Press Release

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPROVED

THE DRAFT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS AT 31

DECEMBER 2022

DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH IN INVESTMENTS, MAINLY FOCUSED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROPRIETARY

NETWORK

INVESTMENTS OF MORE THAN €39M IN THE PROPRIETARY NETWORK PUSH REVENUES TO €45.5M, EBITDA TO €20M

AND MARGIN ABOVE 43%

  • REVENUES at € 45.5 million, up 12.8% from € 40.4 million in 2021

  • EBITDA1 at € 19.9 million, up 12.6% from € 17.6 million in 2021 (EBITDA margin at 43.1%)

  • EBIT at € 12.2 million, up 3.1% from € 11.8 million in 2021 (EBIT margin at 26.4%)

  • Net profit at € 8.7 million, roughly in line with last year

  • Net Financial Position (NFP) at € 11.5 million compared to a positive position (cash) of € 5.4 million as at 31 December 2021

  • Investments of € 39.3 million, mainly on the development of the network, which grew by 29% year-on-year to 9,500 km by the end of 2022

  • Ordinary dividend of € 0.07 per share proposed

    Brescia, 27 March 2023 - Intred S.p.A. ("Intred" or the "Company"), a telecommunications operator listed on the EGM market of Borsa Italiana (ITD.MI) since July 2018, meeting today, examined and approved the draft financial statements as at 31 December 2022, prepared in accordance with the EGM Italy Issuers' Regulation and in compliance with Italian accounting standards.

    1 EBITDA: Alternative Performance Indicator: EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciations and Amortizations - Gross Operating Margin) represents an alternative performance indicator not defined by Italian accounting standards but used by the company's management to monitor and evaluate the operating performance of the itself, as it is not influenced by the volatility due to the effects of the various criteria for determining the taxable income, by the amount and characteristics of the capital employed as well as by the related amortization policies. This indicator is defined for Intred as Profit / (Loss) for the period gross of depreciation and write-downs of tangible and intangible assets, financial income and charges and income taxes.

Daniele Peli, Co-Founder and CEO of Intred S.p.A., commented as followa: "The 2022 performance once again confirms the positive trend of recent years, in terms of volumes and margins, with remarkable growth. Thanks to the investments made during the year, we significantly increased the extension of the fibre optic network in Lombardy, particularly in areas where we previously had a smaller footprint, thus enabling us to proceed to the activation of schools and new customers. In addition, great emphasis was placed on communication to increase brand awareness in the provinces where Intred is less known. We hope that this positive trend will continue in 2023, reaching the targets for the two Schools Tenders as soon as possible and exploiting the network extension to connect other types of customers as well".

MAIN ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL RESULTS AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2022

RECLASSIFIED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT

2022

%

2021

%

DELTA

%

Revenues from Sales and Services

45,515,209

98.8%

40,457,489

98.1%

5,057,720

12.5%

TOTAL VALUE OF PRODUCTION

46,082,433

100.0%

41,241,887

100.0%

4,840,546

11.7%

TOTAL PRODUCTION COSTS

18,297,470

39.7%

16,590,870

40.2%

1,706,600

10.3%

ADDED VALUE

27,784,963

60.3%

24,651,017

59.8%

3,133,946

12.7%

GROSS OPERATING MARGIN

19,852,545

43.1%

17,637,058

42.8%

2,215,487

12.6%

OPERATING INCOME

12,160,074

26.4%

11,790,240

28.6%

369,834

3.1%

INCOME BEFORE TAX

12,177,406

26.4%

11,945,091

29.0%

232,315

1.9%

RESULT FOR THE YEAR

8,674,619

18.8%

8,620,469

20.9%

54,150

0.6%

The value of production as at 31 December 2022 amounted to € 46.1 million, while the value of sales revenue at the end of 2022 stood at € 45.5 million, up 12.8% compared to the same period of the previous year (€ 40.4 million).

