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Dedagroup 2017: 12th year of consecutive growth, with increased margins and profitability thanks to the new business model

The Group continues to merge with specialised companies and confirms its leading position in the "Made in Italy" ICT sector due to its own unique blend of skills in Digital Transformation: developing software solutions and expertise in system integration and digital design.

 
  • Revenues amounted to more than €240 million in 2017, up 4% on the previous year
  • EBITDA rose to €19.5 million, showing a 20% increase on the 2016 financial year
  • Group Shareholders' Equity stable at €48 million

Trento, 11 July 2018 - The shareholders' meeting of the Dedagroup, a leading "Made in Italy" ICT company that provides consulting services and develops software solutions, approved its 2017 Financial Statement, which showed an increase in revenues and a rise in profitability for the 12th consecutive year. The impressive results of 2017 – with revenues exceeding €240 million, a 4% increase on the previous year – show the effectiveness of the business model implemented in 2016 and 2017, which led to consolidation in specialised companies/segments in terms of markets or products lines.  
Such performance has benefitted from the marked increase in the Software segment, thanks to investments that led to the release of new solutions from the Group's Software Factory - mobile banking solutions for U.S. Credit Unions – and the completion of existing suites with new functions or technological releases (Stealth Platform for the fashion & luxury retail industry, Civilia Next for Public Administrations and BankUp for the banking & finance sector). 
It is worth noting that the international development strategy was further strengthened with the full deployment of the Business Partner Network of Dedagroup Stealth, which involved agreements formalised in France (Viseo), the UK (Pinnaca), China (D1M) and Japan (Cyberlink) and the strengthening of the Group's presence in the USA with the founding of Piteco North America and the takeover of Juniper Payments and Intech. Hand-in-hand with this international development, the Group's Digital segment continued to grow with the takeover of Officine Digitali S.p.A., a long-standing company in the Web sector with headquarters in Bologna. This step was taken in order to create an important multi-sector player with a broad technological coverage in the digital design sector, thus consolidating the offer from Dedagroup Wiz. 
In 2017, once again, the Group made significant investments, with a commitment of €33 million, of which €5 million in R&D, including, in particular, the Digital Hub project in collaboration with the Fondazione Bruno Kessler to set up a platform to enable the creation of smart and data driven solutions. 
In 2017, investments were also made in another key area, involving the acquisition of new resources, developing talent and setting up training courses for staff, as well as boldly moving towards implementing the Human Capital Strategy outlined in the 2020 Strategic Plan. Throughout 2017, more than 145 new high-profile human resources were hired while over 33,000 hours of training were provided to strengthen the Group's expertise, i.e. over 260% more than in the previous year. 

Comments of the President and the CEO of Dedagroup:
Marco Podini, President of Dedagroup remarked, "The year 2017 also ended positively for the Group thanks to the substantial completion of the new Business Model, allowing us to implement important business synergies, operational simplification and management efficiency, which have not only created visible results in terms of increased gross profits but also laid the foundations for further benefits in 2018 and later on. We are optimistic about future challenges because we know that we can rely on an increasingly broad, comprehensive and innovative portfolio of software offers and solutions, and on a loyal and close customer and partner base. To support investments and expansion of the Group, a programme was approved to strengthen the Company's equity and financial position, thus providing further impetus to develop and distribute our "Made in Italy" software solutions, which are increasingly appreciated in our country and worldwide."
The CEO of Dedagroup Gianni Camisa reiterated this: "Our Group confirms its desire to maintain a decisive step along the path of innovation and research, aimed at creating world-class software solutions, digital platforms and vertical know-how in the different segments of industry. This even more decisive path sees us strengthening our position as a strategic partner in the process that involves the digital transformation of our customers, also thanks to our team who have developed their skills and professionalism day by day, in the awareness that only these qualities create value for their customers, for the Group and for themselves. The unique blend of skills that we offer – the development of software solutions, system integration skills and digital design know-how – strengthens our role as the ideal partner for developing digital innovation for companies, Public Bodies and financial institutions. It is a fundamental prerequisite for continuing along the Group's path of development in Italy and abroad, which is based on competitiveness in terms of expertise and prominence.

The main consolidated results as of 31 December 2017:

  • The Group's consolidated revenues amounted to more than €240 million, an increase of 4% on 2016, thus recording the twelfth consecutive year of growth and confirming Dedagroup's position among leading "Made in Italy" ICT companies. This performance exceeded the average for the market, which recorded growth of less than 2%.
  • The Group's international business was strengthened in 2017, contributing overall approximately 11% to total consolidated revenues of €25 million. This figure is expected to grow in 2018 due to full consolidation of the activities of Juniper Payments in Piteco and to the expectations for developments in the Fashion & Retail segment via the Business Partners Network activated in 2017.
  • The consolidated EBITDA amounted to €19.5 million, a significant increase compared to €16.2 million in 2016.
  • The Group's Shareholders' Equity was €48 million, substantially stable, whereas the net equity of the parent company Dedagroup rose significantly from €18.4 million to €50.7 million also thanks to an increase in the fully paid-up capital of €9.5 million.
 

Media Relations

Dedagroup: Daniela Michelotti
daniela.michelotti@dedagroup.it
[+39] 0461997310