Good performance of Atende Group in the 1st half of 2020

In the 1st half of 2020, the Atende Group performed well, despite the unfavourable market environment caused by the pandemic. The Atende Group reported an improvement in operating profit (profit of PLN 2,823 thousand, up by 22% y/y), EBITDA (PLN 9,252 thousand, up by 3% y/y) and net profit[1] (PLN 1,279 thousand, up by 52% y/y). Also, it is worth considering the fact that Sputnik Software, whose shares held by the Issuer were sold at the end of 2019, is no longer consolidated.

— The year 2020 showed that the Company is able to cope even in a difficult market situation attributable to the pandemic which results in a reduction of investment budgets by a significant portion of customers. The visible increase in profitability ensured good level of the profit generated, despite a visible drop in revenue — said Roman Szwed, President of the Management Board of Atende S.A. 

In the 1st half of 2020, the Atende Group earned sales revenue of PLN 94,075 thousand, which represents a decrease by 36% y/y, while the gross profit on sales amounted to PLN 32,550 thousand, which means a level similar to that recorded in the 1st half of 2019 (down by 2% y/y). At the same time, general and administrative costs were reduced (by 4% y/y) and the gross profit margin on sales increased (by 12.1 p.p. y/y) in the reporting period.

The overall impact of the subsidiaries on the consolidated operating profit before tax and net profit was positive. Among subsidiaries, Atende Software and A2CC had the most significant positive impact on the results.

Revenue in the telecommunications and media sector, i.e. the key sector for the Group, amounted to PLN 51.0 million, which represents an increase by 4% y/y. Within this segment, revenue from the most stable group of Atende’s customers, i.e. mobile operators, amounted to PLN 27.0 million in the 1st half of 2020, which represents an increase by 16% y/y. In turn, Atende Software’s revenue from sales of multimedia content distribution services to customers from the telecommunications and media sector stood at PLN 14.5 million, which means an increase by 73% y/y.

The decrease in consolidated revenue from sales in the reporting period, as compared to the 1st half of 2019, was mainly due to the public sector, where revenue decreased by PLN 28.1 million y/y (69% y/y). This primarily results from continued tightening of public procurement and the fact that Sputnik Software, a company operating on the public market, was no longer consolidated in 2020 (revenue of PLN 10.3 million in the 1st half of 2019).

We are pleased that, despite the difficult market situation, we have managed to consistently increase sales to the telecommunications and media sector which is of key importance to us, as well as to implement the company’s development strategy in the area of high-margin and subscription services — concluded Roman Szwed.

In the 2nd quarter of 2020, the consolidated sales margin on subscription services amounted to PLN 11,003 thousand, which represents an increase by 15% y/y. The margin earned covered 50% of fixed costs of the Atende Group in the 2nd quarter of 2020. The provision of maintenance services by Atende and multimedia content distribution services by Atende Software are of the greatest importance for the sales of subscription services.