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Aug 4, 2022
Qt Group Plc: HalfYear Report JanuaryJune 2022
This release is a summary of Qt Group Plc’s Half-Year Report January-June 2022. The complete report is attached to this release as a PDF file, and it is also available on the company's website at www.qt.io/investors
Second quarter 2022: General economic uncertainty impacted revenue growth more than expected, good outlook for the rest of the year
April – June 2022
- Net sales increased 9.3 percent to EUR 37,090 thousand (EUR 33,925 thousand). The effect of exchange rates on the comparison period’s net sales was EUR 2,548 thousand, and at comparable exchange rates, net sales increased by 1.7 percent.
- Operating profit (EBITA) was EUR 9,971 thousand (EUR 11,417 thousand), or 26.9 percent (33.7%) of net sales.
- Operating profit (EBIT) was EUR 9,052 thousand (EUR 10,634 thousand), or 24.4 percent (31.3%) of net sales.
- Earnings per share were EUR 0.41 (EUR 0.34).
January – June 2022
- Net sales increased 19.9 percent to EUR 68,661 thousand (EUR 57,288 thousand). The effect of exchange rates on the comparison period’s net sales was EUR 3,663 thousand, and at comparable exchange rates, net sales increased by 12.7 percent.
- Operating profit (EBITA) was EUR 15,558 thousand (EUR 16,331 thousand), or 22.7 percent (28.5%) of net sales.
- Operating profit (EBIT) was EUR 13,720 thousand (EUR 15,445 thousand), or 20.0 percent (27.0%) of net sales.
- Earnings per share were EUR 0.56 (EUR 0.49).
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 of 2021 with the actual exchange rates of the reporting period of 2022 and by comparing the reported net sales in 2022 with the calculated 2021 net sales at comparable exchange rates.
Key figures
| EUR 1,000 | 4-6/2022 | 4-6/2021 | Change, % | 1-6/2022 | 1-6/2021 | Change, % | 1-12/2021 |
| Net sales | 37,090 | 33,925 | 9.3% | 68,661 | 57,288 | 19.9% | 121,139 |
| Operating profit (EBITA) | 9,971 | 11,417 | -12.7% | 15,558 | 16,331 | -4.7% | 31,534 |
| EBITA, % | 26.9% | 33.7% | 22.7% | 28.5% | 26.0% | ||
| Operating profit (EBIT) | 9,052 | 10,634 | -14.9% | 13,720 | 15,445 | -11.2% | 28,812 |
| EBIT, % | 24.4% | 31.3% | 20.0% | 27.0% | 23.8% | ||
| Return on equity, % | 19.0% | 21.8% | 26.2% | 31.9% | 55.0% | ||
| Return on investment, % | 12.6% | 21.2% | 19.1% | 30.8% | 57.0% | ||
| Interest-bearing liabilities1 | 19,934 | 21,772 | -8.4% | 19,934 | 21,772 | -8.4% | 17,028 |
| Cash and cash equivalents1 | 18,615 | 20,073 | -7.3% | 18,615 | 20,073 | -7.3% | 17,374 |
| Net gearing, % 1 | 2.4% | 3.7% | 2.4% | 3.7% | -0.7% | ||
| Equity ratio, % 1 | 52.7% | 49.2% | 52.7% | 49.2% | 51.1% | ||
| Earnings per share (EPS), EUR | 0.41 | 0.34 | 20.6% | 0.56 | 0.49 | 13.5% | 0.91 |
| Diluted earnings per share, EUR | 0.40 | 0.32 | 24.4% | 0.55 | 0.47 | 17.0% | 0.88 |
| Personnel, on average | 574 | 446 | 28.7% | 555 | 414 | 34.0% | 445 |
1 At the end of the period
Juha Varelius, President and CEO:
Increased uncertainty in the operating environment, such as the increase in energy prices, high inflation and the general economic slowdown, impacted our customers’ product development decisions and dragged Qt’s net sales growth in the second quarter of 2022. Despite increased uncertainty, there is good demand for our solutions. We estimate that our net sales will grow significantly more in the second half of 2022 than in the first half of 2022.
Against the exceptionally high comparison period figures, Qt’s net sales increased 9.3 percent to EUR 37 million in the second quarter. The impact of foreign exchange rates was EUR 2.5 million positive, and at comparable exchange rates, Qt Group’s net sales increased by 1.7 percent in the second quarter. Some of the customer projects in the APAC area, in particular, were delayed or only partially executed, leading to revenue from developer license and consulting to end below our targets. Revenue growth in distribution licenses was strong but nonetheless slightly below our targets
Due to the weaker than expected first-half results, we have lowered our net sales outlook for the full year. We estimate that our full-year net sales for 2022 will increase by 20–30 percent year-on-year at comparable exchange rates. We repeat the outlook for the operating profit margin (EBIT-%) and estimate that it will be 20–30 percent of net sales.
