AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS AG FULL YEAR 2024 RESULTS - Reporting another year of profitable growth

 

 

AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS AG

FULL YEAR 2024 RESULTS

 

Reporting another year of profitable growth

 

March 31, 2025 – AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS AG (ACAG) has delivered another strong financial year in FY2024, successfully meeting its guidance.

 

 

• Revenue Growth: Adjusted Group revenues* increased by 9.7% to €385.3 million, driven by 70.6% growth in revenues from Digital Transformation Technologies and a 20.3% growth in Document Lifecycle Management revenues. Reported IFRS revenues reached €392.3 million (2023: €364.6 million).

 

• Business Segment Performance:
  • Digital Transformation Technologies revenue surged by 70.6% to €27.4 million, driven by public and private sector digitalization projects in Greece and Central and Eastern Europe.
  • Document Lifecycle Management revenue increased by 20.3% to €135.3 million, supported by digital security documents projects in the Middle East and Africa (MEA).
  • Identity & Payment Solutions revenue remained flat at €222.7 million, reflecting the impact of reduced wholesale chip sales. Excluding wholesale chip sales of 2023, the organic growth is €19.8 million or 9.9%.
• Regional Performance:
  • Türkiye, the Middle East, and Africa saw revenues grow by 34.4% to €72.1 million, reflecting the strong focus in this region with digital security documents projects and Payment solutions being the main offering.
  • Western Europe, the Nordics, and the Americas recorded a 12.8% increased to €130.9 million, fueled by strong contribution of metal card sales for the growing Fintech sector.
  • Central and Eastern Europe revenue remained at €224.9 million on par with FY2023.
• Solid operating performance:
  • Adjusted EBITDA grew by 11.4% to €54.9 million, supported by increased revenue and gross profit, with the EBITDA margin rising to 14.2% from 14.0% in FY2023.
  • Adjusted net profit increased by 16.6% to €19.8 million, despite higher taxes, resulting in a net margin of 5.1%.
  • Operating cash flow saw a significant improvement, reaching €34.0 million compared to €9.1 million in FY2023, as chip inventory levels continue to normalize.
• Dividend Proposal: The company will propose a dividend of €0.11 per share at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
   

* Excluding the impact of IAS29 (Hyperinflation Accounting) on Türkiye-based operations.

 

 

Manolis Kontos, Vice-Chairman and Group CEO of AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS AG, commented:

"2024 was another strong year for AUSTRIACARD, as we successfully achieved all our targets across various segments and markets. Since 2019, we have experienced a remarkable 185% growth in revenue, reaching €385.3 million in 2024, while our EBITDA has increased more than fourfold to €54.9 million. This exceptional growth results from our strategy focused on geographic expansion, successful acquisitions and the continuous enhancement of our product and service portfolio, allowing us to stay ahead of the competition.

Throughout the year, we leveraged our expertise in our key areas such as Identity & Payment Solutions, where we introduced innovative products like metal cards and continued growing our market share both geographically and customer channel wise. In Document Lifecycle Management, we successfully delivered complex digital security documents projects in the MEA region, securing recurring revenue going forward. Additionally, in Digital Transformation Technologies which will continue to be our key contributor for growth as seen in the recent years and in 2024, we expanded our offerings to include projects for state and private sectors with AI technology being integrated in the solutions we deploy.

We entered this new year with confidence having important new ventures to pursue which include further expansion into new markets, enriching our solution offering to be able to provide our clients with new and cutting-edge services.”

 

 

 

 

GROUP BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

 

Amounts and percentage rates in this report were rounded, and the addition of these individual figures can therefore produce results that differ from the totals shown.

 

Business performance of AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS Group as monitored by Management

 

The following analysis is based on the business performance as monitored by Group management excluding effects of IAS 29 Hyperinflation accounting and with a separate presentation of Special Items (e.g. Management participation programs etc.) below adjusted Profit (Loss) before tax.

