Ekinops' 2023 annual results: EBITDA margin of 14.4%

PARIS, March 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- EKINOPS (Euronext Paris - FR0011466069 – EKI), a leading supplier of telecommunications solutions for telecom operators and businesses, reports its FY 2023 financial statements (for the period ended 31 December 2023), as approved by the Board of Directors on 4 March 2024. The statutory auditors have finished auditing the consolidated financial statements and the certification report will be issued shortly.

¹ EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) corresponds to current operating income restated for (i) amortization, depreciation and provisions and (ii) income and expenses linked to share-based payments (see appendices).

2023 revenue of 129.1 m€, up +1%

In 2023, Ekinops' consolidated revenue stood at 129.1 m€, up +1% from the previous year, and +2% at constant exchange rates.

H2 2023 was harshly affected by deteriorated market conditions in the Access business line, against a backdrop of economic slowdown and a high level of equipment inventories at operators. Access solutions fell by -15% over the year (vs. +20% in 2022).

Driven by numerous commercial successes and customer wins, the Optical Transport business line posted strong growth of +27% in 2023, underpinned by operators' bandwidth needs and the success of Ekinops' WDM solutions.

Revenue generated by Software & Services rose by +12% in 2023, driven by sales of network virtualization solutions, SD-WAN solutions and services. Software & Services accounted for 17% of Group revenue in 2023, vs. 15% a year earlier.

International sales increased by +8%, while business in France declined by -11%. International sales accounted for 68% of total business in 2023 (vs. 64% in 2022), of which 25% in North America (+6%) and 41% in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) (+23%).

EBITDA margin[1] of 14.4% in 2023

In this complex economic environment, gross margin amounted to 67.3 m€ in 2023, same as the previous year (67.6 m€).

Gross margin came to 52.1%, compared with 53.0% a year earlier, reflecting the business mix evolution over the year.

EBITDA¹ stood at 18.6 m€ in 2023, down -18%. The increase in operating expenses was contained
(+7% over the year), while Ekinops maintained most of its investments (net increase of 47 employees over the year, trade shows and business travel, equipment dedicated to R&D, etc.) in order to prepare for future growth.

EBITDA¹ margin was 14.4% in 2023, compared with a record-high level of 17.7% in the previous year.

Adjusted EBIT margin² of 8.0% in 2023

After accounting for net depreciation, amortization and provisions (12.1 m€, including 5.3 m€ of amortization relating to post purchase price allocation technologies) and non-cash expenses relating to share-based payments (1.4 m€), current operating income came to 5.1 m€ in 2023, vs. 9.3 m€ a year earlier.

Current operating margin therefore stood at 3.9% of revenue in 2023, vs. 7.2% in 2022. Excluding amortization of intangible assets identified post purchase price allocation, adjusted EBIT[2] came to 8.0%, compared with 12.2% a year earlier.

Other operating expenses totaled 1.4 m€, including 1.1 m€ for the project of implementing a new management system (ERP). Operating income came to 3.6 m€ in 2023, vs. 8.8 m€ a year earlier.

After taking into account financial expenses of 0.3 m€ and a tax income of  0.3 m€, net income amounted to 3.6 m€ in 2023, vs. 12.0 m€ in 2022.

Operating cash flow of 13.5 m€ in 2023, 7.8 m€ in total cash generation

FY 2023 illustrates Ekinops' ability to generate cash through its business.

Operating cash flow amounted to 13.5 m€ in 2023, compared with 9.4 m€ the previous year. After the high mid-year level, change in working capital requirements fell in H2 due to the business slowdown and optimal cash management.

Cash flow from investments (non-current assets and R&D) amounted to a 8.2 m€ outflow (vs. 7.4 m€ a year earlier) with 4.5 m€ in equipment investments and 3.6 m€ for capitalized R&D. Free cash flow totaled 5.3 m€ million in 2023 (vs. 2.0 m€ in 2022).

Cash flow from financing activities totaled 2.5 m€, of which 5.1 m€ in new bank loans (net of repayments, including the research tax credit pre-financing), with a €7.8 million stimulus loan (Prêt Participatif de Relance - PPR) cashed in March 2023.

