itelligence AG has enjoyed a very good start to fiscal year 2017, recording extremely strong revenue and, in particular, earnings growth compared with the previous year. Revenue increased by 15.9% in the first three months of 2017, from MEUR 177.8 to MEUR 206.1. Earnings before interest and taxes saw above-average growth of 84.6%, from MEUR 3.9 to MEUR 7.2. The extremely strong revenue performance was attributable to both organic growth (+8.0%) and newly acquired companies (+7.9%). Orders on hand at itelligence AG rose by 29.0%, from MEUR 696.2 in the previous year to MEUR 898.3 as of March 31, 2017.
Norbert Rotter, CEO of itelligence AG: “We are specifically focusing on improving our earnings strength this year. Our results for the first quarter show that we have made a good start. Our revenue growth is intact. We expect to see a continued high propensity to invest in digitalization, particularly in the new SAP technology SAP S/4HANA.”
In the individual revenue segments, consulting business enjoyed revenue growth of 13.8%, from MEUR 78.5 to MEUR 89.3. Managed Services broke through the MEUR 100 barrier for the first time thanks to substantial revenue growth of 21.1%, from MEUR 83.5 to MEUR 101.1. Cloud subscription revenues almost doubled, increasing from MEUR 1.3 in the first quarter of the previous year to MEUR 2.5 (+92.3%). At MEUR 11.7, revenue in the Licenses segment was down slightly on the outstanding prior-year figure of MEUR 13.5 (-13.3%).
In terms of geographical distribution, the largest segment, DACH, remained firmly on its growth path with revenue growth of 26.8%, from MEUR 78.6 to MEUR 99.7. The Western Europe segment also posted growth of 7.6% to MEUR 45.3 after MEUR 42.1 in the previous year.
In Eastern Europe, revenues remained largely unchanged year-on-year at MEUR 20.0 compared with MEUR 20.5 in the first quarter of 2016. The USA segment recorded revenue growth of 10.0%, from MEUR 32.9 to MEUR 36.2. Finally, Asia saw revenue growth of 20.7%, from MEUR 2.9 in the first quarter of the previous year to MEUR 3.5. In the Other segment, revenues amounted to MEUR 1.4 after MEUR 0.8 in the previous year (+75.0%).
In terms of earnings performance, itelligence AG enjoyed an extremely strong first quarter with substantially above-average earnings growth. EBIT improved by 84.6%, from MEUR 3.9 in the previous year to MEUR 7.2 in the first three months of 2017. Accordingly, the EBIT margin rose from 2.2% in the previous year to 3.5%. EBITA improved from MEUR 5.6 to MEUR 9.2 in the first quarter, with the EBITA margin increasing from 3.1% to 4.5% as a result.
Dr. Michael Dorin, CFO of itelligence AG since January 1, 2017: “One of our overriding aims for the year as a whole is to return our EBIT margin to around 5%. Our results for the first quarter represent an important first step in achieving this. We intend to maintain this dynamic earnings performance as 2017 continues.”
The Management Board is confirming its forecast for fiscal year 2017, with revenues in the region of MEUR 820-830 and an EBIT margin of around 5%.
About itelligence
itelligence is one of the leading international full-service providers of solutions in support of SAP solutions, employing more than 5,800 highly qualified employees in 24 countries. As a frequently awarded SAP partner, itelligence is an SAP Hybris Gold partner and global value-added reseller. itelligence is an SAP-certified provider of cloud services, SAP-certified provider of hosting services for SAP HANA® Enterprise Cloud and an SAP platinum partner. itelligence realizes complex projects in the SAP solution-based environment worldwide. The company’s services in support of SAP solutions range from consulting and licensing to application management services and hosting services to proprietary industry-specific solutions. In 2016, itelligence generated total sales of EUR 777.9 million.