 

 

 

Revenues by solution category in € million	2024	2023	D '24-'23	D '24-'23 %
Identity & Payment Solutions	222.7	222.8	(0.1)	-0.1%
Document Lifecycle Management	135.3	112.4	22.8	20.3%
Digital Transformation Technologies	27.4	16.1	11.3	70.6%
Total	385.3	351.3	34.1	9.7%

 

AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS Group's Revenues reached € 385.3m increasing by € 34.1m or 9.7% compared to 2023. This growth was largely driven by Digital Transformation Technologies and Document Lifecycle Management. Digital Transformation Technologies increased by € 11.3m, or 70.6%, compared to the previous year. This is the result of the Group's focus on this solution category. The main contributors are public sector digitalization projects in Greece and the continued growth of this solution category in the private sector in both the Greek and Romanian market which have been the initial focus markets. Document Lifecycle Management also contributed significantly with an increase of € 22.8m, or 20.3%, mainly as a result of a new security documents solution contract in the African region.

 

Overall, the ‘Identity & Payment Solutions' category contributed revenues amounting to € 222.7m which is on par with financial year 2023. If we exclude from the comparison period the impact of our strategic decision to de-prioritise wholesale chip sales and to focus on the sale of complete smart card solutions, with a total effect of € -19.9m, the like-for-like organic growth of the Identity & Payment category amounts to € 19.8m or 9.9%. This growth is supported by sales of payment and transportation cards and especially by sales of high-end premium metal cards (€ +20.8m), which have a significantly higher price per card and are accompanied by additional revenues from personalization and fulfilment services.

 

Revenues by Segments in € million	2024	2023	D '24-'23	D '24-'23 %
Western Europe, Nordics, Americas	130.9	116.0	14.9	12.8%
Central Eastern Europe & DACH	224.9	224.6	0.3	0.1%
Türkiye / Middle East and Africa	72.1	53.7	18.4	34.4%
Eliminations & Corporate	(42.6)	(43.0)	0.4	-0.9%
Total	385.3	351.3	34.1	9.7%

 

From geographical segment view, revenue growth was strong in both MEA and WEST contributing respectively by € +18.4m and € +14.9m in additional revenues. While revenue growth in the Western Europe, Nordics, Americas (WEST) segment is mainly related to Identity & Payment solutions category and in particular to the high demand for premium metal payment cards, personalisation and fulfilment services, the growth in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) segment was driven by a new security documents solution contract in the Africa region. Revenues in the Central Eastern Europe & DACH (CEE) segment reached € 224.9m, at similar level with 2023 which was € 224.6m. CEE generated significant growth of € +11.3m in the Digital Transformation Technologies category but was negatively affected by lower order intake in the Identity & Payment Solutions category, especially related to intersegment sales to supply the Turkish market, resulting in a reduction of € -9.9m revenues in 2024 while the Document Lifecycle category in CEE increased by € 0.9m mainly supported by the printing business.

 

Gross profit I increased by € 22.4m (+14.1%) to € 181.2m, driven by revenue growth in Digital Transformation Technologies (€ 11.3m) and Document Lifecycle Management (€ 22.8m). Gross margin I improved from 45.2% to 47.0%, mainly due to a higher share of service revenues without associated material costs as well due to a lower level of material costs associated with the security document solution contract in MEA.

 

Gross Profit II grew by € 7.0m or +8.1% as a result of revenue and Gross profit I growth and reached € 93.8m. Gross Margin II declined slightly by 0.4 percentage points to 24.3% as a result of Production costs increasing by € 15.4m or +21.1%. The increase in Production costs was mainly driven by the new security document solution project in Africa adding approximately € 9,3m costs, the annualization impact related to the acquisition of the postal courier business “Pink Post” in March 2023 contributing additional cost of € 2.8m versus 2023 as well as higher costs related to the provision of digitalization services and inflation-related cost increases. Analyzed by category the increase in Production costs is mainly related to higher personnel costs (€ +6.2m), Third party services (€ +3.2m), Transportation expenses (€ +3.9m) and Depreciation & amortization expenses (€ +1.1m).