Overall, change in cash flow was +7.8 m€ in 2023 (vs. -€6.0 million in 2022).

Net cash[3] of 25.8 m€ as of 31 December 2023

Cash and cash equivalents amounted to 47.2 m€ at end-2023 (vs. 39.4 m€ one year earlier), and financial borrowings[4] of 21.4 m€.

In H2 2023, Ekinops signed a new 100 m€ syndicated line of financing with its banking partners (external growth loan of up to 90 m€ and 10 m€ revolving credit facility) to provide the company with additional financial resources to support its development, in particular its acquisition strategy. Ekinops has not yet used this line, which includes conditions related to the Group's non-financial performance as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy.

Net cash³ stood at 25.8 m€ at 31 December 2023 (vs. 20.5 m€ a year earlier), for shareholders' equity of 119.4 m€ (+5.8 m€ compared with end-2022).

Further progress in sustainable performance in 2023

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy, Ekinops continued to work in 2023 on minimizing the environmental impact of its products and their manufacturing processes. A life-cycle analysis of a representative piece of Access equipment and energy performance analyses were carried out in 2023, enabling the Group to identify the impact of its products across the entire value chain. Committed to reducing its emissions for several years already, the 2023 carbon footprint reflected reduction in emissions in tons of CO₂ on revenue (tCO₂e/m€) of -40% vs. 2022.

In terms of human resources policy, female representation continued to increase in 2023, with a +15% rise in the number of female employees, compared with +8% rise in the number of male employees. At end-2023, women represented 21% of the Group's total workforce. Particular attention was paid in 2023 to employees' feedback, notably through anonymous "Pulse" surveys, to understand their expectations and to identify their needs.

On a societal level, after becoming a member of the United Nations Global Compact in 2022, Ekinops published its first "Communication on Progress" (CoP) in 2023, testifying the progress made by Ekinops in implementing the Ten Principles and helping to reach the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, the training campaign for all Group personnel in respect of the risks of conflicts of interest and corruption continued in 2023 as part of the Group's responsible systems and practices policy.

Starting from January 1, 2024, Ekinops has created the position of "Corporate Sustainability Risks Manager", to reconcile risks and sustainable development and to enable the company to better respond to ESG objectives.

Outlook

Against a backdrop of economic slowdown and rising interest rates affecting investment policies and financial health of companies, the Access activity was severely impacted in H2 2023. 2024 has started in the wake of end-2023, with the market now stabilized but not yet showing any signs of recovery.

In view of demanding comparison (H1 2023 revenue up +12% to €71.0 million), revenue in H1 2024 is likely to be down compared to last year.

Further ahead, Ekinops expects Access equipment sales to rebound as the economy recovers, and plans to launch a major new optical transport product this summer, doubling the capacity of optical links, and a new OTN (Optical Transport Network) product, which should contribute to the healthy momentum of the Group's optical activity.

In view of current visibility and a still uncertain timing for an economic recovery at this stage of the year, Ekinops does not provide financial guidance for 2024.

In terms of acquisitions, Ekinops' management remains mobilized to carry out one or more operations to consolidate its R&D clout and round out its customer base, favoring non-dilutive financing.

Full 2024 financial calendar can be found here.

All press releases are published after Euronext Paris market close.

EKINOPS Contact

Didier Brédy -Chairman and CEO - [email protected]

Investors

Mathieu Omnes- Investor relation-  [email protected]

Press

Amaury Dugast- Press relation - Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 74 - [email protected]

[1] EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) corresponds to current operating income restated for (i) amortization, depreciation and provisions, and (ii) income and expenses relating to share-based payments.

[2] Adjusted EBIT corresponds to current operating income adjusted for amortization of intangible assets identified after allocation of goodwill, Technologies developed and Customer relations.

^[3] Net cash = cash and cash equivalents – borrowings (excluding bank debt relating to French research tax credit (CIR) pre-financing and IFRS 16 lease liabilities)

^[4] excluding bank debt relating to research tax credit pre-financing and IFRS 16 lease liabilities

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SOURCE Ekinops