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Growens Earnings Release 2021

Sep 14, 2021

4457_ir_2021-09-14_1a05e99f-75d1-490a-a688-3d9e298cb316.pdf

Earnings Release

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18:04:24 AIM -Italia/Mercato
Alternativo del Capitale
: GROWENS
: 151830
: MAILUPN02 - Capelli
: 2.2; 1.2
: 14 Settembre 2021 18:04:24
: 14 Settembre 2021 18:15:06
: The Board of Directors approved the
2021
consolidated half-year report as of 30 June
Data/Ora Ricezione
14 Settembre 2021

Testo del comunicato

Milan, 14 September, 2021 – Growens S.p.A. -ticker GROW-(the "Company" or the "Issuer" or "Growens"), a company admitted to trading on the multilateral trading facility AIM Italia and operating in the cloud marketing technology field, has announced today that the Board of Directors passed a resolution to approve the consolidated report for the six-month period ended on 30 June 2021, prepared in compliance to international accounting standards (IAS/IFRS).

Consolidated figures show a significant growth, 6.3% for 1H 2021 sales at 33.7M EUR vs. 31.7M EUR in 1H2020; and +10.6% for 1H 2021 EBITDA at 2.4M EUR vs. 2.2M EUR in 1H 2020.

PRICE SENSITIVE

PRESS RELEASE

The Board of Directors approved the consolidated half-year report as of 30 June 2021

Consolidated REVENUES of EUR 33.7M, +6.3% Consolidated EBITDA of EUR 2.4M, +10.6% Consolidated NET EARNINGS of EUR 0.3M, -26.2% Consolidated NET CASH POSITION of EUR 1.6M, versus EUR 2.5M as of 31 December 2020

Milan, 14 September, 2021 – Growens S.p.A. -ticker GROW-(the "Company" or the "Issuer" or "Growens"), a company admitted to trading on the multilateral trading facility AIM Italia and operating in the cloud marketing technology field, has announced today that the Board of Directors passed a resolution to approve the consolidated report for the six-month period ended on 30 June 2021, prepared in compliance to international accounting standards (IAS/IFRS).

Consolidated figures show a significant growth, 6.3% for 1H 2021 sales at 33.7M EUR vs. 31.7M EUR in 1H2020; and +10.6% for 1H 2021 EBITDA at 2.4M EUR vs. 2.2M EUR in 1H 2020.

"We are particularly pleased with the half-yearresults which confirm the resilience of our business and the strategic choice to focus on growing the SaaS component and increase the marginality of the CPaaS component."

Matteo Monfredini, Chairman and founder of Growens

"The first half of 2021 showssound global business recovery, especially in its most recentmonths. We keep the focus on execution, with a view to both organic and external growth. From the M&A standpoint, we are currently engaged on several opportunities, aiming at integrating one or more SaaS companies. As per financial communication, we introduced and developed a few new elements, in order to foster an easier and more immediate comprehension of our results, in line with international standards. In detail, we adopted a new representation of revenues, split into the SaaS and CPaaS strategic business units, and we started to disclose the main KPIs for our businesses."

Nazzareno Gorni, CEO and founder of Growens

Summary of 1H 2021 results

Item (EUR) 1H 2021 % 1H 2020 % Change Ch.%
SaaS Revenues 12,502,015 37.1% 11,567,246 36.5% 934,769 8.1%
CPaaS Revenues 20,736,869 61.5% 19,336,959 61.0% 1,399,910 7.2%
Other Revenues 452,503 1.3% 786,266 2.5% (333,762) (42.4 %)
TOTAL REVENUES 33,691,387 100.0% 31,690,470 100.0% 2,000,917 6.3%
Gross Profit 11,595,569 34.4% 10,333,142 32.6% 1,262,427 12.2%
EBITDA 2,408,593 7.1% 2,177,411 6.9% 231,182 10.6%
EBT 445,138 1.3 % 488,521 1.5% (43,383) (8.9%)

The main results for the quarter ended 31 March 2021 are as follows:

Starting from 1H 2021, corporate consolidated reporting includes the split of revenues according to the two main divisions, i.e. SaaS and CPaaS, instead of by product lines (Email, SMS, Predictive Marketing), in order to (i) better represent two areas of business with coherent dynamics, business models, go-to-market, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and financials; (ii) disclose corporate information consistent with the Group's operational and management logics, as well as strategic choices; (iii) simplify reporting in view of facilitating comprehension and comparability within international standards.

