software subscriptions also increased considerably.

Growth in industry solutions

In Q1 the increase in industry solutions to the food, retail and manufacturing industries continued and now constitutes 78% of the total revenue. There has been a solid increase in sale of solutions to the manufacturing and retail industries. This is in line with expectations and a satisfactory result.

Considerable volume increase in Columbus’ global delivery center

Columbus’ global delivery center shows strong growth in Q1. The delivery center has increased delivery volume by 41% compared to Q1 2014 and delivers 1,465 global delivery days for customer support and implementations.

Volume increase is an important parameter in order to improve productivity and flexibility in the delivery organization and to reduce the total delivery costs.

Revenue growth in the consultancy business

The sale of consultancy services increased by 6% in Q1 compared to Q1 2014. However, the productivity in the consultancy business has declined by 2 percentage points, which is primarily due to operational challenges in Columbus’ Norwegian subsidiary.

Columbus Norway

Columbus is still executing recovery plans in the Norwegian company due to operational challenges. Columbus has hired a new Country Manager, who will, together with a strengthened management team in Norway, handle the recovery. Columbus expects gradual improvement during 2015 and 2016.

Continuous execution of Columbus15

Columbus is now executing the fourth and final year of the strategy Columbus15, and the Company continues the strong focus on selling Columbus Software and consultancy services to companies with the food, manufacturing and retail industries.

Development in revenue

The revenue increased due to the acquisition in the US, where both the consultancy business and the external software contributed positively to the development in Q1 2015.

 

DKK ´000 Q1 2015 Q1 2014 2014
       
Columbus licenses 8,138 3,708 28,782
Columbus subscriptions 9,061 6,805 33,059
External licenses 14,910 12,491 73,891
External subscriptions 36,224 22,521 124,350
Consultancy 166,745 157,295 596,942
Other 4,774 4,645 21,267
Net revenues 239,852 207,465 878,291
       
EBITDA before share-based compensation 14,000 12,825 81,591
Share-based compensation -315 -644 -2,887
EBITDA 13,685 12,181 78,704

 

 

Acquisition of the US consultancy business InterDyn BMI

On 31 January 2015 Columbus acquired the US consultancy business InterDyn BMI. The acquisition is in accordance with Columbus’ strategy to expand within the Company’s key markets.

The acquisition added more than 130 employees and strengthened the geographical reach across the US. The integration of InterDyn BMI is progressing according to the plan.

Expectations to revenue and EBITDA are being maintained

Columbus expects revenue in the level of DKK 1bn and EBITDA* in the level of DKK 90m in 2015, corresponding to increases of 14% and 10%, respectively, compared to the obtained results in 2014.

 

Latest developments

No events or transactions with a material effect on the company’s financial position have occurred since the balance sheet date.

 

 

Ib Kunøe                                  Thomas Honoré

Chairman                                CEO & President

Columbus A/S              Columbus A/S

 

For further information, please contact:

CEO Thomas Honoré, T: +45 70 20 50 00.

 

Translation: In the event of any inconsistency between this document and the Danish language version, the Danish language version shall be the governing version.

 

 

Income statement

 

 

DKK ´000 Q1 2015 Q1 2014 2014
       
Net revenue 239,852 207,465 878,291
External project costs -50,684 -41,000 -204,491
Gross Profit 189,168 166,465 673,800
       
Staff expenses -143,788 -124,754 -476,614
Other external costs -33,404 -28,884 -117,004
Other operating income 2,082 0 1,440
Other operating costs -57 -2 -31
EBITDA before share-based payment 14,000 12,825 81,591
       
Share-based payment -315 -644 -2,887
EBITDA 13,685 12,181 78,704
       
Depreciation -6,000 -5,744 -25,811
Earnings before write down of goodwill (EBITA) 7,685 6,437 52,893
       
Write down of goodwill 0 0 0
Operating profit (EBIT) 7,685 6,437 52,893
       
Results in associated companies 0 0 0
Financial income 13,543 722 6,371
Financial expense -75 -337 -564
Pre-tax earnings 21,153 6,822 58,700

 

Financial income

Financial income primarily concerns exchange rate adjustments in relation to group receivables in Columbus US.

