Oslo, 18th of February 2021: Itera achieved a very strong growth of 15% after continuing to recruit for further expansion in the core digital business. A large proportion of the traditional data centre operations was successfully migrated to the cloud by customers by the end of 2020. The number of employees increased by 57 to 569 at the end of the fourth quarter.
Itera reports operating revenue of NOK 168.2 million (NOK 146.0 million) for the fourth quarter of 2020, which represents growth of 15%. Gross profit increased 18% to NOK 149.5 million.
Revenue for 2020 as a whole grew by 10% to NOK 619.1 million, with revenue from Itera’s core digital business increasing by 11% and revenue from its traditional data centre operations increasing by 9%. Itera’s core digital business was responsible for 81% of its total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2020.
- Key industries and companies are now setting ambitious sustainability goals driven by climate policy, technological developments and large governmental financial packages to stimulate the economy. Sustainability has become big business and a great opportunity for Itera as the specialist at creating sustainable digital business, says Arne Mjøs, CEO of Itera.
Itera’s headcount at the end of the fourth quarter of 2020 was 569 as compared to 512 at the end of the fourth quarter of 2019. Itera has nearshore development centres in Slovakia and Ukraine. The proportion of Itera’s capacity located in these locations (its nearshore ratio) was 47% (49%) at the end of the fourth quarter.
Itera’s total operating expenses in the fourth quarter of 2020 were 22% higher at NOK 155.3 million (NOK 127.4 million), while they were up 10% to NOK 556.5 million for 2020 as a whole.
The operating result before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the fourth quarter of 2020 was a profit of NOK 25.4 million (NOK 28.0 million), corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 15.1% (19.2%).
Adjusted for restructuring costs related to the data centre transformation, the operating result (EBIT) for the fourth quarter was a profit of NOK 16.8 million (NOK 18.6 million) and the EBIT margin 10.0% (12.7%). For 2020 as a whole, the adjusted EBIT was NOK 66.4 million (NOK 56.2 million) with a margin of 10.7% (10.0%). Reported operating result (EBIT) for the fourth quarter was a profit of NOK 13.0 million and NOK 62.8 million for 2020 as a whole. Reported EBIT margin for the fourth quarter of 2020 was 7.7%, while for 2020 as a whole it was 10.1%.
Net cash flow from operating activities was NOK 37.6 million (NOK 43.1 million) in the fourth quarter of 2020 and NOK 101.7 million (NOK 80.0 million) for 2020 as a whole.
At its meeting on 17 February 2021, the Board of Directors passed a resolution to propose an ordinary dividend for 2020 of NOK 0.25 per share at the Annual General Meeting on 25 May 2021. It will also ask for its authorisation to approve possible additional dividends to be renewed.
The revenue from Itera’s 30 largest customers accounted for 80% of its operating revenue, which is five percentage points higher compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. New customers accounted for 7% of revenue. Itera had a strong order intake with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.6 in the fourth quarter of 2020.
- I am very proud of our strong focus on achieving steady growth despite Covid-19. Our ability to rapidly manage one of the most challenging times in world history really demonstrated our fantastic people and high-quality value we bring to our customers every day. We have emerged stronger and enter 2021 with an even more durable foundation and an exciting future, concludes Arne Mjøs.
For more information:
Arne Mjøs, CEO | arne.mjos@itera.no | +47 905 23 172
Bent Hammer, CFO | bent.hammer@itera.no | +47 982 15 497
About Itera – specialists in creating sustainable digital business
Itera creates sustainable digital business for innovative businesses in data-intensive market segments. The group delivers solutions and services in interdisciplinary teams within technology, strategic consulting and design, and works in a hybrid delivery model, with distributed teams across national borders. For the past five years, Itera has been named one of Norway's 25 most innovative companies. The group has 569 employees, operations in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Slovakia and Ukraine and is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker ITERA.