Interim Report • Aug 31, 2023
Interim Report
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Half Year Report 2023 - Unaudited
29 August, 2023
| Key Figures (in thousands of euros) | 2023 H1 | 2022 H1 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 24,408 | 23,893 | 2.2% |
| Gross profit | 17,756 | 17,120 | 3.7% |
| EBITDA | 2,398 | 2,588 | -7.3% |
| Acquisition, integration and restructuring costs | 307 | 434 | -29.3% |
| Operating profit | 232 | 1,084 | -78.6% |
| Profit attributable to shareholders of Koninklijke Brill NV | -133 | 906 | -114.7% |
| Earnings per share (EPS) | -0.07 | 0.48 | -114.7% |
| Key Performance Indicators | |||
| Organic growth (excluding acquisition and currency effects) | 0.1% | 11.9% | |
| EBITDA margin | 9.8% | 10.8% | |
NOTE: The information in this report is based on unaudited interim financial statements.
"The first half of the year Brill realized 2.2% sales growth compared to 2022. Autonomous growth was still affected by the aftermath of migrating to a new distribution partner. To further improve the accessibility of content for a global academic audience, Brill keeps on focusing on direct selling eBooks packages and the transition to Open Access offerings. With distribution back on track, supported by robust title and article output, the outlook for this year is positive, at the same time much will depend on the developments in the final quarter."
Brill keeps on making more high quality content available for a broader academic audience by offering a second book archive and further growing a successful open access program for journals as well as books. Brill continues its program of digital transformation by finalizing infrastructure improvements and moving towards a FinOps organized IT organization to maximize business value of our cloud environment. Brill closely follows the market around Artificial Intelligence and started to experiment with language models for various projects, for example author services.
Since mid-June Brill's global distribution channels have been fully operational again. After the insolvency of its previous distributorin October 2022, Brill rebuilt its global distribution of books and journals with new partners: Air Business in the UK, Baker & Taylor Publisher Services in the US, and Centraal Boekhuis in the Netherlands. All books and journals are available to order. The backlog in delivery of print books and print journals is expected to be resolved during Q3.
The integration of Wageningen Academic, which was acquired in April 2022, has been going as planned and is almost completed. The integration of V&R and Böhlau has been progressing as scheduled and will be finalized in 2024 as expected, resulting in structural cost savings.
Revenue development
Revenue growth by publication formatwas asfollows:
| Revenue H1 | % of Total | Organic Growth |
|---|---|---|
| -5.6% | ||
| -3.9% | ||
| 8.4% | ||
| 38.4% | ||
| 0.1% | ||
| 24,408 | 2.2% | |
| 23,893 -549 -263 485 356 23,923 357 128 |
growth -2.3% -1.1% 2.0% 1.5% 0.1% 1.5% 0.5% |
In H1 2023 print book revenue declined organically by -2.3%, partly related to the distribution situation after the insolvency of Brill's previous distributor last year, but also due to lower-than-expected output of book titles in the first half year. We anticipate closing a large part of this gap in H2.
eBook revenue shows a modest organic decline in revenue versus H1 2022, however, the result is above our expectations. Last year H1 was exceptionally strong, and we assume full-year growth to be in line with budget. The journal renewals improved compared to 2022 resulting in an organic growth of 2.2%. Revenue from the sale of primary source collections increased, driven by new products and customer interest. Total organic revenue was flat versus H1 2022 but in line with management expectations.
On April 15, 2022 Brill acquired all shares of Wageningen Academic Publishers BV. In Brill's H1 2023 revenue the months January – April 2023 from the Wageningen acquisition are still reported as an acquisition effect as V&R revenue was included for May-June in H1 2022. The currency effect mainly relates to USD transactions.
| Revenue growth by region (thousands of euros) | Revenue H1 | % of Total growth |
Organic Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue 2022 | 23,893 | ||
| Western Europe | -342 | -1.4% | -2.8% |
| North America | 389 | 1.6% | 4.2% |
| Asia Pacific | 34 | 0.1% | 1.9% |
| Other | -52 | -0.2% | -8.9% |
| Organic revenue 2023 | 23,923 | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Acquisitions | 357 | 1.5% | |
| Currency | 128 | 0.5% | |
| Total revenue 2023 | 24,408 | 2.2% | |
Revenues in Western Europe show a decline due to lower print book sales in mainly the DACH countries. North America revenues are up as a result of eBook sales and Primary Sources deals with US based universities. Digital revenue as a percentage of overall revenue increased to 61% from 59% in HY 2022.
The gross margin improved to 72.7% from 71.7% last year, due to the product mix of Brill's H1 2023 revenue together with ongoing focus on efficiencies and cost savings.
