Unabated growth for the twelfth year in succession

ATOSS Software AG generated record sales and earnings figures in the financial year 2017 according to preliminary figures. With revenues of EUR 54.6 million and an EBIT margin of 26 percent, the Munich-based workforce management specialist has now succeeded in sustaining its successful development for the twelfth year in a row. Given the outstanding order situation and particularly strong growth in the cloud business, the management board anticipates that the highly positive sales and earnings development will continue during the current financial year.

ATOSS Software AG can look back on a highly successful financial year 2017. For the twelfth year in succession, the company succeeded in exceeding the record figures of the previous years in terms of orders received, sales and earnings. This business development in itself is unique, and once again proves the long-term success and great stability of the business model.

The strategy of providing the full range of solutions for companies of all sizes both “on premises” and in the cloud has once again paid off for ATOSS. With its full range offering, the Munich-based software producer convinced over 600 companies to select ATOSS as their innovative partner for workforce management in 2017. The demand for ATOSS’ customer-oriented solutions for workforce scheduling has therefore increased considerably. This is highlighted particularly impressively by the orders received for software licenses and the software component of contracted cloud subscriptions during the year, which increased by 19 percent from EUR 12.3 million to EUR 14.6 million overall.

Double-digit growth rates were also achieved in revenues. Software sales within the Group grew by 15 percent to EUR 34.6 million and therefore made up 63 percent of Group sales (previous year: 61 percent). The software licensing business reported particularly strong development, up to 13 percent to EUR 12.7 million. Even stronger was the development of software sales from cloud solutions as sales more than doubled to EUR 2.0 million. The software maintenance business also enjoyed a successful financial year, sustaining the consistent positive development of past periods. Sales in this area rose by 10 percent to EUR 19.9 million. In the field of consulting – supported by the excellent order situation for implementation services following the sale of licenses – ATOSS saw sales increased by 10 percent to EUR 14.7 million. EUR 3.7 (previous year: EUR 4.4) was generated with hardware, while other sales amounted to EUR 1.6 million, some 4 percent higher than the figure of EUR 1.5 million posted in the previous year.

Operating profit came in at EUR 14.1 million, slightly up on the previous year figure of EUR 13.6 million despite significant investment in R&D and the sales organization. ATOSS recorded earnings per share of EUR 2.35, compared with EUR 2.33 in the previous year. The return on sales based on EBIT was recorded at 26 percent, marginally higher than the 25 percent forecast by the Management Board for the financial year 2017.

The financial year 2017 was highly successful and the fourth quarter also yielded strong business development. With sales coming in at EUR 14.6 million (previous year: EUR 13.0 million), ATOSS recorded the highest quarterly sales in the company’s 30-year history. EBIT in the fourth quarter of the financial year amounted to EUR 3.9 million (previous year: EUR 3.8 million).

The Management Board intends to propose that in resolving on the appropriation of net income, the Supervisory Board recommends a dividend of EUR 1.17 per share (previous year: EUR 1.16). This represents a continuation of the policy adopted by ATOSS 15 years ago which foresees year-on-year continuity with the distribution of around 50 percent of earnings per share. The recommendations for the appropriation of net income put forward by the management and supervisory boards will be resolved upon at the annual general meeting on April 26, 2018.

The market for workforce management continues to offer substantial growth potential. In an environment in which business models are changing rapidly, the requirements of businesses themselves are ever rising. Companies face increasing challenges to improve their productivity and boost flexibility, while at the same time reducing operating costs. Consequently, the demand for workforce management solutions is growing. ATOSS is excellently positioned within this market environment. The fact that all its products are now available as cloud solutions has contributed to opening the door to new groups of customers. In the past financial year, the order situation in the cloud business recorded particularly dynamic development and leaves little doubt that the growth potential of ATOSS in the field of cloud solutions is also far from exhausted. On top of doubling sales, the orders received for cloud solutions rose by 56 percent to EUR 5.4 million and orders on hand for cloud solutions grew by 66 percent to EUR 8.7 million.

Against the backdrop of the excellent business situation in all areas of business, the Management Board anticipates that the record development will be sustained in 2018 and an EBIT margin of around 25 percent achieved.