 

 

Operating expenses (OPEX) in € million	2024	2023	D '24-'23	D '24-'23 %
Production costs	(87.4)	(72.0)	(15.4)	21.4%
Selling and distribution expenses	(23.3)	(23.3)	0.1	-0.3%
Administrative expenses	(27.7)	(25.2)	(2.6)	10.2%
Research and development expenses	(8.4)	(7.4)	(1.1)	14.8%
+ Depreciation, amortization and impairment	17.8	16.1	1.6	10.2%
Total	(129.0)	(111.7)	(17.3)	15.5%
Operating expenses as a percentage of Sales	33.5%	31.8%	1.7%

 

Operating expenses (OPEX), excluding depreciation, amortization, and impairment, increased by € 17.3m (15.5%) to € 129.0m, primarily driven by higher production expenses as described above. As a percentage of sales, OPEX increased by 1.7 percentage points to 33.5% compared to 31.8% in 2023.

 

Selling and distribution expenses remained stable at € 23.3m. Administrative expenses increased by € 2.6m (10.2%), primarily due to the expansion of the Group’s management team following its listing and reorganization in H1 2023, contributing € 1.8m of the increase, and to M&A activity related increases of expenses. Research and development (R&D) expenses increased by € 1.1m, reaching € 8.4m in 2024. This increase is related to the investments in AI & Data Analytics by acquiring LS Tech (€ +0.3m), in our Banking-as-a-service offering (€ +1.0m) and to strengthening of our R&D team overall. This increase in R&D expenses was partially compensated by the completion of EU-funded research projects and the thus ensuing cost savings.

 

Other income increased by € 1.2m to € 5.0m in 2024 mainly due to an increase in income from capitalised personnel cost concerning research and development (€ +0.7m) as well as R&D related subsidies (€ +0.3m). Other expenses were increased by € 0.6m to € 2.2m in 2024 mainly due to higher impairment charges for trade receivables (€ +0.3m) and the effect of the new minimum corporate income tax regulation in Romania resulting in additional income tax charges of € + 0.3m that have to be reported within EBITDA as per IAS 12.

 

In 2024, adjusted EBITDA increased by € 5.6m or 11.4%, from € 49.3m to € 54.9m due to profitable revenue growth as a result the adjusted EBITDA margin increased by 0.2 percentage points from 14.0% to 14.2% in 2024.

 

Adjusted EBIT increased by € 4.0m or 12.0% to € 37.1m as the EBITDA growth was partially compensated by the € 1.6m increase in depreciation and amortization related to investments in machinery and equipment supporting business expansion (€ +1.1m), amortization of acquisition related intangible assets (€ + 0.4m) and impairment charges for idle machinery (€ +0.2m).

 

Adjusted Profit before tax increased by € 3.5m or 13.2% reaching € 29.6m as the growth in EBIT was partially offset by the increase in net finance costs. Net finance costs came in at € 7.5m increasing by € 0.5m mainly due to the higher average outstanding financial debt resulting in higher interest expense of € +0.7m. In 2024, the average interest costs for financial debt slightly decreased to 5.6% from 5.7% in 2023 despite the 3-month-Euribor being on average approximately 25 basis points above its comparative level. These cost increases were partially offset by higher interest income of € +0.3m being essentially related to our Turkish operations and a higher result from associates of € 0.1m.

 

Special items in € million	included in	2024	2023	D '24-'23	D '24-'23 %
Management participation programs	EBITDA	(3.7)	(2.9)	(0.8)	26.0%
Foreign exchange gains	Profit before tax	0.2	0.1	0.1	203.1%
Foreign exchange losses	Profit before tax	(0.0)	(1.0)	1.0	-99.6%
Income from financial assets and liabilities at fair value through profit or loss	Profit before tax	0.2	0.2	0.0	7.3%
Expense from financial assets and liabilities at fair value through profit or loss	Profit before tax	(0.1)	(1.3)	1.2	-95.6%
Total		(3.3)	(4.9)	1.6	-32.8%

 

Special items costs decreased by € 1.6m or 32.8% mainly due to lower foreign exchange losses (€ -1.0m) and to lower expenses related to the valuation of financial liabilities (€ -1.2m). These effects were partially compensated by the normalization of expenses for management participation programs (SOPs) and the thus resulting increase of € +0.8m. In 2023, SOP expenses had been reduced by € -2.4m as a result of a one-time provision release in connection with the restructuring of the Group’s SOP.

