Spir Group ASA
OSE:SPIR
Spir Group ASA
Sikri Group ASA is a software company that specializes in delivering digital solutions to the public sector. The company is headquartered in Oslo, Oslo and currently employs 370 full-time employees. The company went IPO on 2020-07-15. Its customer base spans from public sector to private businesses within real estate, banking, insurance, property developers, media companies, builders, property owners, realtors, engineers, power companies and building materials production companies. The firm's business activities are divided into four business segments: The Public segment engaged in sales of software and services towards the public sector through Sikri AS; The Private is engaged in sales of services within digital real estate and construction offerings in Norway; The Consumer segment sales of services within documentation and value estimates on residential properties to professionals within the real estate market; and The Metria segment offers services and solutions in the Swedish market within geoinformation and planning and surveying.
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In Q4 2024, Spir Group achieved a 13% revenue increase to NOK 274 million, driven by strong growth in real estate, which saw a 23% rise. Annual recurring revenues also grew by 11% to NOK 443 million. Adjusted EBITDA rose 29% to NOK 51 million, with a margin increase to 17%. The full year saw revenues rise 7% to NOK 1.1 billion and net income turn positive at NOK 51 million, up from a loss. The acquisition of Unbolt is set to enhance their real estate services further, expected to generate ongoing value in 2025 amid favorable market conditions.
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Good morning, and welcome to the presentation of the fourth quarter and full year 2024 financial results for Spir Group. My name is Per Haakon Lomsdalen, and I am the Chief Executive Officer of Spir Group, and I'm here together with our CFO, Cecilie Hekneby, to present our results.
Cecilie will cover the financials as usual, but let's kick off this presentation by looking at some of our key KPIs from the fourth quarter.
We are a company delivering mission-critical software for our 2 main business areas, real estate and public administration, with a high share of recurring revenue. Spir Group's annual recurring revenues reached a record-high level, increasing 11% compared to a year ago to NOK 443 million. Total revenues reached NOK 274 million in the quarter, up 13% from Q4 last year. Our scalable business model has also resulted in stable and high margins. Gross profit came in at NOK 191 million, an increase of 19%, while EBITDA ended at NOK 46 million in the quarter, increasing 17% from last year.
Overall, 2024 was a positive year for Spir Group with strong progress across the portfolio. KPIs are on the rise. And looking ahead, we continue to see potential for growth and value creation.
I'll now leave the floor to Cecilie, who will give you some more details about our financial figures from the quarter.
Thank you, Per Haakon, and good morning, everyone. I will take you through the financial results for the fourth quarter and full year '24, starting with the highlights for the quarter. We use Norwegian Krone as reporting currency.
I'm pleased to report another quarter of double-digit revenue growth and improved profitability as key KPIs like total revenues, gross profit, adjusted EBITDA and cash EBITDA all continued to improve.
Revenue increased by 13% to NOK 274 million in the quarter driven by strong development in the real estate business area. The revenue increase is attributable to 9% organic growth and NOK 10 million in new revenue from Unbolt with its subsidiaries, in particular iVerdi. We have steady growth in our SaaS revenues, and annual recurring revenue had an increase of 11% to NOK 443 million compared to 1 year earlier, including NOK 15 million in annual recurring revenue from iVerdi.
Margins and profitability are increasing. We had double-digit EBITDA growth as adjusted EBITDA increased by 29% to NOK 51 million, and the adjusted EBITDA margin increased from 16% to 17%. Cash EBITDA increased from NOK 9 million in the fourth quarter '23 to NOK 20 million in fourth quarter '24. Net finance of minus NOK 9 million is up from minus NOK 19 million in fourth quarter '23, positively impacted by gain on interest rate swaps. Net income in the quarter was NOK 7 million, up from minus NOK 17 million in the fourth quarter '23.
The financial results for full year '24 are impacted by a slow start of the year, but results have improved during the second half of 2024, following strong development in the real estate market in Norway, market recovery in Sweden and effects of internal initiatives to improve profitability.