Underlying (excluding the effect of acquisitions and exceptional items) sales, general and administrative expenses increased compared to 2022 in line with management expectations.
After the 2022 impairment of Goodwill and Publishing Rights, Brill did an assessment on the Publishing Rights that had a indefinite lifetime at year end 2022 (total value of approximately 15 million). The conclusion of this assessment is that Brill has changed the lifetime expectations to 10-20 years. This change leads to a 0.7 million additional amortization in H1 2023 including 0.2million one-off, and another 0.5 million in H2. Total additional amortization in future years will be approximately 1.0 million.
The H1 movement in working capital -1.8 million was mainly caused by a decrease in accounts payable and accruals made at year-end in relation to the insolvency of our main distributor in Q4 2022. Now that distribution is operational again, working capital is also back to historic patterns.
No significant changes occurred in the company's assessment of relevant risks since the publication of the annual report 2022.
With distribution back on track, supported by robust title and article output, the outlook for this year is positive, at the same time much will depend on the developments in the final quarter.
Koninklijke Brill N.V., Half Year Report 2023 4 The Half Year Report 2023 is an accurate account of assets and liabilities, the financial position and the profit of Koninklijke Brill N.V. and the entities which are included in the consolidation. Also the Half Year Report is an accurate account of the situation on the balance date, the state of affairs during the first half of the fiscal
year of Koninklijke Brill N.V. and that of the entities whose data are included in the Half Year Report. Special attention is paid to investments and to the circumstances on which revenues and profitability depend. Please note thatthe figures per 30 June, 2023 have not been reviewed nor audited by our auditors.
Leiden, 29 August, 2023
Peter Hendriks, CEO Jasmin Lange, CPO Wim Dikstaal, CFO
Contact: Peter Hendriks, Chief Executive Officer ([email protected])
The contents of this press release may contain inside information as defined in article 7 of the EU Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014. Founded in 1683 in Leiden, the Netherlands, Brill is a leading international academic publisher in the Humanities, Social Sciences, International Law, and Biology. With offices in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, the USA and Asia, Brill today publishes more than 360 journals and 2,000 new books and reference works each year as well as a large number of databases and primary source research collections. Commitment to Open Access and the latest publishing technologies are at the core of Brill's mission to make academic research available for the scholarly community worldwide. The company's key customers are academic and research institutions, libraries, and scholars. Brill is a publicly traded company and is listed on Euronext Amsterdam NV. For further information, please visit brill.com.
| 30-06-2023 | 31-12-2022 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ASSETS | (Unaudited) | (Audited) | |
| Non-current assets | |||
| Property, plant and equipment [6] | 1,051 | 1,144 | |
| Right of use assets | 5,913 | 5,470 | |
| Intangible assets [6] | 36,365 | 37,025 | |
| Financial assets | 283 | 283 | |
| Deferred tax assets | 373 | 370 | |
| 43,985 | 44,292 | ||
| Current assets | |||
| Inventories [7] | 4,250 | 4,569 | |
| Trade and other receivables | 8,393 | 8,535 | |
| Income tax | 437 | 412 | |
| Derivative financial instruments [8] | 54 | 54 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 1,656 | 3,701 | |
| TOTAL ASSETS | 58,775 | 61,563 | |
| EQUITY AND LIABILITIES | |||
| Equity attributable to owners of Koninklijke Brill N.V. | |||
| Share capital | 1,125 | 1,125 | |
| Share premium | 343 | 343 | |
| Retained earnings | 18,338 | 18,471 | |
| Other reserves [8] | -262 | -226 | |
| Total equity | 19,543 | 19,713 | |
| Non-current liabilities | |||
| Interest bearing loans | 4,399 | 5,193 | |
| Lease liabilities | 5,102 | 4,962 | |
| Deferred tax liabilities | 4,495 | 4,495 | |
| 13,997 | 14,650 | ||
| Current liabilities | |||
| Interest bearing loans | 1,588 | 1,588 | |
| Trade and other payables | 10,654 | 14,046 | |
| Deferred income | 11,630 | 10,484 | |
| Lease liabilities | 868 | 588 | |
| Provisions | 495 | 495 | |
| Derivative financial instruments [8] | - | - | |
| Income tax | - | - | |
| 25,235 | 27,200 | ||
| Total liabilities | 39,232 | 41,851 | |
| TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES | 58,775 | 61,563 | |
| Koninklijke Brill N.V., Half Year Report 2023 |
| 2023 H1 | 2022 H1 | |
|---|---|---|
