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Unifiedpost Group SA — Earnings Release 2021
Mar 8, 2022
4019_rns_2022-03-08_4ae4f820-75e1-4dd1-aba8-5035768c01fa.pdf
Earnings Release
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FY 2021 RESULTS March 8, 2022
Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements:
Attractive new product structure - Distribution expanded in all 32 Unifiedpost markets
FINANCIAL RESULTS 2021 | 4
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| 15.6% FY2021 organic growth |
€170.5m total revenue $+147\%$ y-o-y |
43.7% digital processing gross margin |
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|---|---|---|---|
| €106.9m digital processing revenue |
$+ \epsilon$ 4.0m operating cashflow |
- €2.7m Adj. EBITDA $-$ €1.1m y-0-y |
|
| $£22.9m$ net debt €17.0 $m$ cash |
93% recurring revenue | €33.1m R&D | |
| ARPU €27.9 / month Q4 2021 |
31% of digital processing revenue |
unifiedpost Revenues - Digital processing with organic growth rate of +15.6% y-o-y; both segments with strong Q4
- $\checkmark$ Strong FY 2021 with revenue growth of 55% in digital processing, supported by acquisitions
- Management guidance well reached organic growth in digital processing up +15.6% y-o-y (vs. management guidance of "at least 15%")
- $\checkmark$ Top line growth showed increasing momentum both segments with strong Q4
- Revenues in postage & parcel optimisation benefit $\checkmark$ from price increases, large new customers and seasonality effects in Q4
Cost development - Reflecting expansion into 32 countries incl. impact from acquisitions
- $\checkmark$ Continued development in R&D spending - predominantly due to development cost for Banqup and Payment Solution
- $\checkmark$ 57% of total R&D capitalised
- $\checkmark$ Increase in G&A expenses mainly due to consolidation effects from acquired companies and M&A expenses
- $\checkmark$ Higher marketing efforts mainly in view of the global rollout plan as well as acquisition effects from 2021
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Well over 90% of Unifiedpost Group's revenue remain recurring
Subscriptions
Subscriptions available from 10 EUR/month basic document exchange, higher prices for more volume and/or more services
unifiedpost
B2B e-payments subscription from 17 $\bullet$ EUR/month
Volume-based transaction
- Large volume communication
- Ad-hoc implementation and change $\bullet$ requests for large corporates / tailormade solutions
- $\sqrt{3}$
Project revenues
Share of recurring revenues slightly $\bullet$ affected by increased project revenue from license sale in Serbia in Q4
In 2021, Unifiedpost Group has evolved from a regional to a pan-European player
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Digital processing revenue Top 5 countries
| Belgium | 26% |
|---|---|
| Sweden | 17% |
| The Netherlands | 13% |
| Serbia | 9% |
| United Kingdom | 5% |
Postage & parcel optimisation
| Sweden | 88% |
|---|---|
| Denmark | 10% |
| Norway | 2% |
Employees by region
| Western Europe | 32% |
|---|---|
| East & Southern | 9% |
| Northern Europe | 56% |
| Central Europe | 3% |
Gross profit & margins - Significant improvement in both segments
Digital processing gross profit & margin (by year)
Digital processing gross profit & margin (by quarter)1
$\checkmark$ Overall strong gross profit improvement, supported by impact from acquisitions
- Gross margin in digital processing benefits $\checkmark$ from economies of scale on the back of strong demand for end-to-end digital processing solutions
- Gross margin in postage & parcel optimisation $\sqrt{ }$ services up on economies of scale despite some new large customers
Postage & parcel optimisation services gross profit & margin (by quarter)
(1) Gross margin of digital processing organic revenue: Q143.7%, Q2 48.6%, Q3 48.4% and Q4 44.8%
FY 2021 adjusted EBITDA level rather unchanged y-o-y despite strong investments into growth
Acquisition expenses
Increase Decrease Total
Other income and expenses
Share-based payments
EBITDA
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$(2.7)$
Adjusted EBITDA
Balance sheet - Effects from FY 2021 acquisitions become obvious
| Balance sheet | FY2021 | FY2020 | in EUR m | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodwill | 155.0 | 35.2 | Comments | ||
| Other intangible assets | 83.5 | 47.9 | |||
| Property and equipment | 8.0 | 6.8 | Goodwill increase mainly due to acquisition of Crossinx, 21 Grams and 8.1 BangUP |
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| ROU assets | 10.8 | ||||
| Other non-current assets | 2.2 | 1.6 | |||
| Non-current assets | 259.5 | 99.6 | |||
| Inventories | 0.6 | 0.5 | Reduction in cash mainly due to pay-out for acquisitions in H1 2021 (~€84.8 $\overline{2}$ |
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| Trade and other receivables | 34.8 | 17.7 | |||
| Other current assets | 5.2 | 3.4 | million 1 ) | ||
| Current assets | 57.6 | 21.6 | |||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 17.0 | 125.9 | Unused credit facilities of nearly $\epsilon$ 20 million – new hybrid financing deal | ||
| Total assets | 317.1 | 247.1 | 3 agreed |
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| Equity | 196.4 | 168.2 | |||
| Non-current loans and borrowings | 8.9 | 19.9 | Bank borrowings per 31 December 2021 | in EUR m | |
| Non-current lease liabilities | 6.9 | 5.1 | |||
| Other non-current liabilities | 13.6 | 7.4 | |||
| Non-current liabilities | 29.4 | 32.3 | Borrowings | 29.2 | |
| Current loans and borrowings | 23.3 | 6.3 | Bank borrowings | 29.2 | |
| Current lease liabilities | 3.8 | 3.0 | |||
| Trade and other payables | 42.7 | 16.6 | Unused credit facilities | 19.7 | |
| Contract liabilities | 13.0 | 10.2 | Factoring | 18.7 | |
| 3 Current income liabilities |
0.8 | 0.7 | |||
| Other current liabilities | 7.7 | 9.9 | Straight loans 1.0 |
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| Current liabilities | 91.3 | 46.6 | |||
| Total equity and liabilities | 317.1 | 247.1 |
Equity & cash flow development - Equity up due to payments for acquisitions
(1) Issuance of shares from contribution in kind of vendor loan of 2021 acquisitions
New hybrid growth financing - Enhanced funding scope and flexibility
| Key information | Use of proceeds | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Committed amount | EUR 100m $\checkmark$ |
Refinance existing debt | ||
| Tenor | 5 years $\checkmark$ |
Support growth strategy | ||
| Structure | $\checkmark$ Term Loan B facility: EUR 75m Capex facility: EUR 25m $\checkmark$ |
R&D investments $\checkmark$ Working capital requirements $\checkmark$ Fund potential future transactions to additionally expand $\checkmark$ capabilities and geographical coverage |
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| Covenant | Minimum liquidity $\checkmark$ |
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| Lender | Francisco Partners |
Outlook 2022-2023 - Management guidance confirmed
(1) Calculated on digital processing revenue
Key messages
- Group revenue increased in 2021 by 147% y-o-y to €170.5 million driven by organic growth and acquisitions
- $\checkmark$ FY 2021 organic growth in digital processing revenue of 15.6% management guidance fully reached
- Companies acquired in 2021 are almost fully integrated and the acquisition strategy proved successful $\sqrt{ }$
- $\checkmark$ Product harmonisation for corporates and SMEs realised
- √ Cash and equivalents of €17 million, €20 million (available) in undrawn financing and new hybrid financing deal secure financing of Unifiedpost's growth path
Financial calendar 2022
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Q&A and contact data
Join us
- 15 March 2022: Berenberg EU Opportunities Conference 2022, $\bullet$ London
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