Revenue for full year '24 ended at NOK 1.1 billion, up 7% from full year '23, with gross profit up 8%. Unbolt with subsidiaries are consolidated with 4 months and impacts full year revenue with NOK 14 million. Adjusted EBITDA of NOK 201 million is up 6% and cash EBITDA is up 30% to NOK 95 million. Net finance of minus NOK 6 million is up NOK 49 million from full year '23, impacted by increased financial income of NOK 54 million related to a one-off noncash financial gain following the consolidation of Unbolt of NOK 32 million, gain in fair value interest rate swaps of NOK 13 million and interest on bank deposits. Net income for full year '24 of NOK 51 million is up from minus NOK 9 million in '23.
Let's look into some more details in the revenue development. The 13% revenue growth in the quarter is driven by 23% growth in the real estate business area, including NOK 9 million in new revenue from iVerdi and NOK 4 million from 4Cast Media. Organic growth in the real estate business area is 15%. 4Cast Media delivers content marketing and is earlier reported under Other but was merged with Boligmappa in December. We see double-digit revenue growth in Ambita, Boligmappa and Metria following high activity in the real estate market.
Within public administration, Sikri has steady revenue growth of 4%. The underlying growth in annual recurring revenue year-on-year was 12% when adjusting for the extraordinary churn of NOK 10 million in the beginning of '24. The gross margin is up 2% compared to last year.
For full year '24, Spir Group's overall revenue increased by 7% compared to full year '23 to NOK 1.1 billion. Revenue growth adjusted for extraordinary churn in the beginning of '24 and biannual election revenue in '23 was 9%. The Unbolt subsidiary, iVerdi, is consolidated with 4 months and adds revenue of NOK 13 million to the real estate business area in addition to revenue from 4Cast Media earlier reported as Other/Elimination.
Spir Group delivers its offerings as subscriptions, transaction-based data and software sales, and consulting services. The subscription-based revenues are primarily based as Software as a Service licenses to customers characterized by long-term contracts and low churn. Subscription revenues are up 4% in the quarter and 8% for full year '24, following steady development in annual recurring revenues across the companies.
Transaction-based revenue is up 23% in the quarter, impacted by a strong development in the real estate market in Norway and market recovery in Sweden. Revenue for full year '24 is up 8%, although hampered by a weak first quarter.
Revenue from consulting constitutes a small part of total revenue in Spir Group, but our consulting service is an important success factor for implementation and utilization of our data and solutions.
There have been fewer upgrade projects in Sikri since the majority of customers have migrated to cloud, but this is offset by increased demand for Metria's consulting services within climate and sustainability.
These are some of the drivers for the quarter's results. I will now dive into more details in the key segments of Spir Group.
In the fourth quarter, total revenues in Ambita were up 15% to NOK 94 million. A major part of the revenues correlates with activity in the Norwegian real estate market and number of properties put out for sale, which was up 5% in the quarter. Following the positive development in the real estate market, transaction-based revenue was up 16% to NOK 81 million. Annual recurring revenue at the end of December was steady at NOK 41 million. Commencement of new homes in the fourth quarter was down 3%. When conditions for real estate development improve, it is expected that this will positively impact Ambita's sale of digital maps and electronic applications.
Gross profit in the fourth quarter is positively affected by a reversal of provisions for claims that are obsolete, amounting to NOK 2.5 million, and defined as a nonrecurring item. Adjusted EBITDA was NOK 14 million with stable adjusted EBITDA margin of 14%. Revenue year-to-date is up 9% to NOK 482 million with 17% adjusted EBITDA margin. Cash EBITDA is up 14% in the quarter and 2% for full year '24.
In the fourth quarter, revenues in Boligmappa were up 56% to NOK 20 million. The wholly owned subsidiary 4Cast Media that delivers content marketing was merged with Boligmappa on December '24, impacting revenue in the fourth quarter with NOK 4 million and adjusted EBITDA with minus NOK 2 million. The underlying revenue growth in Boligmappa, excluding 4Cast Media, is 23%. Run rate annual recurring revenue from B2B was NOK 53 million, which is up 30% from fourth quarter last year. Transaction-based revenues from B2C products introduced late '23 sold as monthly subscriptions was NOK 4.4 million.
