Atende Group announces financial results for 2014

In Q4, Atende Group generated the best quarterly results in history. Unfortunately, the Group failed to fully compensate for weak Q2 2014; therefore, total results for the whole year are lower than in 2013.

In Q4 2014, record-breaking results were achieved in consolidated revenues (PLN 85,538 thousand, 9% growth yoy), gross profit from sales (PLN 22,470 thousand, 15% growth yoy), EBITDA (PLN 12,538 thousand, 39% growth yoy) and net profit (PLN 7,520 thousand, 41% growth yoy). It should be stressed that the figures are compared with Q4 2013, which brought the best results in the Group's history until now.

Despite the record high results in Q4, the consolidated financial results for entire 2014 proved to be weaker than a year before. The company was able to generate gross profit from sales in the amount of PLN 55,354 thousand, which means an increase by 3% yoy, despite the fact that the revenues in 2014 were 7% lower and amounted to PLN 207,297 thousand. It was possible thanks to greater sale of products and services having a higher margin, particularly software and implementation services, as well as outsourcing and cloud computing services. On the other hand, EBITDA and net profit dwindled yoy, by 8% to PLN 19,800 thousand and by 27% by PLN 8,276 thousand respectively. A poorer net profit despite increased gross profit from sales is attributable to a relatively high growth in overheads (15.8%), which was a result of the fact that the Group started consolidating performance of Phoenix Systems and TrustIT. Expansion of sales and sales support departments, as well as other expenditures related to the development of the product range necessary for further development of the Group were the other reasons behind a decrease in the net profit.

It is worth mentioning that in 2014 the Group recorded sales boost in all market segments except for the public sector. The number of tender procedures is by far lower now and there are no large contracts in this sector; both of these facts had a negative impact on our financial results. Revenues from sales to clients in the public sector shrank by 37% against the previous year from PLN 87 million to PLN 55 million.

All companies of the Atende Group but Atende Medica positively contributed to the consolidated net profit in 2014. The best net profit, amounting to PLN 5 million, was generated by Atende Software. On the other hand, despite its negative influence on the consolidated results, Atende Medica decreased its net loss and notably raised its sales revenues in comparison with the previous year.

It should be stressed that 2014 was another year of significant changes in the Atende Group's structure. January closed the process of share acquisition in Phoenix Systems (Atende took hold of 51% shares). Phoenix Systems focuses on delivering innovative low-level software and owns a proprietary operating system Phoenix-RTOS. In March, we acquired 100% shares in TrustIT, a company rendering modern IT outsourcing services. In the second half of the year, Atende Medica was established after company Impulsy took over company Textus Virtualis and changed its business name. Moreover, as early as in February 2015, we increased our share in OmniChip, a company designing electronic circuits, to 55%.