Smartoptics Group AS

Earnings Release • May 11, 2023

Smartoptics Group AS (SMOP) - Q1 2023: Continued strong growth and increased margins

Smartoptics Group AS (SMOP) - Q1 2023: Continued strong growth and increased margins

Oslo, May 11, 2023 - Smartoptics Group AS (OSE: SMOP) today reported revenues of

USD 14.1 million in the first quarter of 2023, up 18.8 percent from the

corresponding period in 2022 (USD 11.8 million), and an EBITDA margin of 18.5

percent, up from 15.2 percent in the first quarter 2022. EBIT margin was 15.5

percent compared to 11.8 percent same period last year.

"It is great to conclude that the strong development from 2022 continues in

2023, as expected. The market remains strong, driven by the ever-growing demand

for higher bandwidth and network capacity," said Magnus Grenfeldt, CEO of

Smartoptics.

Providing optical networking solutions based on open standards, Smartoptics

operates in a very attractive part of the market.

"During the first quarter, we have been very active and demonstrated good

traction in the market. We have positive discussions with larger potential

customers particularly in the US. The interest is mainly in our open line system

offering and low-cost 100G and 400G solutions, and we are progressing a number

of larger opportunities that may result in revenue over the coming years," said

Magnus Grenfeldt.

Smartoptics continues to enhance its organization and further develop its

product portfolio. The company has a solid pipeline of new product launches

lined up in the second half of 2023 and the first half of 2024.

At the same time, the Board of Smartoptics has decided to propose an inaugural

dividend of NOK 0.50 per share for 2022. This is based on a solid financial

position, with a steady underlying business with good cash flow.

"All in all, we are well positioned for continued strong per­formance, and we

have no reason to adjust our goals of growing our revenue up to around USD 100

million by 2025/2026, combined with an EBITDA mar­gin of 17-20 percent," said

Magnus Grenfeldt.

- ENDS -

Investors, analysts, and media are welcome to join a presentation today at 10:00

CEST at Hotel Continental in Oslo.

The presentation will be held by CEO Magnus Grenfeldt and CFO Mikael Haag and

will also be available via a live webcast. Webcast viewers may submit written

questions during and after the presentation.

Date: Today May 11, 2023

Time: 10:00 CEST

Venue: Hotel Continental, Stortingsgaten 24/26, Oslo

Language: English

Webcast link: https://channel.royalcast.com/landingpage/hegnarmedia/20230511_13/

The report and presentation will be made available at www.smartoptics.com and

www.newsweb.no. A recorded version of the presentation will be available after

the live stream is concluded.

For further information, please contact:

Magnus Grenfeldt

CEO Smartoptics

+46 73-366 88 77

E-mail: magnus.grenfeldt@smartoptics.com

About Smartoptics

Smartoptics provides innovative optical networking solutions and devices for the

new era of open networking. Our customer base includes thousands of enterprises,

governments, cloud providers, Internet exchanges as well as cable and telecom

operators. We have an open networking approach in everything we do which allows

our customers to break unwanted vendor lock-in, remain flexible and minimize

costs. Our solutions are used in metro and regional network applications that

increasingly rely on data center services and specifications. Smartoptics is a

Scandinavian company founded in 2006. We partner with leading technology and

network solution providers such as Brocade, Cisco and Dell and have a global

reach through more than 100 business partners.

For additional information about Smartoptics, please visit

https://www.smartoptics.com/

This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and is subject to the disclosure requirements

pursuant to MAR article 17 and Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading

Act. This stock exchange announcement was published by Per Burman, Chief

Marketing Officer of Smartoptics on the time and date provided.