It is positive to see that the profitability in Boligmappa is increasing. Adjusted EBITDA of NOK 2 million is up from 0 in the fourth quarter last year with adjusted EBITDA margin of 9%. Underlying revenue year-to-date is up 23% to NOK 54 million. Total revenue after merger with 4Cast Media is NOK 58 million with 10% adjusted EBITDA margin. Cash EBITDA, including 4Cast Media, has improved from minus NOK 6 million in fourth quarter '23 to minus NOK 4 million in fourth quarter '24 and from minus NOK 26 million in '23 to minus NOK 16 million in '24.
We are pleased to see continued double-digit revenue growth and increased profitability in Metria. Revenue of NOK 84 million is up 14% from fourth quarter last year. We have seen strong development and market recovery in the Swedish real estate market lately, and transaction-based revenues has increased with 34% to NOK 32 million. Transaction-based revenue in Metria is highly correlated with the volumes of properties sold and sizes of mortgages taken out within banking and finance. Subscription revenue of NOK 28 million is in line with 1 year earlier in local currency. Annual recurring revenue of SEK 116 million is at a steady pace.
There is a solid demand for Metria's consulting services and consulting revenues were up NOK 2 million to NOK 22 million. Gross profit is up 11% to NOK 52 million with 62% margin. Profitability is increasing in Metria with adjusted EBITDA of NOK 17 million and adjusted EBITDA margin up from 18% in fourth quarter last year to 20% in the fourth quarter '24, following increased gross profit and cost initiatives showing results. Revenue year-to-date is up 8% to NOK 305 million with adjusted EBITDA of NOK 52 million. Cash EBITDA is up 82% in the quarter and 50% for full year '24.
iVerdi is a new segment in SPIR from September '24 and is consolidated with 4 months in the full year '24 results. New revenue from iVerdi impacts the fourth quarter with NOK 9 million and full year '24 with NOK 13 million. iVerdi owns the software Ivit, which is Norway's most used professional software for valuation engineers. The software offers effective process support, data-driven quality assurance and a variation of different valuation reports. It allows direct interaction and sharing of information between real estate agents and valuers' systems for increased security and efficiency.
In the fourth quarter, iVerdi revenues amounted to NOK 9 million with 65% gross margin. Run rate annual recurring revenue from subscription services was NOK 15 million at the end of December. Transaction-based revenues are related to revenues from condition reports and other valuation report generated by more than 700 valuation companies in Norway. There was a 14% increase in the reports in the fourth quarter compared to the same period 1 year earlier, and a total increase of 8% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter was NOK 2 million with 19% adjusted EBITDA margin. Cash EBITDA in the fourth quarter is minus NOK 1 million. Several initiatives are started to increase profitability in 2025.
Approximately 90,000 condition reports are generated through Ivit every year, providing extensive information about the condition of Norwegian homes. Combined with data sources from other Spir Group companies, this will broaden Spir Group's real estate data coverage with unique information about the conditions of Norwegian houses.
Sikri continues its steady growth with NOK 73 million in revenues from the quarter, up 4% from fourth quarter '23. Revenue from subscription sales increased by 6% to NOK 53 million. Annual recurring revenue also increased by 6% to NOK 210 million at the end of the quarter. The underlying growth is 12% when adjusting for the extraordinary churn and end-of-life products, amounting to NOK 10 million reported in the beginning of 2024 driven by a stable and high win rate.
There are fewer upgrade projects in Sikri now than in '23 as majority of customers are migrated to cloud and hence, lower consulting revenue. The gross margin is, however, higher for subscription revenues than for consulting revenues and gross profit of NOK 65 million is up 7%. Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter was NOK 23 million with 32% adjusted EBITDA margin. Revenue year-to-date is up 3% when excluding biannual revenue from election in '23. Adjusted EBITDA for full year '24 ended at NOK 81 million with 30% adjusted EBITDA margin. Cash EBITDA is up 20% in the quarter and 10% for full year '24.