Profitability in the second quarter improved compared to the first quarter, and in April-June, the operating profit margin (EBIT-%) was 24.4 percent. At the end of June 2022, our personnel amounted to 585, which is 30 more than at the end of March 2022 and 130 more than at the end of June 2021. We have continued our growth investments in sales and R&D organizations.
In June, we announced a collaboration with Bosch on a new turnkey solution for automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to develop digital cockpits. The collaboration of Qt and Bosch enables OEMs to build out the entire digital cockpit and for the first time, enables the Qt HMI to be deployed on top of the AUTOSAR CLASSIC platform. OEMs can maximize the efficiency of graphics computing and safety while reducing the bill of material costs.
During the second quarter, we also published Qt 6.3, which contains several quality improvements and new features for 3D graphics and QML compilers. Qt Design Studio 3.5 includes new tools for faster handling of the effects of different materials in 3D graphics and improvements to the user interface. In addition, we released Qt for Android Automotive 6.3.1 and Qt for MCUs 2.2 LTS during the quarter.
Qt is well positioned in the global embedded software markets, which have significant market potential in the coming years. Thanks to the growing market, our competitive products, and our robust sales organization, we still have a great opportunity to succeed in the long term.
Operating environment and market outlook
The company estimates the growth prospects for its business in the next few years as very promising. The Group’s business development efforts will focus on desktop applications as well as embedded systems in the automotive industry, consumer electronics, medical devices, and industrial automation sectors. Product development efforts will also focus on the value-added features and tools needed to create embedded systems. Sales growth associated with embedded devices will also reflect on the earnings logic. Volume-based distribution license revenue from these sales accumulates over the long term. Accordingly, it is typical of Qt as a company that quarterly net sales and growth may vary significantly between quarters. Should the increased uncertainty in the market environment continue or expand, it could result in even higher volatility between quarters. In addition to organic growth, the company actively pursues inorganic growth through acquisitions supporting its strategy.
Disruptions in global supply chains may create delays in the production processes of equipment manufacturers and reduce their production volume, which mainly affects net sales accrued from distribution licenses. Logistics problems in international trade and the global shortage of components are likely to affect many of Qt’s customers. The weakening macroeconomic situation could cause some of Qt Group’s customers to change their product development plans, for example, by postponing or executing them only partially, which could slow down the revenue growth in developer license sales and consulting. Russia’s armed attack on Ukraine, combined with the EU’s sanctions against Russia, adds to the general uncertainty in the operating environment. While the war has not significantly impacted Qt’s business operations so far, increasing energy prices and a general economic slowdown may reduce the demand for the products of Qt’s customers and consequently slow down the Qt Group’s business growth.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause increased uncertainty for the company’s short-term outlook in APAC in particular. Recovery from the pandemic will be uneven between different industries and geographical regions, and it will likely be a long process. At the same time, the pandemic has created pent-up demand for many products. When this pent-up demand is released, it may lead to increased demand for Qt’s solutions. Despite the challenges and uncertainties in the operating environment, Qt estimates that its chances of success in executing the growth strategy that extends to 2025 remain good.
Outlook for 2022
We expect that the net sales growth in the second half of 2022 will be significantly better than in the first half of 2022 and that our full-year net sales for 2022 will increase by 20–30 percent year-on-year at comparable exchange rates. The impact of foreign exchange rates on the full-year net sales will be substantially positive, assuming that the foreign exchange rates remain at the end of June 2022 level, which leads to the fact that the company’s reported net sales growth will be significantly higher than the growth at comparable exchange rates. We expect that our operating profit margin will be 20–30 percent in 2022.
News conference
A news conference, where CEO Juha Varelius and CFO Jouni Lintunen will present the results, will be held on August 4, 2022, at 4:00 – 5:00 pm EEST in Sanomatalo, Helsinki, Finland. Analysts and investors can follow the news conference at the venue, at investors.qt.io, or via conference call:
USA: +1 646-828-8082
UK: +44 (0)330 165 3641
Finland: +358 (0)9 7479 0572
Participant passcode: 475719
Espoo, August 4, 2022
Qt Group Plc
Board of Directors
Further information:
President and CEO Juha Varelius, tel. +358 9 8861 8040
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd.
Key media
www.qt.io
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