- 36% revenue growth: EUR 356 million compared to EUR 262 million in Q1 2023.
- First-time consolidation of Katek as of March 1, 2024, contributes EUR 54 million to revenues
- Strong gross margin of 41.3% in the 1st quarter
- EUR 35.4 million EBITDA vs. 29.6 million in the same quarter of the previous year
- Outlook for 2024 strong with 33% profit growth
Linz, 03.05.2024: Kontron AG, a leading global provider of IoT technology, today announced its results for the first quarter of 2024. For the first time, Katek is included for 1 month.
Revenues increased by 35.9% to EUR 356.1 million (previous year: EUR 262.0 million), of which EUR 54.1 million came from Katek. The gross margin was very strong at 41.3% and is the result of the strategic realignment towards IoT. In the first quarter, 50% of EBITDA was already generated in the Software & Solutions segment with an EBITDA margin of 19.5%. The overall EBITDA amounted to EUR 35.4 million (+19.6%). Adjusted for one-off effects and M&A costs, EBITDA amounted to EUR 39.2 million, an increase of 33% from the previous year. Consolidated net profit amounted to EUR 16.3 million (previous year: EUR 16.6 million) and was also influenced by these one-off effects.
With the acquisition of Katek, total assets have reached a new level of EUR 1,884 million with EUR 670 million in equity (Dec 2023: 1,371 million with 604 million in equity). Equity thus increased by 11% in the first quarter alone. The cash position of EUR 356 million demonstrates solid financing even after the acquisition of Katek. The operating cash flow amounted to EUR -10.7 million, or EUR 23.8 million adjusted for the reduced factoring and a deferral effect for 2023.
The order backlog rose to EUR 1,842 million in the last 12 months after EUR 1,573 million, including EUR 140 million from Katek. Kontron is therefore on course for another strong year. Before the strategic realignment in 2021, the IoT segment’s consolidated net income was still EUR 31 million (including the sold IT activities, consolidated net income amounted to EUR 49 million at that time) and more than doubled to EUR 75 million in 2023 as a result of the realignment as an IoT provider.
“In 2024, the focus will be on integrating Katek and increasing profitability,” says Hannes Niederhauser, CEO of Kontron AG. “We can integrate our existing IoT software susietec®, KontronOS, and Kontron Grid very easily into the Katek products and thus significantly improve customer benefits through new functions. Against this background, we expect another strong increase in net profit by 33% to EUR 100 million in 2024 with consolidated revenue of at least EUR 1.9 billion. EBITDA is even expected to increase by around 50% to EUR 190 million.”