“Thanks to the comprehensive commitment of all employees, we were able to increase sales by almost 16%. Thanks to the continuous organic and inorganic expansion of the product portfolio, we booked more than EUR 400 million in new orders for the first time,” says Frequentis CEO Norbert Haslacher. “For our further growth, as a high-tech company we invested around 7% of sales in research & development in 2022.”
Acquisitions
In January 2022, Frequentis acquired 51% of the shares of Regola S.r.l. (based in Turin, Italy). The innovative software solutions of the Italian company complement the Frequentis product portfolio for public safety and thus support the long-term growth strategy in this area.
In September 2022, Frequentis acquired a 25% stake in the Finnish software manufacturer Aviamaps Oy. Their software enables platform users to book a drone flight directly on the internet by clicking on the map (real-time aeronautical chart platform). The software will be used in the course of 2023 as part of the Frequentis solution for the automatic release of drone flights in Austria.
Revenue and earnings development
Sales revenue increased by 15.7% to EUR 386.0 million. By region, Frequentis generated 65% in Europe, Americas 16%, Asia 12%, Australia / Pacific / Africa 7%. The demand for Frequentis products is unbroken globally, as shown by the order intake, which increased by 21.5% to EUR 404.8 million in 2022. The order backlog reached EUR 522.0 million, an increase of 11.6%.
Operations were only partially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which subsided during 2022. The war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022, had an indirect impact on the Frequentis Group through increased inflation (initially for electricity, gas, and fuel). Gradually, inflation was also reflected in purchases from suppliers and in wage agreements, and thus in the result. In total, the EBIT was EUR 25.0 million, the EBIT margin was 6.5% and thus within the range of 6-8% targeted by Frequentis.
Proposal for a further increase in the dividend
For the year 2022, net profit was EUR 18.9 million, earnings per share EUR 1.41. Frequentis is proposing an increased dividend again this year: 22 cents, which corresponds to an increase of 10% compared to the previous year.
Asset and capital structure
Shareholders’ equity was EUR 147.3 million at the end of December 2022, the equity ratio increased by 2.2 percentage points to 43.3%. Net assets amounted to EUR 91.0 million.
Sustainable corporate governance
The efforts for environmental, social, and governance (ESG / Environment, Social, Governance) were rewarded by the rating agencies. Frequentis received a silver medal from EcoVadis (previously bronze), placing it in the top 25% of companies rated by EcoVadis. Gaïa Research and Sustainalytics also noted improvements in the sustainability topics.
Outlook
Frequentis aims to achieve the following targets in 2023 (compared to 2022), depending on the further development of inflation, supply chain issues and the further course of the war in Ukraine:
- Increase in turnover,
- Increase in order intake,
- EBIT margin of around 6-8%.
