2021 indeed was another difficult year for the CENIT Group, still marked by the effects of the Corona pandemic but despite the unfavorable environment, CENIT proved in 2021 how resilient and adaptable its business model is.
In 2021 the CENIT Group achieved sales of EUR 146,071 k (before change in method of accounting from principal to agent for revenue from software licenses, revenue would have amounted to EUR 155,130 k) and EBIT of EUR 6,234 k (+71,7%). The main reason for this was the high-margin increase in sales of own software solutions in the areas of Product Lifecycle and Enterprise Information Management. In the fourth quarter of 2021, which is strong in terms of revenue, deals with our customer companies in the financial services, aviation and digital factory segments made a significant contribution to the positive result.
Results in detail
During the 2021 business year, CENIT group generated sales revenues of EUR k 146,071 (prior year: EUR k 142,129/+2.8%). Sales of CENIT’s proprietary software rose by 11.1% at EUR k 17,688 compared to EUR k 15,927 previous year. Sales revenues in CENITs consulting and services segment totaled EUR k 39,822 and thus grew by 3.5% on-year (2020: EUR k 38,491). Sales of third-party software increased by around 1.3% to EUR k 88,543 (2020: EUR k 87,402).
The gross profit (operating output less cost of materials) amounted to EUR k 79,797 (2020: EUR k 73,020), representing an increase of 9.3%. CENIT achieved EBITDA of EUR k 11,278 (2020: EUR k 9,594/+17.6%) and EBIT of EUR k 6,234 (2020: EUR k 3,631/+71.7%). Earnings per share were EUR 0.51 (2020: EUR 0.28/+82.1%).
Orders Development
During the 2021 business year, orders received by CENIT Group totaled EUR k 148,845 (2020: EUR k 132,742). Orders in hand on December 31, 2021 amounted to EUR k 40,610 (2020: EUR k 37,836). This indicates the catch-up effect of customers in the area of digitalization.
Asset and Financial Situation
On the balance-sheet date, the company’s equity capital was EUR k 43,645 (2020: EUR k 42,723), representing an equity ratio of 47.0% (2020: 51.2%). On the balance-sheet date, bank deposits and liquid assets totaled EUR k 26,361 (2020: EUR k 26,056). The operative cash flow was EUR k 8,236 (2020: EUR k 12,278). Furthermore, in 2021, cash and cash equivalents were mainly influenced by returns of leasing liabilities in amount of EUR k 3,286, dividends paid in amount of EUR k 3,933 and investments in the amount of EUR k 892.
Employees
On December 31, 2021, CENIT group employed 685 (2020: 711). Consolidated personnel expenditures during the reporting period were EUR k 59,686 (2020: EUR k 54,815). CENIT currently provides training for 32 young professionals in a variety of occupations. Trainees include informatics and economics students from the Dual University of Baden-Württemberg (DHBW) and vocational trainees in the field of information technology.
Dividend
At the Annual General Meeting on May 20, 2022, in consideration of the strong EBIT performance, the Management and Supervisory Boards will propose to distribute a dividend of EUR 0.75 per share from CENIT AG's unappropriated profit of EUR k 9,877.
Outlook
We generally assume another year of growth for the 2022 financial year and therefore expect sales of around EUR 150,000 k and EBIT of around EUR 6,700 k. The forecast does not include any possible acquisition effects and is based on the premise that the current Ukraine conflict will not have a significant negative impact on our business and our main customer segments.
The complete 2021 Annual Report is available in a German and English version on the CENIT homepage.
