Siili Solutions Plc, Financial statements bulletin, 1 January–31 December 2023 (audited)

YEAR 2023 FOR SIILI: Changes in the market — focus on efficiency and AI

Siili Solutions Plc Financial statements bulletin 27 February 2024 at 8:45 am (EET)

JANUARY–DECEMBER 2023

• Revenue EUR 122,702 (118,334) thousand
• Revenue growth EUR 4,368 thousand or 3.7%
• Organic revenue growth EUR 141 thousand or 0,1%
• EBITA EUR 8,409 (11,629) thousand, -27.7%
• EBITA margin 6.9% (9.8%) of revenue

JULY–DECEMBER 2023

• Revenue EUR 57,414 (59,459) thousand
• Revenue growth EUR -2,045 thousand or -3.4%
• Organic revenue growth EUR -3,342 thousand or -5.5%
• EBITA EUR 3,399 (5,181) thousand, -34.4%
• EBITA margin 5.9% (8.7%) of revenue

_{¹ Organic revenue growth is calculated based on comparable pro forma revenue.
² Reported starting from H1 2023, see alternative performance measures.
³ The figures of the Haallas Finland Oy have been consolidated into Siili’s figures as of 1 October 2022.}

OUTLOOK FOR 2024 AND FINANCIAL GOALS FOR 2025–2026

Revenue for 2024 is expected to be EUR 120–140 million and adjusted EBITA EUR 7.5–10.5 million.

On 11 May 2022, the company announced the financial goals for the years 2023–2026 as follows:

• Annual revenue growth of 20 percent, of which organic growth accounts for about half. From 2023 onwards, organic revenue growth will be calculated based on comparable revenue, reflecting changes in the corporate structure.

• EBITA 12 percent of revenue. Operating profit before amortisation and impairment for fair value adjustments on acquisitions.

• The aim is to keep the ratio of net debt-to-EBITDA below two.
  
• The aim is to pay a dividend corresponding to 30–70 percent of net profit annually.

CEO TOMI PIENIMÄKI:

2023 was a challenging year for Siili and the sector as a whole. The rapid deterioration of market conditions in the second quarter, higher cost level due to inflation and increased price competition affected both growth and profitability. Our revenue for the full year grew to approximately EUR 123 million, representing a growth of 4%.

Due to the slowing down of revenue growth, we focused on securing our profitability in the challenging market situation. Thanks to actions taken to improve cost efficiency, EBITA came in at about EUR 8.4 million or 7% of revenue. This was the third-highest EBITA in Siili’s history and a reasonable outcome in these circumstances. Improving cost efficiency remains a key objective for us going forward, too.

Business conditions weakened in all of Siili’s main markets. Hence, the rate of growth of the international business slowed down, but we can be quite satisfied with the 10% growth achieved in this area. The share of international revenue grew to almost 27% from about 25% a year earlier.

We proceed in line with our strategy

Despite the challenges posed by the operating environment, last year also saw many successes. At the beginning of 2023, we moved to an organisation model based on customer sectors in line with our strategy. The objective of the change was a more agile and customer-driven way of operation, growth, continuous competence development and stronger synergy between different units. Now, about a year after the change, we can state that our understanding of our clients’ business has deepened significantly thanks to the sectoral focus, and therefore the result was successful.

The National Land Survey of Finland chose us as their partner for expert services in the development and maintenance of information systems. We were successful in the Tax Administration’s extensive tender and got selected as one of the suppliers for a contract period spanning across six years. We also concluded a significant contract with the Food Authority, and our cooperation will continue for the next five years.

In addition, we made good progress in the development of our competencies and offering for the banking and insurance sector. We strengthened our sales team with several new appointments and closed many new partnership agreements with technology suppliers within the sector. The development is also evident in improved appreciation among our clients. In our commissioned client survey, we were applauded in particular for our regulatory and sectoral expertise in banking.

Our design expertise was acknowledged when our joint ‘Nemo’ project with Fintraffic received the prestigious Service Design Award at a ceremony in Berlin – the highest honours in the service design industry. Once completed, Nemo is set to become a nationally centralised Single Window service for maritime traffic declarations.

During the first quarter of the year, our personnel worked out our own company-specific collective agreement for Siili. All in all, the planning process involved over 100 of our employees. Due to its diverse and extensive project team, the agreement strongly reflects values that are important for Siili and its people-oriented culture.

Last year, we arranged several value workshops, where we defined, together with our employees, the core values of our company: ambition, joy, humanity and responsibility. Going forward, these values will guide us all in our daily work and decision making at Siili.

Despite the more challenging times, we will hold onto Siili’s people-oriented culture and we want to continue to be one of the most attractive employers in the sector.

