Softline AG publishes 9-month Group report for the financial year 2021

Leipzig, 01. December 2021 - Softline AG, parent company of an internationally active IT consulting group, headquartered in Leipzig and focusing on IT- and Software Asset Management, Information- and IT-Security, Cloud and Future Datacenter as well as Digital Workplace, today publishes the business development of the first nine months of the financial year 2021.

In the first three quarters of the financial year 2021, the Softline Group once again generated revenue growth in its core portfolio areas. Compared to the same period of the previous year, has been increased by EUR 2.1 million to EUR 21.2 million (previous year: EUR 19.1 million). While the development of revenues and earnings in the first half of 2021 was still on target, the planned revenues of EUR 9.5 million could not be realised in the third quarter, in particular due to missing and postponed hardware and software projects (Q3 2021: EUR 6.9 million).

The business development in the Northern Europe region, which focuses on the portfolio area of IT- and Software Asset Management, is particularly positive. Here, the turnover of EUR 5.4 million after nine months is EUR 0.3 million above the previous year and thus EUR 0.1 million above budget. In the DACH region, turnover in the core portfolio areas of IT- and Software Asset Management, Cloud and Future Data Centre, Information- and IT-Security and Digital Workplace also increased by EUR 1.3 million year-on-year to EUR 15.9 million. However, due to a lack of consulting capacities as well as postponed hardware and software sales, the total turnover in the DACH region is approximately EUR 3.4 million below plan.

The operating result (EBITDA) was heavily burdened in the third quarter, in particular by intensive investments on the personnel side, and is therefore with -0.4 Mio. EUR at the end of the first nine months of 2021  EUR , approx. EUR 0.6 million below the previous year's value and approx. EUR 0.7 million below plan. The operating result (EBIT) of the Softline Group in the reporting period amounted to EUR -598.000 (previous year: EUR 51.000).

Martin Schaletzky, CEO of Softline AG, comments on the results of the nine-month report 2021 as follows: "As in the previous year, the effects of the Corona pandemic, due to postponed or put on hold projects and reduced sales and marketing activities, had a strong impact in the third quarter of 2021. Missing sales in the hardware and software segment as well as extensive investments in the expansion of our team had an additional impact on the revenue and result. However, in a very competitive IT specialist market, we have succeeded in recruiting numerous specialists and consultants ‒ by the end of the year, we will have invested a total of approximately EUR 0.7 to 0.8 million in personnel growth. With our steadily growing team of specialists and continued high order backlog of EUR 34.8 million, we are well positioned for the coming years to realise our growth plans, both globally in our IT Asset Management portfolio area as well as in Europe with a focus on the topics of Cloud and IT-Security."

Based on the business development in the fourth quarter of 2021, taking into account the current order backlog, Softline AG is currently forecasting consolidated revenues of between EUR 27.0 and 29.0 million at Group level by the end of the year, as well as a possible loss of EUR 0.3 to 0.5 million at EBITDA level.

The 9-Month Report 2021 is is available as of today in the Investor Relations section at https://www.softline-group.com.