 

In 2024, corporate income tax expenses increased by € 2.3m to € 6.6m, leading to a higher effective tax rate based on adjusted Profit before tax (excluding the non-tax deductible SOP and valuation expenses) of 21.9% compared to 16.2% in 2023. The main drivers thereof were the increase in taxable result in the UK and in Greece which is taxed at 25% respectively 22% (€ +2.0m), a one-time update of deferred tax liabilities related to UK-related intangible assets increasing tax expenses by € 0.4m and in parallel a (proportionate) reduction of taxable result in Andorra (taxed at 10%) leading to a higher effective tax rate. Excluding the one-off effect from updating deferred tax liabilities the effective tax rate based on adjusted Profit before tax would have been 20.7%.

 

Profit increased by € 2.8m or 16.6% from € 17.0m in 2023 to € 19.8m in 2024 as a result of the strong operating performance and the resulting growth in adjusted Profit before tax. A reduction of the costs included in Special items by € -1.6m was partially compensated by an increase in Income tax expenses by € +2.3m.

 

 

Effect of IAS 29 Hyperinflation on business performance

 

As presented in the table below, the application of IAS 29 Hyperinflation with respect to our Türkiye-based operations, hyperinflation accounting increased Revenues by € 6.9m reaching € 392.3m in 2024 compared to an increase by € 13.3m reaching € 364.6m in 2023.

 

Hyperinflation accounting also increased Operating expenses (OPEX) by € 0.7m in 2024 compared to € 1.3m in 2023. Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBIT and adjusted Profit before tax in the IFRS Income statement increased compared to the management Income statement by € 0.6m (2023: € 1.2m) while Profit decreased by € 0.6m (2023: € 0.2m).

 

  2024 2023 Impact of IAS 29
Hyperinflation
in € million  IFRS IAS29
Effect MGMT IFRS IAS29
 Effect MGMT Revenues 392.3 6.9 385.3 364.6 13.3 351.3 Gross Profit I 182.5 1.3 181.2 161.3 2.5 158.8 Gross Profit II 94.6 0.7 93.9 88.3 1.5 86.8 OPEX (129.7) (0.7) (129.0) (113.0) (1.3) (111.7) adjusted EBITDA 55.5 0.6 54.9 50.4 1.2 49.3 adjusted EBIT 37.7 0.6 37.1 34.3 1.2 33.2 adjusted Profit before tax 30.2 0.6 29.6 27.3 1.1 26.1 Profit before tax 25.9 (0.4) 26.3 21.0 (0.2) 21.2 Profit 19.2 (0.6) 19.8 16.8 (0.2) 17.0

 

 

FINANCIAL POSITION

 

Consolidated statement of financial position in € million	31/12/2024	31/12/2023	D '24-'23	D '24-'23 %
Non-current assets	165.2	156.8	8.5	5.4%
Current assets	166.4	164.9	1.5	0.9%
Total assets	331.6	321.7	9.9	3.1%
Total Equity	124.8	107.2	17.7	16.5%
Non-current liabilities	117.3	115.2	2.1	1.8%
Current Liabilities	89.5	99.3	(9.9)	-9.9%
Total Equity and Liabilities	331.6	321.7	9.9	3.1%

 

Total assets increased by € 9.9m from 31 December 2023 to € 331.6m on 31 December 2024 mainly as a result of higher non-current assets (€ +8.5m) and higher Total Equity (€+ 17.7m) being partially compensated by lower current liabilities (€ -9.9m).

 

The increase in non-current assets in particular related to € 4.0m additions to intangible assets from M&A activity and an increase of € 4.3m in tangible assets, including additions of € 2.5m in right-of-use real estate lease assets. The remaining increase results from deferred tax assets (€ +1.4m) while other long-term receivables which include essentially hedging related swaps and other securities decreased by € -1.1m.

