- Increase in sales of 28.4 per cent to CHF 63.3 million
- Acquisition of ELAXY and expenditures in Digital Banking Hub accelerate growth
- International portion of total sales increased to 45 per cent
- Positive EBITDA of CHF 3.7 million after a double-digit negative amount in the previous year
- Further growth expected in the 2016/2017 financial year
The CREALOGIX Group had an eventful and successful 2015/2016 financial year. Revenue rose by 28.4 per cent, from CHF 49.3 million to CHF 63.3 million. The proportion of product sales increased from 61 per cent to 63 per cent. Annually recurring sales generated in Maintenance, Software as a Service (SaaS) and Hosting rose by 46 per cent, from CHF 16.3 million to CHF 23.8 million. In Europe the Group has strengthened its position as a leading provider of digital banking software solutions. The international portion of total sales increased from 32 per cent to an impressive 45 per cent in the year under review.
EBITDA reached CHF 3.7 million as against a negative CHF 10.6 million in the previous year. “We are starting to reap the benefits of our significant expenditures in the new Digital Banking Hub product platform”, explains Thomas Avedik, CEO of CREALOGIX since 1 January 2016. The expenditures on research and development remained at a high level in the year under review, at 13.4 per cent of sales. At EBIT level, there was a CHF 13 million improvement to CHF -0.4 million, following on CHF -13.4 million in the previous year. Net profit amounted to CHF -0.9 million (previous year: CHF -10.3 million).
Successful placement of a convertible bond and acquisition of ELAXY
In the autumn of 2015, CREALOGIX successfully carried out the largest round of fintech financing so far in Switzerland and raised CHF 25 million from the placement of a convertible bond. A major part of this was used to acquire ELAXY on 1 January 2016. This transaction has enabled CREALOGIX to expand its client base in Germany by around 380 Volksbanken and Raiffeisen banks as well as by around 120 Sparkassen and to establish Germany as a second home market. In Switzerland, projects for next-generation mobile solutions began under the heading 'Banking to go'. Customers include Aargauische Kantonalbank, Basler Kantonalbank and Coop Bank, St. Galler Kantonalbank, Thurgauer Kantonalbank and Bank Julius Bär.
On 30 June 2016, the number of employees totalled 414 individuals (previous year: 354).
The shareholding taken by CREALOGIX in ELAXY signifies a considerable expansion of the product portfolio in the area of interactive digital banking advisory services, such as retirement planning, financial management and financial planning. These products also include innovative online solutions for asset management (robo advisory and hybrid advisory). All these products integrate seamlessly with the Digital Banking Hub, which already provides customers with over 500 application programming interfaces (APIs). These enable our customers to also seamlessly integrate external products, such as fintech apps, into their latest digital banking offerings.
Outlook
The Group’s strategic focus remains on growth relating to software products for digitalising banking operations. The geographic focus is on the firm's two home markets, Switzerland and Germany, and on the UK. Due to uncertainties in the current market environment in Europe (Brexit, Middle East, interest rates, monetary policy, etc.), which could delay investment decisions by customers, CREALOGIX is somewhat cautious with its growth forecasts for 2016/2017. In the current 2016/2017 financial year, CREALOGIX expects further double-digit growth in sales, and an even higher EBITDA than in 2015/2016.
