EQS Group AG picks up speed in the third quarter of 2023

Strong growth in new customers after the whistleblower protection laws came into force

 

3rd quarter 2023:

– New SaaS-customers increase by 170 percent to 665

– New-ARR rose by 50 percent to EUR 3.00 million

– Revenue increases by 14 percent to EUR 16.88 million

– EBITDA increases by 49 percent to EUR 2.32 million

 

9 month 2023:

– New SaaS-customers increase by 99 percent to 1,395

– New-ARR rose by 37 percent to EUR 7.58 million

– Revenue increases by 15 percent to EUR 50.61 million

– EBITDA increases by 111 percent to EUR 5.79 million

 

Munich, Nov 10, 2023

EQS Group AG (ISIN: DE0005494165) continues its double-digit growth in the third quarter of 2023 and gains a large number of new customers. The Group generated revenue of EUR 16.88 million in the months of July to September (previous year: EUR 14.86 million). This corresponds to an increase of 14 percent compared to the same period last year. EBITDA rose by 49 percent to EUR 2.32 million (previous year: EUR 1.56 million). The Group net profit amounted to EUR -128 thousand, meaning that earnings per share were EUR -0.01.

The key figure for new ARR, which quantifies the newly concluded, annually recurring revenue, amounted to EUR 7.58 million in the first nine months of 2023 (previous year: EUR 5.54 million). The total number of SaaS customers increased to 6,305 (previous year: 4,786).

The following picture also emerges for the first nine months of 2023: Revenues amounted to EUR 50.61 million (EUR 44.05 million), EBITDA rose to EUR 5.79 million (EUR 2.74 million), Group net income amounted to EUR -1.40 million and earnings per share were EUR -0.14 (previous year: EUR -0.19).

All key figures relate to continuing operations (discontinued Russian business, liquidation of EQS Financial Markets & Media GmbH, liquidation of EQS Group doo).

The growth in revenue is attributable to the significant increase in revenues of compliance cloud products. In the first nine months of the year, 1,331 new SaaS customers were acquired in the Whistleblowing Systems area, 656 of them in the third quarter alone. On the cost side, total expenses rose at a slower rate than revenue. This trend will continue in the coming quarters and will be reinforced by an increase in subscription revenue once the measures to sanction non-compliance with the Whistleblower Protection Act come into force.

 

Segment performance

Revenue in the Compliance segment increased by 18% in the first nine months of 2023. In the Investor Relations segment, revenue increased slightly by 1%. Annual recurring revenue at Group level amounted to 89% after nine months (previous year: 88%).

Achim Weick, founder and CEO of EQS Group AG: “After the whistleblower protection laws came into force in our core markets at the beginning of the third quarter, the number of new customers rose strongly as expected. Our marketing and sales channel is filling up just as strongly. Our focus is therefore now primarily on conversion, the conclusion of contracts with interested parties. In addition, the development of our large partner network is already paying off. We are expecting strong growth in new customers toward the end of the year and over the next few quarters. We are very optimistic that we will achieve our targets for the year.”

 

The European Compliance & Ethics Conference a great success for the fourth time.

More than 6,000 participants from almost 150 countries joined the largest European industry gathering to discuss the future of compliance in a challenging environment of global crises and new technologies. With insightful presentations from more than 30 thought leaders and experts, the event underscored EQS Group’s commitment to fostering global dialog and shaping the future of compliance. The award for outstanding compliance projects, the ECEC Award, went to the Dutch bank ABN Amro.

Marcus Sultzer, CRO of EQS Group AG: “This year’s European Compliance & Ethics Conference once again brought together the Who’s Who of the European compliance industry. We are very happy that our event has developed into the platform for exchange for compliance managers. A continuation next year is therefore guaranteed.”

 

Outlook

For the 2023 financial year, the Executive Board is planning an increase in revenue of 15 to 20 percent, equivalent to EUR 71 million to EUR 74 million. The EBITDA should be in a range of between EUR 9 million to EUR 11 million. For the key figure New ARR, the company expects a volume of EUR 9 million to EUR 12 million. In addition, 2,000 to 3,000 new customers are to be acquired, the majority of them in the product area of whistleblower systems.

The Management Board will be explaining the business results in a video conference at 11:00 a.m. (CET). Login is not necessary. It will be broadcast live online https://www.webcast-eqs.com/eqs-2023-9m. Questions can be asked using the Q&A feature (chat) beforehand or during the webcast.

 

Key figures (IFRS; in € mln.)	9M 2023	9M 2022	+/-
Revenues*	50.609	44.048	15%
Operating Expenses*	46.501	43.319	7%
EBITDA*	5.794	2.740	>100%
Group Income*	-1.400	-1.821	23%
Free Cash Flow	6.197	2.080	>100%
Total Assets	186.086	183.816	1%
Cash & Cash Equivalents	10.599	7.874	35%
Net Debt	24.311	29.256	-17%
Equity-Ratio (%)	60%	62%	–

*from continued operations

 

 

More information:

 

The figures for 9M 2023 are unaudited.

 

EQS Group is a leading international cloud provider in the fields of corporate compliance, investor relations and ESG.

Working with EQS Group, more than 10,000 companies worldwide inspire trust by fulfilling complex regulatory requirements in a reliable and secure manner, minimizing risks and communicating their business success and its impact on society and the climate transparently to stakeholders.

EQS Group’s products are pooled in the cloud-based software EQS COCKPIT. This platform ensures the professional handling of compliance workflows in the fields of whistleblower protection and case management, policy management, business approvals, third party management, insider list management and disclosure obligations.

Listed companies benefit from a global newswire, investor targeting and contact management, IR websites, digital reports and webcasts for efficient and secure investor communications.

In addition, EQS Group offers software for the management of ESG (environment, social, governance) data, the fulfilment of human rights due diligence obligations along corporate supply chains and for rule-compliant sustainability reporting.

EQS Group was founded in 2000 in Munich, Germany. Today the group employs around 600 professionals and has offices in the world’s key financial markets.

 

 

Contact:

André Marques

CFO

Tel.: +49 89-444430033

Mobile: +49 175-5250009

Email.: andre.marques@eqs.com