Preliminary figures for financial year 2019/20 // EBIT slightly below the comparable prior-year level

Preliminary (unaudited) results: Sales: EUR 355.4 million (down 1% year on year) // Cloud services & support revenues: EUR 77.1 million (up 9% year on year) // License sales: EUR 25.5 million (down 38% year on year) // Ratio of recurring revenues increases to 52% (prior year: 49%) // EBIT: EUR 19.3 million (up 53% on prior-year EBIT: EUR 12.6 million / Down 2% on comparable prior-year EBIT: EUR 19.6 million) // EBIT increases by EUR 0.5 million from non-recurring income from pensions / Prior-year EBIT burdened by EUR 7.0 million from extraordinary costs of strategy offensive 2022 // Forecast 2020/21: Slight increase in sales, EBIT of EUR 17.5 million to 20.5 million // Wave of migrations to SAP S/4HANA expected once things return to normal

Filderstadt, 13 November 2020 – All for One Group SE, leading consulting and IT group, published its preliminary and unaudited results for the period from 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020 (incl. first-time application of IFRS 16) today.

Compared with the prior year, non-recurring revenues from the sale of software licenses decreased significantly to EUR 25.5 million (minus 38%) as client projects were delayed and follow-on licenses failed to materialise in the wake of the pandemic. Recurring revenues from cloud services and support increased by 9% to EUR 77.1 million. This core module of the strategy offensive 2022 for increasing recurring revenues is therefore continuing to grow robustly.

Overall, recurring revenues increased by 7% to EUR 186.4 million year on year and include both the aforementioned cloud services and support sales, and software support sales (up 5% to EUR 109.3 million). As such, the share of total sales attributable to recurring revenues increased to 52% (2018/19: 49%). Despite Covid-19 and the generally weaker capacity utilisation of the consultants, the All for One Group was able to maintain the prior-year level of consulting and services sales (2019/20: EUR 143.5 million). Total revenues of EUR 355.4 million are thus only 1% below the prior-year level of EUR 359.2 million.

The company started applying IFRS 16 Leases on 1 October 2019. Prior-year figures were not adjusted (modified retrospective method). EBITDA totalled EUR 41.3 million (2018/19: EUR 25.6 million), up 61%. The ratio of EBITDA to sales amounted to 11.6% (2018/19: 7.1%). Without IFRS 16, EBITDA would have been 26% higher year on year.

The effect of IFRS 16 on EBIT – which increased by 53% to EUR 19.3 million – was virtually zero. As a result, the EBIT margin amounted to 5.4% (2018/19: 3.5%). The figure includes a non-recurring item recognised as profit (up EUR 0.5 million) from adjusted staff pension plans (Switzerland), without which EBIT 2019/20 would have totalled EUR 18.8 million (4% below the comparable prior-year figure). The EBIT 2018/19 of EUR 12.6 million included separately recognised extraordinary costs (EUR 7.0 million) relating to the strategy offensive 2022. Accordingly, the comparable EBIT in the prior-year period (excl. extraordinary costs) would have totalled EUR 19.6 million.

Overall, the All for One Group was able to achieve encouraging earnings performance – despite strongly declining licensing revenues. In addition to robust growth in recurring revenues, it is the focused implementation of changing how to work – with economies of scale from increased remote consulting and significantly lower travel expenses – which contributed to this positive earnings performance.

EBT totalled EUR 17.9 million (up 48%), earnings for the period amounted to EUR 13.5 million (up 31%), and earnings per share to EUR 2.63 (up 28%). The corresponding figures for the prior year (2018/19) had, however, included non-recurring tax and interest income of EUR 2.9 million and 0.3 million, respectively.

Following first-time application of IFRS 16 (which expanded the balance sheet by EUR 32.9 million) and the issuance of new promissory note bonds (which expanded the balance sheet by EUR 25.0 million) in the current financial year, the balance sheet total increased by 26% to EUR 250.9 million. Cash and cash equivalents rose from EUR 28.5 million to 69.1 million (30 Sep 2020). As of 30 September 2020, the equity ratio was 36% (30 Sep 2019: 41%), while the headcount of 1,841 employees is nearly on a par with the prior year (30 Sep 2019: 1,846 employees).

All for One Group SE CFO Stefan Land: »The strategy offensive 2022 which we launched two years ago – with areas of focus including driving the expansion of our business model or building our new customer success management model – is making good progress. Although Covid-19 has abruptly changed how we work and collaborate with our colleagues and our customers, we are steering the company systematically and responsibly through the crisis and making sure our customers get all the support they need. Thanks to the magnificent commitment of our staff and their great solidarity, we have been able to close out an unexpectedly difficult year successfully and on an even keel. We may not have grown overall, as a result of the recession, but we have significantly improved the structure of our revenues. We even managed to bring innovations to market last year – such as CONVERSION/4, our new subscription model for SAP transformation. Once the pandemic is over, we expect a wave of migrations to SAP S/4HANA«.

Forecasts are particularly difficult at present due to the pandemic. Many of All for One Group’s customers are themselves uncertain and are planning from one day to the next. Volatility among decision makers is enormous.

For the first half of financial year 2020/21, the company continues to anticipate a difficult environment. Customers and potential customers will rarely enter into large SAP S/4HANA implementation or conversion projects. From spring 2021 onwards, the global pandemic is expected to ease significantly, leading to a noticeable upturn in incoming orders.

Overall, All for One Group anticipates a slight increase in sales for financial year 2020/21. EBIT is expected to be in a range of EUR 17.5 million to 20.5 million.

Both employee retention (2019/20: 93.2%) and the health index (2019/20: 97.3%) are expected in 2020/21 to stabilise further at the good prior-year level (+/- 0.5 percentage points). The biggest risk at present is the effect of the global pandemic on the company's sales markets.

All for One Group SE will be publishing its final consolidated financial statements for financial year 2019/20 on 16 December 2020, as scheduled, to coincide with the financial statements press conference.