Columbus Q1 2022: On track delivering 7% revenue growth
”It has been an intense start to the year marked by the necessary decision to close our activities in Russia, but also a quarter with good progress in our remaining business – which has demanded investments in creating the foundation to fuel for growth.”, says CEO & President Søren Krogh Knudsen.
Important topline growth
In Q1 2022, revenue grew organically by 7% to DKK 393m compared to DKK 367m in Q1 2021. Columbus delivered good progress in all areas of the business with the majority of our Business Units delivering top-line growth.
Columbus’ Norwegian business continued their strong momentum from last year with 13% growth closely followed by Columbus Sweden growing by 10%. So did the strategic business areas Data & Analytics, Customer Experience, Digital Commerce and Columbus Care which grew by 200%, 23%, 17% and 15%, respectively. In addition, Columbus starts to see a stabilization of our US business with a growth of 5% in Q1 2022.
The scarcity of talent affects EBITDA
Columbus is like the rest of the IT industry affected by the high demand for talents which puts a pressure on salaries and causes high attrition. Despite these challenges, Columbus has been able to increase our average number Full time employees (FTE’s) by 70 in Q1 2022. This has been possible due to our employer branding activities and dedicated HR efforts.
Efficiency was 62% in Q1 2022, which is an improvement compared to 59% in Q4 2021. Many new hires, ramp up of new consultants and low utilization of our offshore center in India are affecting the efficiency and this remains a key focus for us in the coming quarters. Overall, EBITDA declined from DKK 38m to DKK 30m in Q1 2022, a decline of 23%.
Performance highlights for Q1 2022.
All numbers and comments are on the continued business (excluding the divested entities Russia, US SMB, To-Increase and Baltics):
- Revenue increased by 7% in Q1 2022 to DKK 393m (Q1 2021: DKK 367m)+
- EBITDA decreased to DKK 30m in Q1 2022 (Q1 2021: DKK 38m)
- Negative effect of discontinuing Columbus Russia by DKK 25m
- YTD efficiency 62%
- Divestment of Columbus Russia
- Strengthening our One Columbus culture
Outlook for 2022
Based on the financial performance in Q1 2022, current order book and pipeline, our full year guidance for 2022 will remain unchanged as follows.
- Revenue is expected to be in the range of DKK 1,525m – 1,625m corresponding to an organic growth of 8% to 15%.
- EBITDA is expected to be in the range of DKK 120m –145m corresponding to a growth of 34% to 62%.
Read the Q1 report here: https://ir.columbusglobal.com/news-releases/news-release-details/q1-report-2022
Contacts
Tine RasmussenCommunications DirectorColumbus
Tel:+4529690677tra@columbusglobal.comImages
About Columbus Global
About Columbus
Columbus is a global IT services and consulting company specialized in digital transformation. Our more than 1,550+ digital explorers collaborate with our customers in the manufacturing, retail & distribution, and food & process industries. We advise, implement and manage business critical solutions within Strategy & Change, Customer Experience, Digital Commerce, Data & Analytics, Application Management and Cloud ERP. Headquartered in Denmark, we have offices and partners worldwide - delivering locally on a global scale.www.columbusglobal.com. Columbus A/S is listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen – COLUM
Subscribe to releases from Columbus Global
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Columbus Global by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Columbus Global
Quarterly Report Q2 2024: Satisfactory Result – Full Focus to reach EBITDA15 goal22.8.2024 09:08:34 CEST | Pressemeddelelse
Revenue growth of 9%, EBITDA margin of 7%, and expectations maintained.
Katharina Hofman Appointed Chief People Officer at Columbus14.8.2024 12:10:52 CEST | Pressemeddelelse
On 15 August, Katharina Hofman will join Columbus as Chief People Officer (CPO) with global responsibility for People & Culture. She previously served as People Team Director for EMEA and South America at Boston Consulting Group.
Columbus and BrandAlley receive inriver’s 2023 Partner Project of the Year - EMEA award16.5.2024 14:30:42 CEST | Pressemeddelelse
Columbus, the global digital consultancy, and BrandAlley UK, the online flash sales fashion retailer, have been awarded the 2023 Partner Project of the Year - EMEA award by inriver at its annual conference, PIMpoint Europe.
Columbus delivers 14% revenue growth in Q1 20248.5.2024 09:16:25 CEST | Pressemeddelelse
Columbus is well off to a good start in 2024 with 14% growth in Q1, primarily driven by the strong performance in the Cloud ERP business and a positive development in the Danish and UK markets, which have more than compensated for the uncertainty in the Norwegian and Swedish markets. Columbus has thus achieved a satisfactory result and maintains the financial expectations for the year.
Columbus surpasses growth expectations13.3.2024 09:12:57 CET | Pressemeddelelse
Columbus surpassed its organic growth expectations in 2023, delivering growth of 11%, and 15% adjusted for currency and acquisition. The growth is expected to continue. The Company has set new goals for the future, aiming to continuously grow the top line by 10% annually and improve profitability to an EBITDA margin of 15% by the end of 2026.
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom