- Net sales amounted to
EUR 15 607 thousand (EUR 25 498 thousand in 2022) -
EBITDA of
EUR 1 980 thousand (999) and EBITDA margin of 12.7 percent (3.9) -
EBIT of
EUR 1 806 thousand (603) and EBIT margin of 11.6 percent (2.4) -
Net earnings after tax of
EUR 788 thousand (1 240) and EAT margin of 5.0 percent (4.9)
Important events during the year
- Revenues decreased due to selling, closing, and ramping down business.
-
We signed and ramped-up our largest ever contract, a 5-year frame agreement worth
EUR 17.5 million withDeutsche Telekom . -
The departure of the previous managers and consultants in
Germany had no negative impact on business activities in 2023. This change in management led to significant cost savings as the German business has been managed from the headquarters. -
The demand for our services in
Germany continued to be high, leading to 37% organic growth toEUR 4.2 million revenues. -
All operational business in the US was ramped down and written off in 2023.
Talkpool still owns two companies in theUSA . -
Our bank KBC in
Belgium suddenly closed all our bank accounts inJuly 2023 , triggering an unnecessary bankruptcy as we couldn't pay salaries or receive payments from clients. Talkpool was not able to exercise the option to repurchase the shares in the Swedish building technology company Nordic Propeye-
A settlement was reached to pay
USD 220 thousand instead of previously agreedUSD 1.2 million as final payment for the purchase of LCC Pakistan in 2017. -
Turbulence in management and board. The authors of this text and
Talkpool's creators, founder Magnus Sparrholm and long-term CEOErik Str ömstedt, both stayed in the company. - After evaluating different options, a new strategy based on smart network services was established.
Talkpool received its first-ever patent. The "breathing windows" patent allows energy-efficient ventilation and temperature regulation without opening the windows.- All investment in innovative products has been stopped as the company no longer develops own software or hardware.
- A decision was made to develop a new business plan based on the successful German business.
Management Comments
Valuable assets were sold as the business was trimmed.
During the year
The Corona pandemic crisis was over in 2023, but new global challenges, such as the Russian aggression and political turmoil surged in many countries.
2023 was a challenging year for
2024: Reduce to the MAX
We're continuing the path of improving efficiency, selling assets, cutting costs, tightening, and tidying the business with an intent to create a smaller, simpler and more profitable gem.
We're in a sales process for the Pakistani and Saudi business with an interested buyer. A binding offer was received in February. The parties have agreed to sign a Sales Purchase Agreement. There's an intent to execute the sales of the Pakistani business, but there's still a risk that the negotiations may fail.
We're pledging to maximize the opportunity to convert weaknesses into strengths. The launch of three long-term schemes have been communicated:
- A share options scheme to motivate and incentivize staff, from Q2 2024 until mid-2031
- A share buy-back program, probably from 2025 until 2031
- Dividends payments to shareholders, probably from 2025
The emerging mid-size business will be tightly controlled and highly focused on cashflow generation. The benefits for shareholders, clients and staff will be highly visible by the end of 2024.
Financial Information
Total debt 2022 - 2023 (E)
Total consolidated net debt has reduced from
EBIT 2022 - 2023 (E)
The operational margin has increased from negative in 22Q3 to 17.4% in 23Q4.
- All expensive loans have been fully repaid in the headquarters. This has led to a strong reduction of interest costs from loans in HQ to
EUR 88 thousand fromEUR 428 thousand a year earlier. Talkpool Group has reduced and strengthened its consolidated balance sheet:- Equity reached positive territory for the first time in many years. Equity incl. minority interests reached almost
EUR 90 thousand , up fromEUR -1.2 million in 2022. -
Total current assets were reduced by 15% to
EUR 5.0 million (fromEUR 5.9 million a year ago) while the total current liabilities were reduced by 35% toEUR 4.7 million (fromEUR 7.2 million a year ago).
- Equity reached positive territory for the first time in many years. Equity incl. minority interests reached almost
-
The impact of extraordinary effects on the consolidated group including
Goodwill recycling, FX, loss-making operations, asset sales and settlement wasEUR 97 thousand in 2023, down fromEUR 899 thousand in 2022 -
The parent company
Talkpool AG made significant write-offs to a total amount ofCHF 1.1 million in 2023
The complete annual report will be made available on: https://talkpool.com/financial-reports/#investor
For more information, please contact:
Magnus Sparrholm, Interim CEO
Telephone: +41 79 758 15 48
magnus.sparrholm@talkpool.com
Telephone: +41 79 333 59 71
erika.loretz@talkpool.com
Certified Advisor:
https://news.cision.com/talkpool-ag/r/talkpool-annual-report-2023,c3977097
https://mb.cision.com/Main/14365/3977097/2789278.pdf
https://news.cision.com/talkpool-ag/i/3977097-0-png,c3298364
https://news.cision.com/talkpool-ag/i/3977097-1-png,c3298365
(c) 2024 Cision. All rights reserved., source