As an innovative software house, development of new functionality and new features on existing products to strengthen our market-leading positions and expansion of the product portfolio is vital for future growth.
Total CapEx in full year '24 was NOK 99 million. This is NOK 2 million higher than in full year '23 but includes NOK 7 million from 4 months of consolidation of Unbolt with subsidiaries. CapEx in Boligmappa prior to merger with 4Cast Media is down by NOK 10 million for full year '24 compared to full year '23 following less need for new development. In '24, 9% of revenue was invested to strengthen the market-leading positions. We have an increased focus on return on investments and optimization of investments across the group. The planned range of CapEx for full year '25 is NOK 90 million to NOK 95 million compared to NOK 115 million in '24, when adjusting for full year effect of Unbolt and its subsidiaries.
Free cash flow increased from NOK 74 million in '23 to NOK 86 million in '24. As illustrated on the left-hand side of the slide, you can see that our free cash flow is impacted by seasonal fluctuations. First quarter, as you know, have entered. It's historically always a strong quarter in terms of free cash flow as Sikri invoices a large part of its customers in advance on a yearly basis in January.
Moving on to the illustration on the right-hand side, you can see that we have generated NOK 219 million of operational cash flow in '24. Investment cash flow amounts to NOK 175 million in '24 and consists mainly of capitalized development cost and acquisition of shares in Unbolt and Prosper AI. Financing cash flow amounted to NOK 55 million and consist of proceeds from borrowings and repayment of borrowing, paid interest and payment for the principal element of leases. Spir Group's cash balance at the end of December was NOK 43 million.
Our financial position as of December shows that assets, to a large degree, consists of intangible assets, where NOK 1.2 billion is goodwill and the remainder is capitalized development costs, customer contracts and trademarks. Equity is close to NOK 1.3 billion, giving an equity ratio of 53%. Net interest-bearing debt is NOK 708 million at the end of December and is up NOK 57 million from the end of '23. This includes lease liabilities of NOK 73 million. The increase in lease liabilities is related to some new office leases.
Reducing interest-bearing debt has been and still is a priority for us. In August '24, however, we increased debt to finance the strategic acquisition of the remaining shares in Unbolt and to make it a fully owned company. We have 2 interest rate swaps at favorable terms of 3.24% and 3.25%, covering 60% of the interest-bearing loans. The cash balance at the end of December was NOK 43 million. In addition, Spir Group has a liquidity reserve of NOK 50 million.
Summing up the financial results. There are 4 key areas I would like to highlight. Firstly, double-digit revenue growth in our real estate business area has accelerated total revenue growth. Secondly, the public administration business area continues to deliver steady growth with increasing annual recurring revenue and high win rates. Thirdly, we have a continued focus on cost control across the group, and I'm pleased to see that the effects from cost initiatives have started to materialize and that profitability is increasing evidenced by the increasing cash EBITDA. Lastly, I would like to highlight the add-on acquisition of Unbolt that was successfully integrated during the quarter. We truly believe that the strategic acquisition will strengthen our real estate offering and make our #1 position even stronger.
There is a pressing demand for secure and efficient IT solution across both of our business areas, and we have entered '25 with a positive outlook.
Now Per Haakon will comment on the business development in the quarter.
Thank you, Cecilie. It's great to see that the initiatives we have implemented during the past year really are providing improved results.
Let's look at the main reasons behind our improved financial during the quarter. Spir Group is a software house with market-leading positions within real estate and public administration as our companies deliver mission-critical software and data to our customers.
Based on our extensive real estate and geoinformation data set, combined with our deep domain knowledge, we deliver software data and consulting services within 5 key processes. Our ambition is to build Spir Group into a lighthouse for real estate software with our core real estate data, geoinformation and deep domain knowledge. We will focus on high-margin software and data within mission-critical processes. The strategy is to expand our offerings to existing customers to increase the supplier power and share of wallet. Our products are available to all companies that need real estate solutions, but our primary focus will be on real estate agents, banks, insurance, construction, appraisal, energy, telecom and forestry.