Balance sheet

 

DKK ´000 Q1 2015 Q1 2014 2014
       
ASSETS      
       
Goodwill 279,145 183,821 198,622
Other intangible assets 20,390 3,023 2,568
Development projects finalized 41,873 39,236 46,970
Development projects in progress 6,620 8,387 1,233
Intangible assets 348,029 234,467 249,393
       
Leasehold improvements 135 188 148
Plant and operating equipment 10,880 8,951 8,500
Tangible assets 11,015 9,139 8,648
       
Deferred tax assets 19,756 19,429 19,400
       
Total long-term assets 378,800 263,035 277,441
       
Inventories 317 219 270
       
Trade receivables 155,825 136,231 144,091
Contract work in progress 13,092 10,766 8,491
Corporation tax 4,475 40 4,106
Other receivables 11,266 4,624 8,024
Prepayments 8,023 13,598 8,777
Receivables 192,680 165,259 173,488
       
Cash 39,566 60,168 99,018
       
Total short-term assets 232,563 225,646 272,777
       
TOTAL ASSETS 611,363 488,681 550,218

 


 

Balance sheet

 

DKK ´000 Q1 2015 Q1 2014 2014
       
LIABILITIES      
       
Share capital 137,831 132,793 137,831
Reserves on foreign currency translation -9,553 -10,018 -12,693
Retained profit 206,364 150,485 186,980
Proposed dividends 13,783 13,279 13,783
Group shareholders equity 348,425 286,539 325,901
Minority interests 4,665 4,278 4,233
Equity 353,090 290,817 330,134
       
Deferred tax 309 330 281
Provisions 17,461 6,461 5,172
Debt to credit institutions 0 5 0
Other debt 0 1,270 1,270
Long-term debt 17,770 8,066 6,723
       
Credit institutions 858 6,340 6
Prepayments received from customers 28,068 22,393 19,542
Trade accounts payable 47,715 28,064 58,620
Corporation tax 5,977 4,855 7,430
Other debt 132,017 106,644 102,399
Accruals 25,868 21,502 25,364
Short-term debt 240,503 189,798 213,361
       
Total debt 258,273 197,864 220,084
       
TOTAL LIABILITIES 611,363 488,681 550,218

 

 


 

Segment data

 

In order to support decisions about allocation of resources and assessment of performance of the segments, the Group’s internal reporting to the Board of Directors of the Parent Company is based on the following grouping of operating segments:
             
Strategic business areas Description Geographical segment
ISV (Independent Software Vendor) Development and sale of industry specific software within Columbus' three focus industries: Retail, food and manufacturing No specific area
Consultancy Sale and implementation of standard business systems. Western Europe
Eastern Europe
North America
             
Information about the Group’s segment is stated below.
             
             
    Consultancy    
             
DKK ´000 ISV Western
Europe
Eastern
Europe
North
America
Parent company/
Eliminations
Total
             
Q1 2015            
             
Columbus licenses 5,436 4,477 770 743 -3,288 8,138
Columbus subscriptions 7,725 2,765 383 735 -2,547 9,061
External licenses 0 5,944 1,129 8,282 -445 14,910
External subscriptions -93 15,343 4,376 16,598 0 36,224
Consultancy 5,107 97,101 23,201 46,080 -4,744 166,745
Other 261 2,199 235 2,038 41 4,774
Total Net Revenue 18,436 127,829 30,094 74,476 -10,983 239,852
             
Gross earnings 15,883 97,780 23,933 48,032 3,540 189,168
EBITDA 9,649 8,309 2,099 969 -7,341 13,685
             
    Consultancy    
             
DKK ´000 ISV Western
Europe
Eastern
Europe
North
America
Parent company/
Eliminations
Total
             
Q1 2014            
             
Columbus licenses 2,759 969 529 466 -1,015 3,708
Columbus subscriptions 5,975 1,662 210 829 -1,871 6,805
External licenses 0 7,110 2,548 3,023 -190 12,491
External subscriptions 115 9,316 4,312 8,777 1 22,521
Consultancy 3,010 108,801 25,995 25,699 -6,210 157,295
Other 157 3,104 484 839 61 4,645
Total Net Revenue 12,016 130,962 34,078 39,633 -9,224 207,465
             
Gross earnings 10,823 102,719 26,679 27,579 -1,335 166,465
EBITDA 4,084 12,943 1,991 1,137 -7,974 12,181

 

 

 

 

*EBITDA before share-based compensation

 

 

 

 

 


Attachments

SE_13_2015_Interim_management_statement_Q1_2015.pdf