The SaaS division (Software-as-a-Service) includes services supplied to clients via cloud platforms, sold through mostly recurring multi-period contracts / c.d. subscription. In terms of Business Units, it combines revenues from MailUp, BEE, Acumbamail and Datatrics. The CPaaS division (Communication-Platform-asa-Service) covers the messaging services provided on a wholesale basis using APIs, especially supplied by the Agile Telecom Business Unit.

Furthermore, in order to (i) better represent operational figures consistent with human resources dynamics, especially in the areas of COGS, S&M, R&D and G&A, (ii) facilitate comparison between different periods, the previous accounting of certain headcounts was restated consistently with the current status, thus 1H 2020 data were updated. Such restatement in unaudited.

in Euro SALES EBITDA
30/06/2021 30/06/2020 % 30/06/2021 30/06/2020 %
MailUp 8,198,657 8,063,098 1.7% 1,428,180 1,947,254 (26.7%)
Agile Telecom 22,263,273 20,686,323 7.6% 1,084,360 622,603 74.2%
BEE 2,380,229 1,831,647 30.0% 139,105 94,208 47.7%
Datatrics 1,346,619 1,476,402 (8.8%) (421,583) (739,910) (43.0%)

Here follow the half-year Group results by business unit as of 30 June 2021:

Acumbamail 977,079 745,452 31.1% 206,189 127,447 61.8%
Holding 3,453,786 2,587,000 33.5% (184,276) (47,000) 292.1%
TOTAL 38,619,642 35,389,922 9.1% 2,251,975 2,004,602 12.3%
Consol. Adj. (4,928,255) (3,699,452) 156,618 172,809
TOTAL 33,691,387 31,690,470 6.3% 2,408,593 2,177,411 10.6%

The consolidated net financial position as of 30 June 2021 is the following:

Consolidated Net Financial Position 30/06/2021 31/12/2020 Change Ch.%
A. Cash 9,829,725 9,866,364 (36,639) (0.4%)
B. Cash equivalents
C. Assets held for sale 195 195 0 0%
D. Cash and cash equivalents (A) + (B) + (C) 9,829,920 9,866,559 (36,639) (0.4%)
E. Current debt 1,121,471 1,098,499 22,972 2.1%
F. Current part of non current debt 885,567 916,100 (30,533) (3.3%)
G. Current financial position (E) + (F)) 2,007,039 2,014,599 (7,561) (0.4%)
H. Net currentfinancial position (G) - (D) (7,822,881) (7,851,959) 29,078 (0.4%)
I. Non current debt 6,238,595 5,338,052 900,543 16.9%
J. Debt financial instruments
K. Trade and other non current debt
L. Non current financial position (I) + (J) + (K) 6,238,595 5,338,052 900,543 16.9%
M. Net financial position (H) + (L) (1,584,286) (2,513,907) 929,621 (37.0%)
o/w E. Current financial liabilities Rights of Use
IFRS 16
1,058,896 1,029,099 29,797 2.9%
o/w I. Non current financial liabilities Rights of
Use IFRS 16
2,496,740 2,696,519 (199,779) (7.4%)
N. Net financial position ex IFRS 16 effect (5,139,922) (6,239,525) 1,099,603 (17.6%)
ESMA guidelines 32-382-1138 of 04/03/2021

par. 175 guideline 39

Comments to 1H 2021 results

1H 2021 P&L posts total Revenues around 33.7M EUR, showing a +6.3% organic increase versus 31.7M EUR in the same period of 2020: such growth is mainly driven by the growth of the SaaS component, in excess of 8% for a 37+% incidence on total sales. CPaaS grows by more than 7% for a 61.5% incidence on total sales. Other revenues decrease because of the reduction in non-refundable government grants and windfall profits vs. 1H 2020.

The Agile Telecom Business Unit posted the biggest sales of ca. 22.3M EUR, growing +7.6% over the same period of the previous year. Data for the most recent months of the semester and the following months

show excellent signs of recovery of the SMS data traffic, as a consequence of the reopening economic activities after lockdowns, especially in Italy.

The fastest growing Business Unit is BEE (beefree.io), with a 42.2% increase in sales at constant EUR/USD exchange rate, at 2.4M EUR or 2.8M USD turnover, driven by increasing volumes. ARR (Annual Recurring Revenues, a very popular key performance indicator for a subscription business, showing the average annual recurring value of existing contracts) exceeds 7M USD as of August 2021.