 

Non-current liabilities increased by € 2.1m from € 115.2m to € 117.3m in 2024 mostly as a result of higher other long-term payables (€ +1.6m) related to contingent purchase price liabilities for an acquisition conducted in 2024 and negative fair values of interest rate derivatives for hedging purposes. Deferred tax liabilities increased by € +1.8m of which € 0.8m is M&A related. Loans and borrowings were decreased through repayments by € -1.5m compared to 2023. In 2024 current liabilities decreased by € -9.9m, mainly due to lower prepayments received from customers, presented as contract liabilities.

 

Total Equity increased by € 17.7m to € 124.8m mainly as a result of the Profit of the year amounting to € 19.8m, the share-option expense of € 3.4m recognized in the relevant equity reserve being partially compensated by the purchase of own shares (€ -2.1m) and dividends to shareholders and non-controlling interests of € -4.1m. The Equity ratio thus improved from 33.3% on 31 December 2023 to 37.6% on 31 December 2024.

 

Net Working Capital in € million	31/12/2024	31/12/2023	D '24-'23	D '24-'23 %
Inventories	72.8	58.2	14.6	25.2%
Contract assets	15.0	20.4	(5.4)	-26.7%
Current income tax assets	0.5	0.8	(0.3)	-33.8%
Trade receivables	45.3	44.7	0.6	1.4%
Other receivables	11.1	17.1	(6.0)	-35.2%
	144.6	141.1	3.5	2.5%
Current income tax liabilities	(3.6)	(3.0)	(0.6)	21.8%
Trade payables	(43.8)	(43.6)	(0.2)	0.4%
Other payables	(17.0)	(18.3)	1.3	-7.3%
Contract liabilities	(7.2)	(17.4)	10.3	-58.8%
Deferred income	(1.8)	(0.5)	(1.3)	253.0%
	(73.4)	(82.9)	9.5	-11.5%
Net Working Capital	71.3	58.2	13.0	22.4%

 

Net Working Capital increased by € 13.0m, or 22.4%, from € 58.2m on 31 December 2023, to € 71.3m on 
31 December 2024. This increase mainly relates to the increase in inventories by € 14.6m which again is mostly related to higher stocks of payment chips and to lower Contract liabilities for customer prepayments received (€ +10.3m). These effects were partially compensated by lower Contract assets (€ -5.4m), mainly related to semi-finished payment card orders, and lower other receivables (€ -6.0m) related to cash deposits on restricted accounts in connection with the customer prepayments received by the end financial year 2023.

 

As a percentage of revenues (12-months rolling), Net Working Capital increased from 16.6% to 18.5%. This KPI aligns closely with industry benchmarks.

 

 

Statement of cash flows in € million	2024	2023	D '24-'23	D '24-'23 %
Cash flows from operating activities	34.0	9.1	24.9	273.1%
Cash flows from investing activities	(15.0)	(11.8)	(3.2)	27.1%
Cash flows from financing activities	(21.1)	5.6	(26.7)	-477.0%
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	(2.1)	2.9	(5.0)	-172.4%
Capital expenditure incl. ROU, excl. M&A (CAPEX)	(19.9)	(18.3)	(1.6)	8.9%

 

The Group’s Cash flow from operating activities increased by € 24.9m from € 9.1m in 2023 to € 34.0m in 2024 as a result of the increase in operating results, a substantial reduction in the negative cash effect from net working capital build-up by € +21.0m from € -35.3m in 2023 to € -14.3m in 2024 and lower corporate income tax payments (€ + 1.3m).

 

The Cash flow from investing activities came in at a net outflow of € 15.0m related to M&A activity (€ 1.7m net of cash received), to further development of our payment chip operating system ACOS, of our Banking-as-a-service offering and of our digitalization solutions amounting to € 4.8m in total and to investments in tangible assets of € 9.5m for upgrading our machinery park and operational sites and especially with respect to our digital security printing capabilities (€ 2.5m) in order to be able to implement new business opportunities in the African markets.