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |
| Revenue [9] | 24,408 | 23,893 |
| Cost of goods sold | -6,651 | -6,774 |
| Gross profit | 17,756 | 17,120 |
| Expenses | ||
| Selling and distribution expenses | -3,600 | -3,763 |
| General and administrative expenses | -13,923 | -12,273 |
| Operating profit | 232 | 1,084 |
| Finance income | 6 | 242 |
| Finance expenses | -416 | -132 |
| Profit before income tax | -177 | 1,193 |
| Income tax [10] | 44 | -287 |
| Profit for the period attributable to shareholders of Koninklijke Brill N.V. | -133 | 906 |
| Other comprehensive (expense) income - items that might be | ||
| reclassified to future profit or loss statements | ||
| Exchange rate differences in translation of foreign operations | -36 | 20 |
| Net gain or loss on cash flow hedges | - | 32 |
| -36 | 52 | |
| Income tax relating to these items | - | -8 |
| Other comprehensive income for the period attributable to | ||
| shareholders of Koninklijke Brill N.V | -36 | 44 |
| Total comprehensive income for the period attributable to | ||
| shareholders of Koninklijke Brill N.V. | -169 | 950 |
| Earnings per share (in euros) | ||
| Basic and diluted earnings per share attributable to shareholders of | -0.07 | 0.48 |
| Koninklijke Brill N.V. |
In thousands of euros
| 30-06-2023 | 30-06-2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |
| Cash flow from operating activities | ||
| Profit before income tax | -177 | 1,193 |
| Adjustments for | ||
| Amortization and depreciation fixed assets | 1,933 | 1,071 |
| Amortization content | 1,648 | 1,947 |
| Finance income and expense – net | 410 | -109 |
| Differences in FX rates | -158 | - |
| Change in operating assets and liabilities | ||
| Change in operating working capital | -1,773 | 2,183 |
| Cash generated from operations | 1,883 | 6,285 |
| Interest paid(-)/received | -288 | -127 |
| Income tax paid(-)/received | -35 | -94 |
| Net cash flow from operating activities | 1,560 | 6,064 |
| Cash flows from investing activities | ||
| Investment in property, plant and equipment | -73 | -303 |
| Investment in intangible assets (non-content) | -757 | -539 |
| Investment in Content | -1,513 | -1,826 |
| Investment in financial fixed assets | - | -25 |
| Payments for acquisitions, net of cash acquired | - | -1,991 |
| Net cash flows used in(-) investing activities | -2,343 | -4,683 |
| Cash flows from financing activities | ||
| Dividend paid to company shareholders [12] | - | -1,687 |
| Interest bearing loans | - | - |
| Redemption Interest bearing loans | -794 | -794 |
| Redemption lease liabilities | -469 | -528 |
| Net cash flow from/used in(-) financing activities | -1,263 | -3,009 |
| Net cash flow | -2,045 | -1,628 |
| Cash and cash equivalents as per 1 January | 3,701 | 5,439 |
| Net cash flow | -2,045 | -1,628 |
| Cash and cash equivalents as per 30 June | 1,656 | 3,811 |
of June 30, 2023
In thousands of euros
| Share capital |
Share Premium |
Retained Earnings |
Currency Translation reserve |
Cash flow hedge reserve |
Total equity |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance as per January 1, 2023 | 1,125 | 343 | 18,471 | -267 | 41 | 19,713 |
| Total comprehensive income for the period | ||||||
| Profit for the period | - | - | -133 | - | - | -133 |
| Other comprehensive income | - | - | - | -36 | - | -36 |
| Total comprehensive income for the period | - | - | -133 | -36 | - | -169 |
| Dividend paid over prior year | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total contribution by and distribution to owners | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Balance as per June 30, 2023 (unaudited) | 1,125 | 343 | 18,338 | -303 | 41 | 19,543 |
| Balance as per January 1, 2022 | 1,125 | 343 | 23,623 | -303 | -4 | 24,783 |
| Total comprehensive income for the period | ||||||
| Profit for the period | - | - | 906 | - | - | 906 |
| Other comprehensive income | - | - | - | 20 | 24 | 44 |
| Total comprehensive income for the period | - | - | 906 | 20 | 24 | 950 |
| Dividend paid over prior year | - | - | -1,687 | - | - | -1,687 |
| Total contribution by and distribution to owners | - | - | -1,687 | - | - | -1,687 |
| Balance as per June 30, 2022 (unaudited) | 1,125 | 343 | 22,842 | -283 | 20 | 24,047 |
The condensed consolidated interim financial statements were authorized for issue by the Supervisory Board and Management Board on 29 August, 2023. Koninklijke Brill N.V. is incorporated in the Netherlands and has its headquarters in the Netherlands. Its registered depository receipts are publicly traded at Euronext in Amsterdam.
There are no relevant changes in the basis of preparation of Brill's financial statements. A number of amended standards became applicable for the current reporting period. These amended standards did not impact the Group's equity and result.
The condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the six months ended June 30, 2023have not been audited nor reviewed by an independent financial auditor.
In general, most revenue is recorded in the second half of the year. In general the costs develop more equally throughout the year which generally results in a favorable development of the profit in H2.
In the first half of the year, investments are made in property, plant and equipment assets for EUR 73 thousand (2022 EUR 303 thousand) and an amount of EUR 757 thousand (2022: EUR 539 thousand) was invested in information systems (intangible assets). EUR 1,513 thousand (2022: EUR 1,826 thousand) has been invested in Capitalized content.
After the 2022 impairment of Goodwill and Publishing Rights, Brill did an assessment on the Publishing Rights that had a indefinite lifetime at year end 2022 (total value of approximately EUR 15 million). The conclusion of this assessment is that Brill has changed the lifetime expectations to 10-20 years. This change leads to an additional amortization in H1 2023 of approximately EUR 700 thousand (including approximately EUR 200 thousand one-off)and another approximately EUR 500 thousand in H2. Total additional amortization in future years will be approximately EUR 1,000 thousand per year.
Goodwill has developed as follows:
| Goodwill (in thousands of euros) | 30-06-23 |
|---|---|
| Carrying amount as at 1 January 2023 | 4,692 |
| Acquired through business combinations | - |
| Carrying amount as at 30 June 2023 | 4,692 |
Inventories includes physicalstock and Work in Progress.
The value of the inventories includes an adjustment for obsolete inventory. In the first six months of the year this provision increased by EUR 142 thousand (2022 H1: EUR 1 thousand).
| Fair Value (in thousands of euros) | 30-06-23 | 30-06-22 |
|---|---|---|
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |
| Financial assets | ||
| Currency forward agreements | - | - |
| Interest rate swap | 54 | 26 |
| Total | 54 | 26 |
The interest rate risk on part of Brill's long-term loans is eliminated by using an interest rate swap which covers the full amount to maturity of the loan.
Revenue per product type is a as follows:
| Revenue by product type (in thousands of euros) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2023 H1 | 2022 H1 | |
| Print books | 7,801 | 8,121 |
| eBooks | 8,900 | 9,081 |
| Journals | 6,417 | 5,766 |
| Primary sources | 1,290 | 926 |
| Total | 24,408 | 23,893 |
Revenue per region is as follows:
| Revenue by region (in thousands of euros) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 H1 | 2022 H1 | ||
| Western Europe | 11,760 | 12,220 | |
| North America | 10,329 | 9,260 | |
| Asia Pacific | 1,799 | 1,827 | |
| Other | 520 | 586 | |
| Total | 24,408 | 23,893 |
The publishing activities of Brill are divided into 3 business units whichmanagement considersto be reportable businesssegments. The segments are:
EBITDA per Business Unit is calculated based on direct EBITDA contribution minus allocated group services and overhead costs.
The Group calculates the period income tax expense using the tax rate that would be applicable to the expected total annual earnings.
| Earnings per share | 2023 H1 2022 H1 |
|
|---|---|---|
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |
| Profit for the period ended 30 June | -133 | 906 |
| Weighted average number of ordinary shares for basic earnings | 1,874,444 | 1,874,444 |
| Basic/Diluted profit per share for the period ended 30 June attributable to ordinary shareholders of Koninklijke Brill NV |
-0.07 | 0.48 |
| Dividend declared and paid during the period ended 30 June, 2023 |
2023 H1 | 2022 H1 |
|---|---|---|
| (Unaudited) | (Audited) | |
| Dividend on ordinary shares for 2022: 90 cents per share (for 2021: 100 cents per share) |
- | 1,687 |
Brill management is of the opinion that an understanding of the company's performance is enhanced by using the Non-GAAP measure EBITDA. EBITDA makes the underlying performance of the businesses more transparent by excluding the depreciation of tangible assets and the amortization and impairments on intangible assets, and extra-ordinary costs for (the integration of) acquisitions restructuring costs. In this note, EBITDA is reconciled to Operating profit.
| 2023 H1 | 2022 H1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Reconciliation of Revenue and profit before tax (in thousands of eu | (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |
| Revenue | 24,408 | 23,893 | |
| Cost of goods sold | 6,651 | 6,774 | |
| Selling & distribution costs | 3,600 | 3,763 | |
| General & administrative costs *) | 11,758 | 10,768 | |
| EBITDA | 2,398 | 2,588 | |
| Acquisition, integration and restructuring costs | 307 | 434 | |
| Depreciation and Amortization | 1,859 | 1,070 | |
| Operating profit | 232 | 1,084 |
*) excl. depreciation, amortization and cost related to acquisitions,, integration and restructuring.
No material events took place after balance sheet date.
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