Second quarter 2023: Profitable growth continued despite challenges in the operating environment

• Net sales increased 17.2 percent to EUR 43.5 million (EUR 37.1 million). The effect of exchange rates on the comparison period's net sales was EUR -0.6 million and at comparable exchange rates, net sales increased by 19.0 percent.
• Operating profit (EBITA) was EUR 12.5 million (EUR 10.0 million) or 28.7 percent (26.9 %) of net sales.
• Operating profit (EBIT) was EUR 10.5 million (EUR 9.1 million) or 24.1 percent (24.4 %) of net sales.
• Earnings per share were EUR 0.31 (EUR 0.41).

• Net sales increased 21.5 percent to EUR 83.4 million (EUR 68.7 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 21.3 percent.
• Operating profit (EBITA) was EUR 20.3 million (EUR 15.6 million) or 24.3 percent (22.7 %) of net sales.
• Operating profit (EBIT) was EUR 16.3 million (EUR 13.7 million) or 19.5 percent (20.0 %) of net sales.
• Earnings per share were EUR 0.48 (EUR 0.56).

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 2022 with the actual exchange rates of the reporting period 2023 and by comparing the reported net sales in 2023 with the calculated 2022 net sales at comparable exchange rates.

Key figures

EUR 1,000   4 4-6/2022 Change, 1-6/2023 1-6/2022 Change, 1-12/2022
-6/2023 % %
Net sales         37,090 17.2% 83,440         21.5%       155,318
43,469 68,661
Operating                  25.3% 20,292          30.4%        
profit 12,492 9,971 15,558 42,249
(EBITA)
   EBITA, % 28.7% 26.9% 24.3% 22.7% 27.2 %
Operating                  15.8% 16,277          18.6%         
profit 10,484 9,052 13,720 36,870
(EBIT)
   EBIT, % 24.1% 24.4% 19.5% 20.0% 23.7 %
Return on 8.5% 19.0% 13.2% 26.2% 49.6 %
equity, %
Return on 8.5% 12.6% 13.1% 19.1% 41.5 %
investment,
% 
Interest                 45.7%                  45.7%        
-bearing 29,051 19,934 29,051 19,934 28,159
liabilities1
Cash and                 44.1%                   44.1%          
cash 26,821 18,615 26,821 18,615 8,815
equivalents1
Net gearing, 2.3% 2.4% 2.3% 2.4% 22.3 %
%
1
Equity 56.6% 52.7% 56.6% 52.7% 52.8 %
ratio, %
1
Earnings per 0.31 0.41 -23.5%                           -13.6% 1.36
share (EPS), 0.48 0.56
EUR
Diluted 0.31 0.40 -21.6%                           -11.5%              
earnings per 0.48 0.55 1.36
share, EUR
Personnel, 717 574 25.0% 708               27.7%              
on 555 603
average

1 At the end of the period

Juha Varelius, President and CEO

In the second quarter of 2023, Qt Group's net sales increased 19 percent at comparable currencies and were EUR 43 million. The sales of developer licenses for embedded devices increased well, which supports the income from distribution licenses in the long term. Net sales from distribution licenses have developed well throughout the review period. Challenging macroeconomic operating environment was perceivable in particular in our North American sales and demand for consulting services.

EBITA amounted to EUR 12 million during the second quarter, an increase of 25 percent compared to the previous year. EBITA margin was 29 percent. Due to the scalability of our business and good financial performance, our ability to ensure profitability is at a very good level. We have continued to make necessary growth investments in sales to support our growth objectives.

The release of Qt 6.5 LTS in April brought several new functionalities and improvements to graphics, UI development, and the application backend. The new Qt Quick Effect module provides ready-to-use graphical effects that can be easily combined without compromising performance. Additionally, we enhanced connections to web services across different modules, making integrating web-based functionalities into applications smoother and facilitating data exchange between devices. In the second quarter, we also released versions of Axivion Suite 7.6, Qt for MCUs 2.5 LTS, and Qt Design Studio 4.2 software, among others.

Ensuring a smooth product development process and delivering a top-notch user experience to end customers are essential for our customers, and we have a very good opportunity to boost net sales growth in the second half of the year. We keep our outlook for the full year 2023 unchanged.

Outlook for 2023

We estimate that our full-year net sales for 2023 will increase by 20-30 percent year-on-year at comparable exchange rates and that our operating profit margin (EBITA-%) will be 20-30 percent in 2023.

News conference

A news conference, where CEO Juha Varelius and CFO Jouni Lintunen will present the results, will be held on August 3, 2023, at 15.00-16.00 EEST in Helsinki, Finland and as a webcast at http://www.qt.io/investors. Analysts and investors can participate in the news conference in person and via conference call at https://palvelu.flik.fi/teleconference/?id=10010163

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

Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd.
Key media
www.qt.io