Qt Group Oyj

Earnings Release • Feb 13, 2025

Qt Group Plc: Financial statement bulletin January - December 2024

Qt Group Plc: Financial statement bulletin January - December 2024

Qt Group Plc, Stock exchange release, February 13, 2025, at 8:00AM EET

Fourth quarter 2024: Net sales growth weaker than estimated, operating profit
margin very good

October-December 2024

· Net sales increased 15.5 percent to EUR 68.5 million (EUR 59.3 million). The
effect of exchange rates on the comparison period's net sales was EUR 0.7
million and at comparable exchange rates, net sales increased by 14.2 percent.
· Operating profit (EBITA) was EUR 31.4 million (EUR 25.9 million) or 45.8
percent (43.8 %) of net sales.
· Operating profit (EBIT) was EUR 29.4 million (EUR 23.9 million) or 42.9
percent (40.4 %) of net sales.
· Earnings per share were EUR 1.13 (EUR 0.70).

January-December 2024

· Net sales increased 15.7 percent to EUR 209.1 million (EUR 180.7 million).
The effect of exchange rates on the comparison period's net sales was EUR -0.1
million and at comparable exchange rates, net sales increased by 15.7 percent.
· Operating profit (EBITA) was EUR 71.2 million (EUR 55.4 million) or 34.1
percent (30.6%) of net sales.
· Operating profit (EBIT) was EUR 63.2 million (EUR 47.3 million) or 30.2
percent (26.2 %) of net sales.
· Earnings per share were EUR 2.26 (EUR 1.40).

The figures in brackets refer to the comparison period, i.e., the corresponding
period in the previous year. The percentage of change in net sales at comparable
exchange rates is calculated by translating the net sales from the comparison
period 2023 with the actual exchange rates of the reporting period 2024 and by
comparing the reported net sales in 2024 with the calculated 2023 net sales at
comparable exchange rates.

Key figures

[][][][]
EUR 1,000 10 10 Change, % 1-12/2024 1-12/2023 Change, %
-12/202 -12/202
4 3
Net sales 68,480 59,264 15.5% 209,063 180,743 15.7 %
Operating profit 31,383 25,929 21.0% 71,199 55,379 28.6 %
(EBITA)
EBITA, % 45.8% 43.8% 34.1% 30.6 %
Operating profit 29,376 23,921 22.8% 63,169 47,349 33.4 %
(EBIT)
EBIT, % 42.9% 40.4% 30.2% 26.2 %
Return on 19.0% 16.9% 38.1% 33.9 %
equity, %
Return on 21.0% 17.6% 43.4% 35.6 %
investment, %
Interest-bearing 4,316 20,513 -79.0% 4,316 20,513 -79.0 %
liabilities [1]
Cash and cash 64,861 33,595 93.1% 64,861 33,595 93.1 %
equivalents [1]
Net gearing, % -33.9% -10.7% -33.9% -10.7 %
[1]
Equity ratio, % 81.6% 64.4% 81.6% 64.4 %
[1]
Earnings per 1.13 0.70 62.0% 2.26 1.40 61.6 %
share (EPS), EUR
Diluted earnings 1.13 0.69 62.5% 2.26 1.39 62.1 %
per share, EUR
Personnel, on 864 769 12.3% 834 731 14.1 %
average

[1] At the end of the period

Juha Varelius, President and CEO

Qt Group's net sales in the final quarter of 2024 remained weaker than
estimated.  Net sales for October-December 2024 were EUR 68.5 million. At
comparable exchange rates, net sales grew by 14.2 percent year-on-year.

Net sales growth was weaker than estimated mainly due to the challenging market
situation, which had a negative impact particularly on the sale of distribution
licenses. There were also global challenges in the demand for consulting
services. Net sales of developer licenses grew moderately, but also remained
slightly behind the estimates.

The operating profit (EBITA) for the last quarter was very good at EUR 31.4
million and the operating profit margin (EBITA-%) was at an excellent level of
45.8%. The scalability of our business model enables us to maintain the
profitability of our operations very well even in challenging circumstances.

The highlight of the last quarter was the announcement of the new product
version of the company's software development platform Qt 6.8 in October. It
includes numerous new features that significantly improve the developer
experience and meet the development needs of demanding applications. With the
commercial Qt 6.8 LTS launch, we also extended our long-term product support
from three years to five years. The aim of the change is to ensure that our
customers can use the company's products and services even more securely as part
of their own processes.

Net sales for the full year increased by 15.7 percent to EUR 209.1 million. At
comparable exchange rates, net sales increased by 15.7 per cent year-on-year.
Net sales growth remained weaker than estimated in 2024, but operating profit
(EBITA) of EUR 71.2 million and operating profit margin (EBITA-%) of 34.1% were
at a very good level.  The challenges of 2024 were particularly evident in the
sales of distribution licenses and consultation services. Developer license
sales continued to grow steadily. As a part of the developer license sales, the
company has tripled the quality assurance and testing tools business acquired
through acquisitions in 2021 and 2022. In terms of geographic regions, the
development of net sales was good in Asia and America. In Europe, business
remained at the previous year's level.

Considering the challenging market situation, 2024, as a whole, was moderate for
Qt Group. Net sales grew, the operating profit margin was in line with our
targets and we continued our transformation into a multi-product company in
accordance with our growth strategy published in 2023. In addition to the
release of the new Qt 6.8 product version, we invested heavily in the
development and sales of our Qt Quality Assurance product portfolio that our
customers use in the quality assurance and testing of their product development.

Our growth investments, especially in strengthening our sales and R&D
organizations, were reflected in an increase in the number of employees. At the
end of 2024, we had a total of 869 employees. That constitutes 12 percent of
growth when compared to the end of 2023.

Qt will continue to implement its ambitious growth strategy in 2025. We are well
positioned in the market and believe that the market will gradually start to
recover during 2025, despite heightened risks and uncertainties related to the
global economy.

Outlook for 2025

We estimate that our full-year net sales for 2025 will increase by 15-25 percent
year-on-year at comparable exchange rates and that our operating profit margin
(EBITA %) will be 30-40 percent in 2025.

News conference

Qt Group will hold an English-language news conference on February 13, 2025, at
11:30-12:30 EEST at Musiikkitalo in Helsinki, Finland, and as a webcast at
www.qt.io/investors. CEO Juha Varelius and CFO Jouni Lintunen will present the
results at the news conference. Analysts and investors can also participate in
the news conference via a conference call:
https://palvelu.flik.fi/teleconference/?id=50051502.

Further information:
President and CEO Juha Varelius, tel. +358 9 8861 8040

Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Key media
www.qt.io

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