- Group sales grow by 26.2 percent to €415.8 million in the third quarter (prior year: €329.5 million)
- At €+69.9 million, cash flow from operating activities in the third quarter was significantly above the prior year’s level of €-43.6 million
- Revenue from services rose to €365.1 million in the first three quarters of 2023 (prior year: €273.1 million)
The CANCOM Group closed the third quarter with very significant growth in a challenging environment. Revenue in the third quarter rose by 26.2 percent to €415.8 million (prior year: €329.6 million) and gross profit also increased strongly by 48.3 percent to €161.7 million. EBITDA amounted to €35.0 million (prior year: € 28.9 million) and the EBITDA margin was 8.4 percent. This means that the CANCOM Group achieved revenue growth of 14.9 percent to €1,062.9 million in the first nine months of the year (prior year: €925.1 million). Gross profit also developed well, increasing by 26.7 percent to €406.9 million (prior year: €321.0 million). With EBITDA of €76.6 million (prior year: €80.0 million), the CANCOM Group’s EBITDA margin after nine months was 7.2 percent. The nine-month figures include special effects on EBITDA totalling €10.2 million, which were caused by the cost-cutting and efficiency programme, M+A costs and the premature termination of projects.
“In the third quarter, our colleagues in Austria achieved excellent results, while in Germany, as expected, we were confronted with significantly weaker demand in the areas of workplace infrastructure and e-commerce,” says Rüdiger Rath, CEO of the CANCOM Group, summarising the results of the third quarter. “The course of business in the third quarter confirms that we are on the right track with our current outlook and that the acquisition of K-Businesscom will strengthen the CANCOM Group in the long term.”
Operating cash flow significantly improved
Cash flow from operating activities also improved significantly in the third quarter, reaching €69.9 million (prior year: €-43.6 million). The significant reduction in inventories of €-18.4 million (prior year: €-23.3 million) and the changes in trade receivables of €54.6 million (prior year: €-32.1 million) improved the operating cash flow in the third quarter. In the nine-month period, cash flow from operating activities reached €-9.9 million (prior year: €-169.7 million). As at 30 September 2023, cash and cash equivalents amounted to €180.4 million (31 December 2022: €393.2 million). The change is primarily due to cash outflows for the acquisition of K-Businesscom.
Strong development in segment International – segment Germany soft
In the Germany segment, which comprises the companies of the CANCOM Group based in Germany, revenue in the third quarter totalled €264.8 million (prior year: €299.8 million). EBITDA in the segment was €20.6 million (prior year: €24.4 million) and the EBITDA margin was 7.8 percent. In the International segment, the consolidation of the KBC Group quadrupled segment revenue to €151.0 million (prior year: €29.8 million). EBITDA also increased significantly, reaching €14.4 million (prior year: €4.5 million) and thus an EBITDA margin of 9.5 percent was achieved.
Usual seasonality expected in the fourth quarter: Executive Board confirms forecast
The Executive Board expects demand to improve in the fourth quarter, particularly in the hardware and software business. Accordingly, the Executive Board confirms the current forecast of the CANCOM Group and expects the following development for the year as a whole:
| CANCOM Group |
Forecast 2023 |
| Revenue |
€1,520 to €1,580 million |
| Gross profit |
€560 to €610 million |
| EBITDA |
€116 to €126 million |
| EBITA |
€67 to €75 million |
The complete quarterly statement for the third quarter of 2023 of the CANCOM Group is published on the website www.cancom.com in the Investors section.
