EQS-News: AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS AG / Keyword(s): Other/Miscellaneous AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS: A strong multinational technology company for payment solutions and digital security 01/24/2024 / 08:30 CET/CEST The issuer/publisher is responsible for the content of the announcement. ═════════════════════════════════════════ ═════════ The AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS group is today one of the oldest Greek companies with a history of more than 125 years, with the group’s journey dating back to 1897 began as a printing company under the name “Lykos”. When in 1982, after almost ninety years, Nikos Lykos, representing the 4^th generation of the family business, took over management, a corporate transformation began with strategic repositioning, from a traditional printing company to information management. As a result, the company was renamed INFORM P. Lykos SA. Since 1982 and the beginning of radical business transformation, the company has grown steadily and gradually transformed into a thriving multinational company with global reach and international presence. An important milestone on this continuous growth path was the takeover of AUSTRIACARD from the Austrian National Bank in 2007, a company that supplies Austrian banks with bank cards and their operating systems. This strategic move signaled the beginning of the group’s exponential growth, which, together with organic growth, as well as a series of acquisitions in Romania (NEXTDOCS in 2019, PINK POST in 2023), Andorra (TAG Systems in 2019), the USA (TAG USA in 2019), Cyprus (CLOUDFIN in 2021) and Great Britain (NITECREST in 2021) completed the portfolio of service offerings, while also expanding to the markets in Southeast, Central and Western Europe, Scandinavia, Turkey, the Middle East , Africa and the USA expanded. As a result of this strong growth, the cross-border merger took place at the end of 2022 between the group’s parent company, AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS AG, and its Greek subsidiary INFORM P. Lykos SA, which in March 2023 led to the listing of the shares of the entire group on the Vienna and the Athens Stock exchange and thus enables investors to participate as shareholders in the group’s entire business. The Group’s international customer base currently benefits from a complementary portfolio of B2B products, services and solutions, including secure digitization solutions, smart cards, personalization and payment solutions, as well as secure data management and digital transformation solutions. The group has a very strong pan-European presence, from the UK to Greece and Turkey, with seven production sites and seven personalization centers in Europe, as well as an additional personalization center in the USA, and currently employs around 2,500 people. Indicative of the Group’s strong growth momentum is the fact that it is rapidly expanding into markets beyond those it traditionally serves, such as: For example, the global market of Challenger/Neon banks in the USA, through a new personalization center, and in the Middle East and Africa, through the establishment of sales offices, are significantly expanding the reach of their activities. A dynamic, global presence as a trigger for strong economic growth. AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS’ exponential growth and good management have achieved impressive financial performance in recent years. A comparison of financial results between 2017 and 2022 shows that revenue increased at a compound annual growth rate of 21.4% from €119.4 million in 2017 to €314.7 million in 2022, according to adjusted earnings Interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Adj. EBITDA) with a cumulative annual growth rate of 31.0% from €10.2 million to €39.4 million and adjusted earnings before taxes (Adj. EBT) with a cumulative Annual growth rate of 79.9% rose from €1.1 million to €20.7 million. In the first nine months of 2023, the group continued its strong performance with a 13.1% increase in revenue to €261.5 million, an 11.6% growth in adjusted EBITDA to €36.5 million and a Net profit continued to grow by 33.2% to €14.6 million. This strong growth in the first 9 months was driven by a significant increase in sales of payment products and services in the Turkish market and of printing and postal services in the Romanian market, reflecting the decline in sales of security forms related to the project for elections in Kenya (€25 million), which was implemented in 2022, more than offset. As part of the Kenya project, AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS undertook the production of 120 million ballot papers that met all modern security standards, their special packaging and shipping, as well as monitoring their safe delivery. A similar project was previously carried out in Nigeria. The company constantly strives to carry out one-off projects of this scale, as activities of this type are part of the Group’s strategy to expand into new markets by leveraging its high level of know-how and production infrastructure in the field of security forms printing. Excluding the impact of the Kenya election project on 2022 comparatives, consolidated revenue, adjusted EBITDA and net profit after tax increased by 26.6%, 36.9% and 133.3%, respectively, in 9M 2023. As for the stock market, in August last year the company carried out a capitalization of reserves, which resulted in a doubling of the number of its shares, improving the marketability of the shares, while in December 2023 the company’s share repurchase program was activated. In December, the group’s refinancing was completed with the signing of a financing agreement for a total amount of 186.6 million euros with a consortium of 10 European banks led by UniCredit. The refinancing will concentrate all of the group’s debts at the parent company level, simplifying its structure, extending its maturity and at the same time significantly increasing the funds available to achieve the company’s strategic growth objectives. Conclusion AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS AG is a technology company that draws on more than 130 years of experience and innovation in information management, smart cards, printing and communications to provide its customers with transparent and secure experiences. The company, which occupies a leading position in the industry thanks to its flexibility and the comprehensive portfolio of solutions it offers to its customers, is growing rapidly. As a result of this strong upward trend, the AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS Group is now present in 17 countries, commercially active in 50 countries and has production facilities in 8 countries. The group has achieved excellent growth and profitability in recent years, offering a very attractive, but also rare, combination of value and growth characteristics for investors. ═════════════════════════════════════════ ═════════ ════════════════════════ 01/24/2024 CET/CEST Publication of a corporate news/financial announcement, transmitted by EQS Group AG. www.eqs.com
═════════════════════════════════════════ ═════════ ════════════════════════ Language: German Company: AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS AG Lamezanstraße 4-8 1230 Vienna Austria Email: ac.contact@austriacard.com
Internet: https://www.austriacard.com/
ISIN: AT0000A325L0 WKN: A3D5BK Stock exchanges: Vienna Stock Exchange (official trading) EQS News ID: 1821341 End of message EQS News Service 1821341 January 24th, 2024 CET/CEST