 

Cash flow from financing activities had a net outflow of € 21.1m compared to an inflow of € 5.6m in the same period in 2023. This outflow primarily relates to interest payments of € 7.5m (2023: € 7.7m), € 4.1m (2023: € 0.9m dividend payments to shareholders and non-controlling interests, the implementation of the share-buy-back program (€ 2.1m) and a net balance of loans and lease repayments (cash outflow) of € 7.5m compared to net cash inflow from the increase in loans & borrowings of € 14.2m in 2023.

 

Net Debt in € million	31/12/2024	31/12/2023	D '24-'23	D '24-'23 %
Cash and cash equivalents	(21.7)	(23.8)	2.1	-8.8%
Loans and borrowings	117.4	118.9	(1.5)	-1.3%
Net Debt	95.6	95.0	0.6	0.6%

 

Net Debt slightly increased by € 0.6m or 0.6% to € 95.6m as of 31 December 2024. Net Debt / Adjusted EBITDA (rolling 12 months) improved from 1.9x in 2023 to 1.7x in 2024.

 

 

Financial performance indicators

 

Key performance indicators in € million	2024	2023	D '24-'23	D '24-'23 %
Revenue	385.3	351.3	34.1	9.7%
Gross profit I	181.2	158.8	22.4	14.1%
Gross profit I margin	47.0%	45.2%	1.8%	n/a
Gross profit II	93.8	86.8	7.0	8.1%
Gross profit II margin	24.3%	24.7%	-0.4%	n/a
Total OPEX excluding depreciation	(129.0)	(111.7)	(17.3)	15.5%
Total OPEX excluding depreciation as % on sales	-33.5%	-31.8%	-1.7%	n/a
adjusted EBITDA	54.9	49.3	5.6	11.4%
adjusted EBITDA margin	14.2%	14.0%	0.2%	n/a
adjusted EBIT	37.1	33.2	4.0	12.0%
adjusted EBIT margin	9.6%	9.4%	0.2%	n/a
adjusted Profit before tax	29.6	26.1	3.5	13.2%
adjusted Profit before tax margin	7.7%	7.4%	0.2%	n/a
adjusted Profit after tax	23.1	21.9	1.2	5.5%
adjusted Profit after tax margin	6.0%	6.2%	-0.2%	n/a
Profit after Tax	19.8	17.0	2.8	16.6%
Profit after Tax margin	5.1%	4.8%	0.3%	n/a
Operating Cash Flow	34.0	9.1	24.9	273.1%
Operating Cash Flow as % on sales	8.8%	2.6%	6.2%	n/a
Net Equity / Total Assets	37.6%	33.3%	4.3%	n/a
Net Working Capital	71.3	58.2	13.0	22.4%
Net Working Capital as % on revenues	18.5%	16.6%	1.9%	n/a
Net Debt	95.6	95.0	0.6	0.6%
Net Debt / adjusted EBITDA	1.7	1.9	(0.2)	n/a

 

 

Non-financial performance indicators

 

Non-financial performance indicators 2024 2023 D '24-'23 D '24-'23 % Number of sold cards (in million) 147.8 134.8 13.0 9.6% Average number of employees in Full-time equivalents 2,301 2,175 125 5.8% Number of employees in Headcount as of 31 December 2,401 2,739 (338) -12.3%

 

 

REPORTS ON SEGMENTS

 

Western Europe, Nordics, Americas

 

Business performance in € million	2024	2023	D '24-'23	D '24-'23 %
Revenues	130.9	116.0	14.9	12.8%
Costs of material & mailing	(75.4)	(63.6)	(11.8)	18.5%
Gross profit I	55.5	52.3	3.1	5.9%
Gross margin I	42.4%	45.1%	-2.8%
Production costs	(22.5)	(21.6)	(0.9)	4.3%
Gross profit II	33.0	30.8	2.2	7.1%
Gross margin II	25.2%	26.5%	-1.4%
Other income	0.1	0.7	(0.6)	-87.3%
Selling and distribution expenses	(8.5)	(9.7)	1.3	-12.9%
Administrative expenses	(8.5)	(9.0)	0.5	-5.0%
Research and development expenses	(1.6)	(0.5)	(1.0)	200.5%
Other expenses	(0.3)	(0.1)	(0.2)	174.5%
+ Depreciation, amortization & impairment	6.4	5.7	0.6	11.4%
adjusted EBITDA	20.6	17.9	2.7	15.0%
adjusted EBITDA margin	15.7%	15.4%	0.3%
- Depreciation, amortization & impairment	(6.4)	(5.7)	(0.6)	11.4%
adjusted EBIT	14.2	12.2	2.0	16.7%