Looking at the real estate business, the positive signs over the past few quarters have continued during the fourth quarter. In the quarter, all SPIR companies within this segment delivered double-digit growth driven by strong development in the transaction-based real estate market in Norway and Sweden. The number of properties put up for sale increased in Norway in Q4 positively. This affects Ambita.
The number of properties put out for sale in Norway has historically been very stable with about 100,000 properties each year. After a slow start to the year, the numbers picked up again in the second half of the year, providing tailwind for our companies. It is also great to see that the January numbers grew by as much as 27%. Ambita maintains a strong market position in an environment with high competition and rapid tech changes and delivered strong revenue growth, as Cecilie already mentioned.
Boligmappa continues to explore new revenue streams and partnerships to leverage scale. These efforts include development of the company solutions, functionality, increased emphasis on market visibility, and revenues for upcoming revenue models. The Swedish market is also improving with a higher number of properties sold, positively affecting Metria, which grew revenues by 14% in the fourth quarter. For iVerdi, we saw a 40% increase in reports delivered year-on-year, and approximately 90,000 condition reports are generated through the iVerdi system every year following our exciting acquisition from Q3.
So let's briefly look at the acquisition of Unbolt from Q3, what the company brings to us and what we have done following the investment. Unbolt has been a Nordic ecosystem around property condition data, providing unique insight analytics about building stock. By taking control of Unbolt, we strengthened our position within real estate transactions, complementing the group's property data offerings with unique property condition and energy data. Following the full acquisition of Unbolt in August 2024, we completed a 100-day integration plan in December with focus on operations, people, synergies and data. The subsidiary, iVerdi, which is a major player in Norway, being a software for real estate appraisal, was established as a separate segment.
Unbolt will be rebranded as Spir Data in Q1 2025 and serve as a horizontal entity within the group, delivering advanced data services, utilizing the strength of the group to create a unified approach to the Nordic real estate market. The acquisition of Unbolt is unlocking the new opportunities through advanced data services, business development acceleration, and next-generation data platform.
Our public administration offering is provided by Sikri, supporting the public sector with insight, control and digitalization of law-regulated processes. Sikri are increasing sales to new customers in addition to upsells to existing customers. Sikri has long-term contracts with low churn and a steady high win rate on public tenders. And in Q4, Sikri won 80% of its public tenders, gained market share and attracting new customers as also illustrated by the win of Nesodden in Norway and Karlskrona in Sweden. Subsequent to the quarter, Sikri won the tender for Indigo IKS, Hamar, Løten, Stavanger. The value of the agreement for this for 3 years is NOK 8.7 million with several options for renewable and add-on sales. It is also worth highlighting that Sikri grew ROI by 12% compared to a year ago due to increased sales to new and existing customers.
So let's wrap up this presentation with an update on our outlook. So entering 2025, our outlook remains very positive. The demand for secure and efficient IT solution is growing across our business areas as customers increasingly seek to reduce costs by streamlining and digitizing their operations. We expect our subscription-based revenues to continue to grow steadily with low churn as they are primarily based on long-term contracts. Meanwhile, there are positive developments in the real estate market, both in Norway and Sweden, as we already touched upon. We plan to optimize investments to enhance margins and cash flow and prioritize ROI with a projected capital investment range of NOK 90 million to NOK 95 million for 2025.
We are positive about the opportunities, the implementation of open data in Sweden creates within new data sources and product development going forward. However, revenue in Metria will be negatively affected, but large part of data costs, our COGS, within geodata will disappear, and Metria's aim is to further improve the company's gross profit during 2025.
Cost control remain as a focus and is now beginning to impact on the group's profits. We use generative AI solutions to optimize and streamline our operational way of work. Overall, we had a solid building blocks in place and expect continued growth in our software business for 2025.
With that, I'd like to thank you all for watching this presentation and wish you all a great day.