Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG
Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG: FP continues growth path in revenue and profit in the first quarter of 2022

FP continues growth path in revenue and profit in the first quarter of 2022

Berlin, 25 May 2022 – Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG (ISIN DE000FPH9000) recorded a positive development in revenue and profits in the first three months of 2022. The FUTURE@FP transformation programme is paying off and is reflected in the results. The aim is to transform the FP group into a sustainably profitable international technology group.

Group revenue rose by 26.5% to EUR 65.2 million in the first three months of the current year compared to EUR 51.5 million in the same period of the previous year. The first quarter is traditionally a strong quarter at FP, but in the previous year it was weaker than usual due to the pandemic. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 101.4% to EUR 10.3 million after EUR 5.1 million in the same period of the previous year, with the EBITDA margin thus reaching 15.8%. Despite the acquisition of the Azolver Group, free cash flow came to EUR 2.0 million as compared to EUR 4.5 million in the same period of the previous year – adjusted for this effect, normalised free cash flow amounts to EUR 6.1 million.

Revenue in the Digital Business Solutions business unit grew by 42.2% to EUR 6.4 million in the reporting period, after EUR 4.5 million in the same period of the previous year. This business unit is also benefiting from the measures initiated under the transformation programme and focuses on business models with a clear value proposition for the customers and significant potential to scale for FP. In the Output Management area, higher customer activity was reported in the first quarter. Another revenue driver is the FP Sign signature solution, which is benefiting both from last year’s sales successes with recurring revenues and increased new customer acquisition. In the De-Mail/eJustice communication area , there is an overall increase in customer demand in addition to a competitor’s withdrawal from the De-Mail market. 

Revenue in the Mailing, Shipping & Office Solutions business unit increased by 15.8% to EUR 35.3 million. FP benefited from higher revenue from equipment sales and consumables as the pandemic-induced effects levelled off, as well as additional revenue from the postal rate change in Germany. Foreign currency developments had a positive effect on revenue of EUR 1.1 million.

Revenue in the Mail Services business unit rose by 41.9% to EUR 23.5 million, compared to EUR 16.6 million in the same period of the previous year. In addition to the effects from the postal rate change at the beginning of 2022, revenue is higher than usual due to a higher share of franking services as a result of Corona-related staff absences at customers and one-off mailings in the first quarter.

At the end of March 2022 FP acquired all shares of the operating companies of the Azolver Group. With this acquisition, FP is expanding its position in the market for mailing, shipping & office solutions in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland and Italy. At the same time, Azolver’s SaaS-based solutions, such as asset tracking, strengthens the digital offering of FP and are being further developed. The Technology and Services Centre in Estonia will be an important component in leveraging the transformation programme FUTURE@FP. Azolver’s revenue and earnings contributions will be visible in FP’s figures for the following three quarters of 2022.

FUTURE@FP transformation program having positive effects

FP CEO Carsten Lind says: “With the FUTURE@FP transformation programme, we are successfully positioning FP for the future. We have realigned the organisation and are working in a much more customer-centric and efficient way. This is reflected in the development of both revenues and profitability. The positive development in the first quarter is partly characterised by non-recurring effects in revenue and also in EBITDA. Not including these non-recurring effects, we see lower but still pleasing revenue growth of 10% and normalised EBITDA of EUR 8.3 million. We are well on track and will systematically continue our transformation process over the coming months.”

CFO Martin Geisel explains: “The figures for the first quarter of 2022 are good. Our measures from the FUTURE@FP transformation programme are having positive effects on our key figures. The revenue performance in the traditionally strong first quarter is pleasing, and we also significantly increased profitability. However, we are not going to rest, but will rather continue on this path.”

The positive development confirms to the management that it is setting the right strategic direction for the FP Group.

Due to the continuing uncertain geopolitical and economic situation, the ongoing pandemic situation and the global supply chain issues, the forecast for fiscal 2022 is being maintained.

Earnings per share rise to EUR 0.33

In the first three months of 2022, the FP Group generated EBITDA of EUR 10.3 million compared to EUR 5.1 million in the same period of the previous year. This corresponds to an increase of 101.4%. The EBITDA margin rose to 15.8% (same period of the previous year: 10.0%). The revenue increase in all business areas and the savings in personnel expenses in connection with the transformation programme had a positive impact on the development of earnings.
Personnel expenses fell by 7.7% to EUR 14.2 million compared to EUR 15.4 million in the same period of the previous year. The cost of materials increased by 31.6% to EUR 33.9 million in the first three months of 2022 (same period of the previous year: EUR 25.8 million), primarily as a result of the revenue growth and the higher share on postage. Other expenses increased by 12.9% year on year to EUR 8.6 million in the first quarter of 2022.

Amortisation, depreciation and write-downs increased slightly by 4.9% to EUR 4.9 million in the first three months of 2022. EBIT thus improved to EUR 5.4 million compared with EUR 0.4 million in the previous year. As a result of the improvement in EBIT, consolidated profit amounted to EUR 5.3 million as against EUR 0.8 million in the same period of the previous year. Earnings per share (EPS) climbed to EUR 0.33 compared to EUR 0.05 in the same period of the previous year.

Forecast for 2022 confirmed

The FP Group will continue to drive forward the transformation in 2022. The current development confirms to the company that it has chosen the right direction with the FUTURE@FP programme.
Particularly with the acquisition of the Azolver companies at the end of March 2022, FP expects Group revenue to develop positively in fiscal year 2022. The Management Board anticipates this within a range of EUR 229 million to EUR 237 million, as against EUR 203.7 million in the previous year. This includes organic revenue growth of 3-6% and growth from the acquisition of Azolver. Measures to sustainably improve profitability will almost take full effect in fiscal year 2022. Depending on how revenue performs, the Management Board therefore expects EBITDA to be between EUR 24 million and EUR 28 million, corresponding to an EBITDA margin of between 10.5% and 11.8%.

Key figures at a glance:

The quarterly report can be downloaded here: Current Reporting (fp-francotyp.com)

For Investor Relations press enquiries, please contact:
Anna Lehmann
Tel.: +49 (0)30 220 660 410
E-mail: ir@francotyp.com

Disclaimer:

Statements in this press release relating to the future development and forecasts of the Group are based on our careful assessment of future events. Any negative macroeconomic developments beyond this may cause actual results for fiscal 2022 to differ from the forecast figures.

About Francotyp-Postalia:
Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG, a listed company based in Berlin, is the holding company of the globally operating FP Group (FP). FP is an expert in solutions that make office and work life easier and more efficient. FP has the following business units: Digital Business Solutions, Mailing, Shipping & Office Solutions and Mail Services. In the Digital Business Solutions business unit, FP optimises customers’ business processes and offers solutions such as electronic signatures, hybrid mail, input/output management for physical and digital documents and the data-driven automation of complex business processes. In the Mailing, Shipping & Office Solutions business unit, FP is the world’s third-largest provider of mailing systems and is also the market leader in Germany, Austria, Scandinavia and Italy. FP has subsidiaries based in 15 countries and is represented by its own trading network in many other countries. In the Mail Services business unit, FP offers the consolidation of business mail and is among the leading providers in Germany. In 2021, FP generated revenue of more than EUR 200 million.