 

The segment Western Europe, Nordics and Americas (WEST) reported Revenues of € 130.9m, an increase of € 14.9m or 12.8% compared to the previous year. If we exclude from the comparative period the impact of our strategic decision to de-prioritise wholesale chip sales and to focus on the sale of complete smart card solutions, with a total effect of € 18.7m in this segment, the organic like-for-like growth of this solution category amounts to € 32.8m or 33.7%. This growth was primarily driven especially by the Challenger bank sector and product-wise by sales of high-end metal cards (€ +21.0m), regular payment cards (€ +4.1m) and associated personalization and fulfilment (€ +2.0m) as well as postal services (€ +4.5m).

 

Gross profit I increased with € 3.1m or 5.9% to € 55.5m due to increased revenues while Gross Margin I decreased by 2.8 percentage points to 42.4%. The reduction in Gross margin I is a result of increased metal cards and postal services sales with proportionally higher associated costs of material & mailing.

 

Gross profit II increased by € 2.2m or 7.1% from € 30.8 to € 33.0m due to higher Gross Profit I being only partially compensated by the increase Production costs of € 0.9m or 4.3%. Gross margin II decreased by 1.4 percentage points reaching 25.2% as implemented costs saving measures helped to partially compensate the reduced Gross margin I.

 

Operating expenses excl. D, A & I (OPEX) in € million	2024	2023	D '24-'23	D '24-'23 %
Production costs	(22.5)	(21.6)	(0.9)	4.3%
Selling and distribution expenses	(8.5)	(9.7)	1.3	-12.9%
Administrative expenses	(8.5)	(9.0)	0.5	-5.0%
Research and development expenses	(1.6)	(0.5)	(1.0)	200.5%
+ Depreciation, amortization & impairment	6.4	5.7	0.6	11.4%
Total	(34.7)	(35.1)	0.4	-1.1%
Operating expenses as a percentage of revenues	26.5%	30.2%	-3.7%

 

OPEX came in at € 34.7m in 2024 decreasing by € 0.4m or 1.1% compared to 2023. Production increased by € 0.9m or 4.3% mainly due to an inflation related increase in personnel expenses (€ +0.7m). Sales and distribution expenses decreased by € 1.3m or 12.9% due to lower transportations costs (€ -1.4m) mainly related to a reclassification of certain expenses to Costs of Material & Mailing and thus decreasing Gross profit I and II in 2024. Administrative expenses decreased by € 0.5m mainly as a result of savings in personnel costs (€ -0.5m). The increase in research and development expenses is related to our development efforts in our digital payments offering. As a percentage of revenues, OPEX decreased from 30.2% to 26.5% due to the increase in revenues.

 

Adjusted EBITDA reached € 20.6m in 2024, increasing by € 2.7m or 15.0% compared to 2023, while the adjusted EBITDA margin reached 15.7%, slightly increasing by 0.3 percentage points as a result of the increased gross profit with € 2.2m and cost control in the different functions. Adjusted EBIT amounted to € 14.2m, an increase of € 2.0m, or 16.7%, as a result of the good operating performance, which compensated the increase of € 0.6m in depreciation and amortisation.

 

 

Central Eastern Europe & DACH

 

Business performance in € million	2024	2023	D '24-'23	D '24-'23 %
Revenues	224.9	224.6	0.3	0.1%
Costs of material & mailing	(123.7)	(127.4)	3.7	-2.9%
Gross profit I	101.2	97.1	4.1	4.2%
Gross margin I	45.0%	43.3%	1.7%
Production costs	(50.6)	(45.9)	(4.7)	10.3%
Gross profit II	50.6	51.2	(0.7)	-1.3%
Gross margin II	22.5%	22.8%	-0.3%
Other income	4.7	3.0	1.7	58.4%