Spir Group ASA increased revenues by 3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter in 2022 to NOK 241.4 million, primarily driven by organic growth for the company’s mission critical software for public sector.
Adjusted EBITDA was NOK 38.8 million (43.4) in the fourth quarter 2023, representing a 16 percent adjusted EBITDA margin. Reported EBITDA ended at NOK 33.8 million (35.3), implying an EBITDA margin of 14 percent.
“Spir Group has market-leading positions in Norway and Sweden within mission critical public sector solutions and real estate data & geo information, and we continue to deliver steady results despite market headwind in 2023. Meanwhile, we have developed to become a more pure-play Software-as-a-Service company during the year. At the end of 2023, our annual recurring revenue (ARR) reached 398 million, up 7 percent compared to the end of 2022, and our recurring and recurring-like revenue now accounts for 81 percent of our total revenues. This means that our business has a high degree of scalability and high predictability,” said Per Haakon Lomsdalen, CEO of Spir Group.
On a full-year basis, Spir Group grew revenues by 14 percent in 2023 compared to the year before, reaching NOK 1,056.7 million. The main contributor to the year-over-year growth was Sikri AS, growing revenues by 14 percent in 2023, as well as the acquisition of Metria. Sikri’s growth was driven by a steady high win rate in public tenders, a higher level of consulting revenues, as well as increasing ARR.
“Sikri has seen significant customer wins during the year, with The Norwegian Correctional Service (“Kriminalomsorgen”) and The Norwegian Railway Directorate (“Jernbanedirektoratet”) being the two latest and biggest wins during the fourth quarter. Sikri continues to be successful in public tenders and won 60 percent of the public tenders where the company submitted offers during 2023,” said Lomsdalen.
Within real estate information, Ambita’s revenues grew 2 percent in full-year 2023 compared to 2022, somewhat hampered by a challenging real estate market in Norway, but with increasing margins. Metria increased revenues by 1 percent in 2023, while Boligmappa continue its development and is implementing new revenue models, growing revenues by 16 percent in 2023.
Spir Group’s EBITDA improved from NOK 127.2 million in 2022 to NOK 169.4 million in 2023, and the company generated NOK 201.7 million of operating cash flow in 2023. Meanwhile, net interest-bearing debt declined from NOK 756.0 million to NOK 650.9 million.
“The fact that our financial debt is reduced during 2023 grants us greater strategic and operational headroom going forward. We are in an improved financial position compared to a year ago, and with our operationally and financially steps during 2023, we are ready to execute on our ambitions for 2024,” said Lomsdalen.
Investors, analysts, and media are welcome to follow a webcast presentation of the results Thursday February 15th at 08:00. The presentation will be held by CEO Per Haakon Lomsdalen and CFO Cecilie Brænd Hekneby.