The increase in turnover was mainly driven by sales of fibre-optic connections, which amounted to some € 26.2 million, an increase of 27.2% compared to the same period last year.

The strongest growth was reported in services with recurring fees, the company's core business, which accounted for around 86% of sales, amounting to € 39.3 million, an increase of 9.3%. Revenues from so-called one-off products and services rose by 52.5% to € 5.7 million, mainly as a result of the Schools Tender.

With regard to the type of customer, the greatest growth comes from sales in the public administration, up 104% to € 7.5 million, thanks to the Schools Tender. Sales in the Wholesale sector performed very well with +8.3% or € 3.8 million.

•••

The churn rate on turnover remained at an excellent level and was 4.4%.

The growth in the number of subscribers continued, with data lines exceeding 46,500 as at 31 December 2022, an increase of 3.3% compared to the same period last year.

The realised gross operating margin (EBITDA) for the year 2022 was € 19.9 million, up 12.6%, with an EBITDA margin of 43.1%.

The operating result (EBIT) was € 12.2 million, up 3.1% from € 11.8 million as at 31 December 2021, with an EBIT margin of 26.4%.

The net result as at 31 December 2022 stood at € 8.7 million, roughly in line with the same period last year.

BALANCE SHEET

Net financial debt amounted to € 11.5 million, compared to a positive position of € 5.4 million as of 31 December 2021. This was due to the significant investments in support of the Schools Tender, as shown by bank debt of € 29.1 million, up from the figure as at 31 December 2021. Cash and cash equivalents amounted to € 17.6 million, up from 31 December 2021.

Shareholders' equity as at 31 December 2022 amounted to € 48.9 million, up 18.9% from € 40.3 million as at 31 December 2021.

INVESTMENTS AND NETWORK DEVELOPMENT

Investments in 2022 amounted to € 39.3 million, mainly focused on the development of the fibre optic backhauling and access network in the FTTH mode in the Lombardy region. The strong acceleration of investments was necessary to achieve the targets set by the Schools Tender, which can later be exploited to activate connections for other local PA users, professional and residential customers. The bulk of the investments in Intred's network infrastructure consists of tangible fixed assets (72% of total investments dedicated to the network), consisting of civil works for laying, fibre optic cables, shelters, manholes and electronic equipment; the 28% share of investments in intangible assets dedicated to the network is instead made up of acquisitions of multi-year rights of use for fibre optic cables and/or cable ducts, in IRU (Indefeasible Right of Use) mode with a duration of 15/18/22 years.

***

MAIN SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OF THE PERIOD

On 27 May 2022 Intred announced its attendance in the public session for the bids evaluation by the Tender Commission appointed by Infratel Italia S.p.A. (an in-house company of the Ministry of Economic Development). The company obtained the best score •••

in Lot 2 of the tender for the supply of ultra-wideband Internet connectivity at 1 Gbits for over 1,200 schools in the Lombardy region not included in the previous tender.

On 30 May 2022, Intred announced, pursuant to Article 84-bis of Consob Regulation No. 11971/1999, the allocation of rights relating to the "2021-2023 Stock Grant Plan" (the "Stock Grant Plan" or the "Plan") approved by the Shareholders' Meeting on 29 April 2021.

On 7 June 2022, Intred, following the announcement made on 27 May 2022, announced that it had received from Infratel Italia S.p.A. (an in-house company of the Ministry of Economic Development) the awarding of the tender for the provision of ultra-wideband Internet connectivity for over 1,200 school sites in the Lombardy region that were not included in the previous tender.

On 12 July 2022, following the announcements made on 27 May and 7 June 2022, Intred announced that a number of appeals had been filed with the Lazio Regional Administrative Court (TAR) by a number of operators for the annulment of the awarding of certain lots in the tender for ultra-wideband internet connectivity services for the remaining schools in Lombardy. In this context, one player in particular appealed against the awarding of lot no. 2 assigned to the Company by Infratel Italia S.p.A.

On 28 July 2022 Intred, following up on its previous press release of 12 July 2022, announced that, with an order published today, the Lazio Regional Administrative Court rejected the application for precautionary injunction attached to the appeal filed by one of the Company's competitors in order to obtain the suspension of the effectiveness of the measure taken by Infratel Italia S. p.A. on 8 June 2022, by which Intred was awarded lot no. 2 of the tender for ultra-wideband Internet connectivity services for the remaining schools in Lombardy. In particular, the Lazio Regional Administrative Court fully endorsed the defence arguments put forward by Intred and the other operators involved, concluding - following an assessment of the merits of the case - that "there is no fumus boni iuris". An appeal against the aforementioned precautionary measure may be brought before the Council of State.

On 20 September 2022, in the presence of the Minister for Technological Innovation and Digital Transition, Vittorio Colao, and the CEO of Infratel Italia S.p.A., Marco Bellezza, Intred signed the Framework Agreement for the commencement of works relating to the awarding of the tender called "Schools call for tenders 2", for the provision of 1Gbits ultra-wideband internet connectivity services for over 1,200 schools in the Lombardy region not included in the previous tender.

On 5 October 2022, Intred announced the start of the buy-back programme as of 6 October 2022.

On 15 November 2022, Intred, following the previous press releases of 12 and 28 July 2022, announced that on 14 November 2022 it received formal notification of the withdrawal of the appeal pursuant to Article 84 of the Italian Civil Code. Such appeal had been promoted •••

by a competitor of the Company in order to obtain the annulment of the awarding measure issued by Infratel Italia S.p.A on 8 June 2022. As a result of the foregoing, at the next hearing on 6 December 2022, which has already been set for the discussion on the merits of the appeal, the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio will take note of the aforesaid withdrawal, declaring the trial terminated with the consequent final awarding of the contract to the Company.

MAIN SIGNIFICANT EVENTS AFTER THE END OF THE PERIOD

On 2 February 2023, Intred announced that it had started work on the preparation and publication of the Company's first Sustainability Report to report on its activities in the area of ESG (Environment - Social - Governance) sustainability in line with the principles of the UN 2030 Agenda. In order to make Sustainability an integral part of the Company's business, it has appointed an internal multidisciplinary team that will follow the issue.

The drafting of the Sustainability Report (or "Report") will be the result of the close cooperation between the specially identified internal team and a team of experts from the University of Brescia, which has prepared an ad hoc project for the Company. The work will take place throughout 2023.

On 20 February 2023, Intred announced becoming a partner in the "STEM in Gender" project conceived by the University of Brescia in line with the objectives of the Gender Equality Plan 2022- 2024 and with the support of LOG - Laboratorio Osservatorio Studi di Genere, for a gender rebalancing in the STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics).

***

BUSINESS OUTLOOK FOR THE CURRENT YEAR

Once the health emergency resulting from the spread of the "Covid-19" virus was overcome, the following issues emerged at a national and international level: the Russian/Ukrainian war, the energy supply issue, and the consequent development of a double-digit inflation rate, unseen for several decades. The analyses performed and the findings obtained do not identify any current or foreseeable direct or indirect impact on the financial situation and results of operations, or on the supply chain. With regard to cybersecurity risks, adequate technical safeguards have been put in place to mitigate any damage to the structure and information flows.

Pursuant to and for the purposes of point 6) of the third paragraph of Article 2428 of the Italian Civil Code, the results of the first months of the current year point to a positive outlook compared to the trend of the year just ended, as confirmed by the increase in turnover volumes. Investments will continue to be focused on the development of the proprietary network, which is a fundamental instrument for generating a solid increase in revenues for the company. Investments will be made, above all, in the FTTH access network, expanding the coverage of the network across the Lombardy region by developing the activation programmes envisaged by the two Schools Tenders.

•••

Attachments

  • Original Link
  • Original Document
  • Permalink

Disclaimer

Intred S.p.A. published this content on 27 March 2023 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 27 March 2023 09:17:05 UTC.