Acumbamail's performance is also excellent (growing over 31.1%), whereas MailUp posts substantially stable sales (+1.7%), due to the impact of the crisis in Italy (where the business unit's sales are most exposed), especially given the termination of certain recurring contracts during the previous fiscal year, which the Group plans to recover via product-led strategy and development of the indirect channel abroad.

The DatatricsBusiness Unit sales, operating in the Predictive Marketing space with a proprietary Customer Data Platform, decreased by -8.8%; however, in 2021 certain intercompany sales came less between Datatrics Srl and Datatrics BV, hence the 1H 2020 sales data were amended consistently in order to better represent the business trend. The reorganisation initiatives launched in 2020 caused an increase in lead generation and client pipeline. Effects from such reorganization are expected within Q3 2021, with a reprise in growth in 2022.

Foreign sales amount to 17.7+M EUR, representing 53+% of total sales and growing by 0.6%. Italian turnover grows by ca. 17%, mainly driven by increasing volumes of Agile Telecom.

Consolidated EBITDA amounts to 2.4M EUR in 1H 2021, growing by +10.6% versus 1H 2020, with a 7.1% margin on sales. 1H 2021, and especially its most recent months, shows strong evidence of recovery, with EBITDA solidly growing more than sales, and Gross Profit growing ca. 200 bps on sales (from 32.6% to 34.4%), with an almost double growth rate than sales (+12.2%), proof of the ongoing effect of optimizations and cost savings. Both Gross Profit and EBITDA margins are positively affected by a variety of factors, among which: (i) lockdown-related cost savings, especially S&M both in absolute (-0.9%) and margin-wise terms (from 10.6% to 9.8% on sales), due to the lack of in-person events and related travel; (ii) general double-digit EBITDA margin increase of Agile Telecom (+74.2%), in line with the corporate strategy, BEE (+47.7%), Acumbamail (+61.8%); (iii) the reduction of Datatrics' operating loss by ca. 60%, as a positive effect of the above-mentioned measures. Cost-wise, as already disclosed, the Group chose not to suspend or defer the planned strategic projects, especially fundamental R&D (+33.5%) where the biggest investments are currently concentrated. As a consequence of the above, EBT is stable to a positive 0.5M EUR, or 1.3% on sales.

Net earnings in 1H 2021, after current and deferred taxation estimates, amounts to ca. 0.3M EUR; the change versus the previous period is influenced by the allocated tax figures, provided that consolidated taxation results from the aggregate amounts of individual taxation, applied on each legal entity.

The consolidated Net Financial Position as of 30 June 2021 is negative (for net cash) and amounts to 1.6M EUR, decreasing versus the previously recorded (net cash) amount of 2.5M EUR as of 31 December 2020. Figurative debt from IFRS 16's adoption amounts to ca. 3.5M EUR. Cash exceeds 9.8M EUR.

Net Working Capital dynamics show cash absorption of ca. 0.9M EUR, vs FY2020, as a combined result of payment terms, especially for Agile Telecom, and generally for the pandemic-driven slowdown in collections as well as the contraction of certain subscriptions, alongside a few material collections that were delayed beyond the accounting end of the term, but nevertheless were successfully completed after the period-end.

BDO Italia S.p.A., appointed audit firm, performed a limited review of on the half-year consolidated report for the six months period ended on 30 June 2021 and issued today an unqualified opinion.

Consolidated P&L, balance sheet and cash flow statement are attached.

Investor Relations

The Half-Year Consolidated Report as of 30 June 2021 will be available to the public as per AIM regulations as well as on Growens' website www.growens.io, Section 'Investor Relations/Financial Statements'.

This press release is online on and on the Issuer website www.growens.io, Section 'Investor Relations/Press Releases'.

The updated corporate presentation, including 1H 2021 data and main KPIs per Business Unit will be available to the public on the Issuer website www.growens.io, Section 'Investor Relations/Presentations'.

Growens'Chairman and CEO will comment 1H 2021 results in a conference call to be held on 16 September 2021 at 4 pm CET, registration at this link: https://my.demio.com/ref/VrqfJ82AaA6bm1Wg.

Growens' CEO and Executive Director&IR will participate to "ISMO – Italian Stock Market Opportunities Paris Virtual" by Intesa Sanpaolo IMI CIB" on 29 September 2021.