AI expertise becomes central in Siili’s strategy

The past year brought the potential of AI in our sector widely into public awareness. AI-assisted development offers an abundance of new opportunities for both our clients and employees. Just as before, when technology evolves, we are going to be in the forefront utilising artificial intelligence for the benefit of our clients.

The utilisation of AI in Siili’s client projects will increase significantly, and the change has been even faster than expected. Siili’s leading position as an applier of AI in digital development will be an essential part of Siili’s strategy going forward.

We have embarked on 2024 optimistically although the market situation appears to remain challenging for the time being. In the long term, we expect the demand for digital development services to stay strong. I would like to thank all our stakeholders, especially the entire Siili community and our clients, for the year 2023. There were challenges too, but we cleared them together. I am looking forward to what 2024 will bring, particularly in terms of AI application potential. We are living in the midst of a very interesting technological transition, and Siili is in an outstanding position to take an advantage of the growth opportunities.

RISKS AND UNCERTAINTY FACTORS

Siili is exposed to various risk factors related to its operational activities and business environment. The realisation of risks may have an unfavourable effect on Siili’s business, financial position or company value. The most significant risks related to Siili’s operations are described below, along with other known risks that may become significant in the future. In addition, there are risks that Siili is not necessarily aware of and which may become significant.

• The loss of one or more key clients, a considerable decrease in purchases, financial difficulties experienced by clients or a change in a client’s strategy with regard to the procurement of IT services could have a negative effect on the company.
• Failure to achieve recruitment goals in terms of both quality and quantity, and failure to match supply to customer demand in a timely manner.
• Probability and adverse effects of the realisation of the aforementioned risks are more likely in an uncertain economic environment.
• Failure in pricing, planning, implementation and improving cost efficiency of customer projects.
• Loss of the contribution of key personnel or deterioration of the employer’s reputation.
• Realisation of information security risks, for example, as a result of human error by an employee.
• General negative or weakened economic development and the resulting uncertainty in the clients’ operating environment. The general economic cycle and changes in the clients’ operating environment can have negative effects through slowing down, postponing or cancelling decisionmaking on IT investments.

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has not had and is not expected have a direct impact on Siili’s business. However, the elevated general uncertainty and inflation in 2023 affected in particular our clients’ investment decisions, thereby also weighing on Siili’s business. These factors are expected to continue to affect Siili’s business in the current financial year. According to management observations and estimates, the impacts of the market environment in the financial year 2023 were moderate, and they are expected to remain at a similar level in 2024. We prepare for these hard-to-foresee effects by taking care of customer satisfaction and cost efficiency.

EVENTS AFTER THE END OF THE FINANCIAL YEAR

The company does not have material events after the financial year.

DIVIDEND PROPOSAL

In line with the dividend policy approved by its Board of Directors, Siili seeks to distribute 30–70% of its profit for the period to shareholders. In addition, an additional profit distribution can be made.
On 31 December 2023, the distributable assets of the parent company of Siili Solutions Plc amounted to EUR 35,913,025.44, including the profit for the period EUR 3,443,594.91. The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting 2024 that a dividend of EUR 0.26 per share be paid for the financial year 2023. According to the proposal, a total dividend of EUR 2,108,632.76 would be paid. The proposed dividend represents approximately 42% of the Group’s profit for the financial year.
No significant changes have taken place in Siili’s financial position since the end of the financial year. The company has a good level of liquidity, and the Board believes that the proposed dividend will not pose a risk to liquidity.

FINANCIAL CALENDAR FOR 2024

Siili will hold a results announcement event for analysts, portfolio managers and the media on 27 February 2024 at 1:00 p.m. The presentation materials will be published on the company website after the event.

The Annual Report 2023 will be published in electronic format on the company website on 8 March 2024.

The Annual General Meeting will be held on 3 April 2024.

The business review for 1 January–31 March 2024 will be published on 24 April 2024.
The half-year report for 1 January–30 June will be published on 13 August 2024.
The business review for 1 January–30 September 2024 will be published on 22 October 2024.

In Helsinki 27 February 2024

Board of Directors

Siili Solutions Plc

Further information:

CEO Tomi Pienimäki
Phone: +358 40 834 1399
CFO Aleksi Kankainen
Phone: +358 40 5342 709

Siili Solutions in brief:
Siili Solutions Oyj is a unique combination of a digital design agency and a technology powerhouse. The starting point for all our work is a deep understanding of human behavior. Siili is the best partner for the customer when it comes to seeking growth, efficiency and competitive advantage through digital solutions. Siili has offices in Finland, Germany, Poland, Hungary, the UK, Austria and the USA. Siili Solutions Plc's shares are listed on the stock exchange list of Nasdaq Helsinki Oy. Siili has grown profitably since its inception in 2005.