Outlook

In light of unpredictable influences outside the Group's control, the management board believes that the publication of reliable guidance is only possible to a very limited extent at the present time.

Further economic setbacks due to rising inflation, uncertainties surrounding energy supplies, the pandemic, supply chain problems facing our customers, and the war in Ukraine cannot be ruled out by any means. They could result in lower demand, further project postponements and increased defaults and insolvencies among our customer base, and thus jeopardise our guidance.

In spite of these uncertainties, the management board has decided to issue guidance for financial year 2022/23 based on its current state of knowledge. Assuming the situation with orders in hand remains robust and satisfactory, the customer base remains stable and broad, and growth in the IT services market is in line with forecasts, All for One Group predicts sales growth of between EUR 470 million and EUR 500 million for financial year 2022/23 (2021/22: EUR 452.7 million). EBIT before M&A effects (non-IFRS) is expected to be in a range between EUR 27.5 million and EUR 30.5 million.

In light of the global uncertainty prevailing in the markets, it is again difficult at present to offer a medium-term outlook.

All for One Group is budgeting for robust organic sales growth over the coming years in the mid-single-digit percentage range (depending on future inflation levels, among other things) that will be supplemented by inorganic growth in areas of the portfolio offering future promise. The EBIT margin before M&A effects (non-IFRS) is expected to be in a range between 7% and 8% by the financial year 2025/26.

At the start of the year 2022, inflation – together with the uncertainty surrounding the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the further progress of the pandemic – is dampening the expectations of IT service providers with regard to any dynamic development of the market. Nevertheless, the need for digital and IT spending is expected to continue to grow. Unlike the outlook for the economy as a whole, forecasts for the year 2023 expect sales to increase by between 4% and 12%, depending on the market segment (sources: Lünendonk, Jul 2022; SITSI Market Research, May 2022; Bitkom e.V., Jul 2022).

Transformation-related topics such as cybersecurity and information security will be dominant in the years 2023 and 2024. 84% of all German companies are making every effort to safeguard their corporate networks against attacks and theft with particular focus on cloud trans­formation, IT modernisation and process efficiency.

Given the shortage of experts, entire work packages are increasingly being awarded to IT providers such as All for One Group, especially projects focusing on software development and managed services. As a strategic service partner, in-depth understanding of industries and target groups is crucial, as are a broad portfolio of IT products and services and the appropriate expertise. The ability to independently deliver end-to-end-projects is also crucial (source: Lünendonk, 2022).