Qt Group Plc: Financial statement bulletin January - December 2024
Qt Group Plc, Stock exchange release, February 13, 2025, at 8:00AM EET
Fourth quarter 2024: Net sales growth weaker than estimated, operating profit margin very good
October-December 2024
- Net sales increased 15.5 percent to EUR 68.5 million (EUR 59.3 million). The effect of exchange rates on the comparison period's net sales was EUR 0.7 million and at comparable exchange rates, net sales increased by 14.2 percent.
- Operating profit (EBITA) was EUR 31.4 million (EUR 25.9 million) or 45.8 percent (43.8 %) of net sales.
- Operating profit (EBIT) was EUR 29.4 million (EUR 23.9 million) or 42.9 percent (40.4 %) of net sales.
- Earnings per share were EUR 1.13 (EUR 0.70).
January-December 2024
- Net sales increased 15.7 percent to EUR 209.1 million (EUR 180.7 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 15.7 percent.
- Operating profit (EBITA) was EUR 71.2 million (EUR 55.4 million) or 34.1 percent (30.6%) of net sales.
- Operating profit (EBIT) was EUR 63.2 million (EUR 47.3 million) or 30.2 percent (26.2 %) of net sales.
- Earnings per share were EUR 2.26 (EUR 1.40).
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 2023 with the actual exchange rates of the reporting period 2024 and by comparing the reported net sales in 2024 with the calculated 2023 net sales at comparable exchange rates.
Key figures
| EUR 1,000 | 10-12/2024 | 10-12/2023 | Change, % | 1-12/2024 | 1-12/2023 | Change, % |
| Net sales | 68,480 | 59,264 | 15.5% | 209,063 | 180,743 | 15.7 % |
| Operating profit (EBITA) | 31,383 | 25,929 | 21.0% | 71,199 | 55,379 | 28.6 % |
| EBITA, % | 45.8% | 43.8% | 34.1% | 30.6 % | ||
| Operating profit (EBIT) | 29,376 | 23,921 | 22.8% | 63,169 | 47,349 | 33.4 % |
| EBIT, % | 42.9% | 40.4% | 30.2% | 26.2 % | ||
| Return on equity, % | 19.0% | 16.9% | 38.1% | 33.9 % | ||
| Return on investment, % | 21.0% | 17.6% | 43.4% | 35.6 % | ||
| Interest-bearing liabilities 1 | 4,316 | 20,513 | -79.0% | 4,316 | 20,513 | -79.0 % |
| Cash and cash equivalents 1 | 64,861 | 33,595 | 93.1% | 64,861 | 33,595 | 93.1 % |
| Net gearing, % 1 | -33.9% | -10.7% | -33.9% | -10.7 % | ||
| Equity ratio, % 1 | 81.6% | 64.4% | 81.6% | 64.4 % | ||
| Earnings per share (EPS), EUR | 1.13 | 0.70 | 62.0% | 2.26 | 1.40 | 61.6 % |
| Diluted earnings per share, EUR | 1.13 | 0.69 | 62.5% | 2.26 | 1.39 | 62.1 % |
| Personnel, on average | 864 | 769 | 12.3% | 834 | 731 | 14.1 % |
1 At the end of the period
Juha Varelius, President and CEO
Qt Group's net sales in the final quarter of 2024 remained weaker than estimated. Net sales for October-December 2024 were EUR 68.5 million. At comparable exchange rates, net sales grew by 14.2 percent year-on-year.
Net sales growth was weaker than estimated mainly due to the challenging market situation, which had a negative impact particularly on the sale of distribution licenses. There were also global challenges in the demand for consulting services. Net sales of developer licenses grew moderately, but also remained slightly behind the estimates.
The operating profit (EBITA) for the last quarter was very good at EUR 31.4 million and the operating profit margin (EBITA-%) was at an excellent level of 45.8%. The scalability of our business model enables us to maintain the profitability of our operations very well even in challenging circumstances.
The highlight of the last quarter was the announcement of the new product version of the company's software development platform Qt 6.8 in October. It includes numerous new features that significantly improve the developer experience and meet the development needs of demanding applications. With the commercial Qt 6.8 LTS launch, we also extended our long-term product support from three years to five years. The aim of the change is to ensure that our customers can use the company's products and services even more securely as part of their own processes.
Net sales for the full year increased by 15.7 percent to EUR 209.1 million. At comparable exchange rates, net sales increased by 15.7 per cent year-on-year. Net sales growth remained weaker than estimated in 2024, but operating profit (EBITA) of EUR 71.2 million and operating profit margin (EBITA-%) of 34.1% were at a very good level. The challenges of 2024 were particularly evident in the sales of distribution licenses and consultation services. Developer license sales continued to grow steadily. As a part of the developer license sales, the company has tripled the quality assurance and testing tools business acquired through acquisitions in 2021 and 2022. In terms of geographic regions, the development of net sales was good in Asia and America. In Europe, business remained at the previous year's level.
Considering the challenging market situation, 2024, as a whole, was moderate for Qt Group. Net sales grew, the operating profit margin was in line with our targets and we continued our transformation into a multi-product company in accordance with our growth strategy published in 2023. In addition to the release of the new Qt 6.8 product version, we invested heavily in the development and sales of our Qt Quality Assurance product portfolio that our customers use in the quality assurance and testing of their product development.
Our growth investments, especially in strengthening our sales and R&D organizations, were reflected in an increase in the number of employees. At the end of 2024, we had a total of 869 employees. That constitutes 12 percent of growth when compared to the end of 2023.
Qt will continue to implement its ambitious growth strategy in 2025. We are well positioned in the market and believe that the market will gradually start to recover during 2025, despite heightened risks and uncertainties related to the global economy.
Outlook for 2025
We estimate that our full-year net sales for 2025 will increase by 15-25 percent year-on-year at comparable exchange rates and that our operating profit margin (EBITA %) will be 30-40 percent in 2025.
News conference
Qt Group will hold an English-language news conference on February 13, 2025, at 11:30-12:30 EEST at Musiikkitalo in Helsinki, Finland, and as a webcast at www.qt.io/investors. CEO Juha Varelius and CFO Jouni Lintunen will present the results at the news conference. Analysts and investors can also participate in the news conference via a conference call: https://palvelu.flik.fi/teleconference/?id=50051502.
Further information:
President and CEO Juha Varelius, tel. +358 9 8861 8040
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Key media
www.qt.io