CONSOLIDATED PROFIT & LOSS AS OF 30/06/2021

Item 30/06/2021 % 30/06/2020 % Change Ch.%
SaaS Revenues 12,502,015 37.1% 11,567,246 36.5% 934,769 8.1%
CPaaS Revenues 20,736,869 61.5% 19,336,959 61.0% 1,399,910 7.2%
Other Revenues 452,503 1.3% 786,266 2.5% (333,762) (42.4%)
Total Revenues 33,691,387 100.0% 31,690,470 100.0% 2,000,917 6.3%
COGS 22,095,818 65.6% 21,357,328 67.4% 738,490 3.5%
Gross Profit 11,595,569 34.4% 10,333,142 32.6% 1,262,427 12.2%
Sales & Marketing costs 3,315,335 9.8% 3,343,846 10.6% (28,510) (0.9%)
Research & Development
Opex
1,840,168 5.5% 1,316,618 4.2% 523,550 39.8%
R&D Capex (1,183,686) (3.5%) (948,398) (3.0%) (235,288) 24.8%
R&D costs 3,023,854 9.0% 2,265,016 7.1% 758,838 33.5%
General & Admin Costs 4,031,472 12.0% 3,495,267 11.0% 536,205 15.3%
Total Costs 9,186,976 27.3% 8,155,731 25.7% 1,031,245 12.6%
2,408,593 7.1% 2,177,411 6.9% 231,182 10.6%
EBITDA
General Depreciation Costs 184,055 0.5% 175,660 0.6% 8,395 4.8%
Right of Use Amortization
Costs
548,002 1.6% 541,835 1.7% 6,167 1.1%
R&D Amortization Costs 1,197,678 3.6% 931,489 2.9% 266,190 28.6%
EBIT 478,858 1.4% 528,428 1.7% (49,569) (9.4%)
Net financial
income/(charges)
(33,720) (0.1%) (39,906) (0.1%) 6,186 (15.5%)
EBT 445,138 1.3% 488,521 1.5% (43,383) (8.9%)
Current Income Taxes (396,865) (1.2%) (264,621) (0.8%) (132,245) 50.0%
Deferred Taxes 250,678 0.7% 181,088 0.6% 69,590 38.4%
Net Profit (Loss) 298,951 0.9% 404,989 1.3% (106,038) (26.2%)

Data in €

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET AS OF 30/06/2021

Item 30/06/2021 31/12/2020 Variazione Var.%
Intangible fixed assets 6,027,601 5,188,299 839,301 16.2 %
Goodwill 16,477,023 16,477,023 0 0.0 %
Tangible fixed assets 1,629,174 1,700,842 (71,668) (4.2 %)
Rights of Use (IFRS 16) 3,518,015 3,701,056 (183,041) (4.9 %)
Financial fixed assets 224,785 223,748 1,037 0.5 %
Fixed Assets 27,876,599 27,290,970 585,629 2.1 %
Receivables from customers 11,547,033 10,354,302 1,192,731 11.5 %
Payables to supplier (11,098,684) (11,795,918) 697,234 (5.9 %)
Payables to associated companies (30,000) (31,220) 1,220 (3.9 %)
Commercial Trade Working Capital 418,350 (1,472,835) 1,891,185 (128.4 %)
Tax receivables and payables 1,675,109 2,420,896 (745,787) (30.8 %)
Accruals and deferrals (6,723,217) (7,405,599) 682,382 (9.2 %)
Other receivables and payables (4,371,325) (3,449,879) (921,445) 26.7 %
Net Working Capital (9,001,082) (9,907,417) 906,335 (9.1 %)
Provisions for risks and charges (711,635) (630,970) (80,665) 12.8 %
Provisions for severance and pension (2,072,935) (1,983,682) (89,253) 4.5 %
Net Capital Invested 16,090,946 14,768,900 1,322,045 9.0 %
Share capital 374,276 374,276 0 0.0 %
Reserves 17,002,005 16,343,604 658,400 4.0 %
Profit (Loss) for the period 298,951 564,927 (265,976) (47.1 %)
Net Equity 17,675,232 17,282,807 392,424 2.3 %
(Cash)/ ST debt (8,881,582) (8,880,864) (719) 0.0%
AFS Financial Assets (195) (195) 0 0.0 %
Medium/long-term debt 6,238,595 5,338,052 900,543 16.9%
Net financial position (1,584,286) (2,513,907) 929,621 (37.0 %)
ST Financial liabilities right of use
(IFRS16)
1,058,896 1,029,099 29,797 2.9 %
LT Financial liabilities right of use
(IFRS16)
2,496,740 2,696,519 (199,779) (7.4 %)
Net financial position ex IFRS16 (5,139,922) (6,239,525) 1,099,603 (17.6%)
Totale sources
Data in €
16,090,946 14,768,900 1,322,045 9.0 %

CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT AS OF 30/06/2021

ITEM 30/06/2021 30/06/2020
Period profit/(loss) 298,951 404,989
Income tax 396,865 264,621
Prepaid/deferred tax (250,678) (181,088)
Interest expense/(interest income) 25,505 27,019
Exchange (gains)/losses 8,215 12,887
1 Profit/(loss) before income tax, interest, dividends
and capital
gains/losses on disposals
478,858 528,428
Value adjustments for non-monetary elements that have no equivalent item
in net working capital:
Provisions for TFR 255,129 235,983
Other provisions 147,932 70,157
Amortisation and depreciation of fixed assets 1,844,502 1,600,994
Other adjustments for non-monetary items 17,069 (63,297)
2 Cash flow before changes in NWC 2,743,490 2,372,264
Changes to net working capital
Decrease/(increase) in trade receivables (1,192,731) 2,365,300
Increase/(decrease) in trade payables (698,454) (1,769,519)
Decrease/(increase) in accrued income and prepaid expenses (561,915) (81,542)
Increase/(decrease) in accrued liabilities and deferred income (120,467) 1,174,142
Increase/(decrease) tax receivables 479,060 (1,086,547)
Increase/(decrease) tax payables 266,727 563,687
Increase/(decrease) other receivables 410,071 200,264
Increase/(decrease) other payables 511,374 (399,970)
Decrease/(increase) in trade receivables (1,192,731) 2,365,300
3 Cash flow after changes in NWC 1,837,155 3,338,079
Other adjustments
Interest collected/(paid) 21,061 (28,490)
(Income tax paid) (40,717) (121,302)
(Use of provision) (82,051) (78,107)
4 Cash flow after other adjustments 1,735,448 3,110,180
A Cash flow from operations 1,735,448 3,110,180
Tangible fixed assets (158,526) (308,678)

(Investments) (158,526) (308,678)
Intangible fixed assets (1,905,607) (1,296,680)
(Investments) (1,905,607) (1,296,680)
Financial fixed assets (1,037) (35)
(Investments) (1,037) (35)
B Cash flow from investments (2,065,170) (1,605,393)
Minority interest funds 528,021 (496,442)
Increase (decrease) in short-term payables to banks (6,825) (25,593)
Stipulation of loans 1,600,000 484,115
Repayment of loans (1,065,154) (954,964)
Own funds
Capital increase by payment (234,938) (43,464)
Sale (purchase) of treasury shares
Minority interest funds (234,938) (43,464)
C Cash flow from loans 293,082 (539,906)
Increase (decrease) in liquid funds (A ± B ± C) (36,639) 964,881
Initial cash and cash equivalents 9,866,364 8,946,689
Final cash and cash equivalents 9,829,725 9,911,569
Change in cash and cash equivalents (36,639) 964,881
Data in €

Growens (GROW) is a vertically integrated player in the field of Cloud Marketing Technologies. Its growing suite of data-driven solutions allows SMEs and large corporations globally to master the evolving ways of communicating with customers. Starting from the parent company, which includes the MailUp business unit (Email marketing technology), the group boasts a steady growth path both organically and through acquisitions: Acumbamail (Spanish and LatAm markets), Agile Telecom (wholesale SMS market) and Datatrics (artificial intelligence). The brand portfolio is completed by BEE, an email editor launched in 2017 as a complementary business line, already covering thousands of customers worldwide. Today, Growens is a leading European player in the field of Cloud Marketing Technologies, serving ca. 26,000+ customers in 100+ countries.

The company is admitted to trading on the AIM Italia market managed by the Italian Stock Exchange, with a free float of 37+%.

ISIN IT0005040354 - Reuters: GROW.MI - Bloomberg: GROW IM

Media & Guidelines: https://growens.io/en/media-guidelines

For further information please contact: Growens Investor Relations Micaela Cristina Capelli +39 02 71040485 [email protected]

Growens Press Office Maria Giulia Ganassini +39 02 89603080 [email protected] growens.io

Nomad BPER Banca +39 051 2756537 [email protected]

iCorporate - Growens Press Office Arturo Salerni +39 335 1222631 Alberto Colombini +39 346 6016675

[email protected]

Arrowhead Business and Investment Decisions, LLC

Thomas Renaud +1 212 619 6889 [email protected] arrowheadbid.com