In terms of consolidated turnover by region, during the 2021 financial year, Spain accounted for 15.3% of the total volume, Germany 29.4%, Belgium 8.1%, Italy 11.8%, the rest of the European Union 16%, the United Kingdom 12.2% and other countries accounted for 7.2%. Because technology knows no frontiers, and neither do people’s needs, the Azkoyen Group works every day with a global perspective of its products and services in more than 95 countries across the five continents.
Net financial surplus
The net financial surplus amounted to 7.4 million euros, (in the previous year, net financial debt amounted to 2.9 million). Furthermore, net financial costs are lower than in the previous year (dropping from 510 to 125 thousand euros), mainly due to the lower exchange rate differences in 2021.
In addition, among other financial resources, Azkoyen, S.A. has various short-term credit facilities with Spanish financial institutions, renewed and/or formalised for another year in 2021, with a total limit of 12 million euros, from which no balance has been drawn down as at 31 December 2021. As a result of everything mentioned above, the Azkoyen Group is in a very strong position financially, economically and as regards liquidity.
Sales performance by division
With regard to the Coffee & Vending Systems division, it has experienced a 45.4% growth compared to the previous year, with sales in the second half of the year exceeding the figures for the same period in 2019.
Of particular note was the growth in the United Kingdom and the United States, reaching historic figures, as well as in other countries on the European continent. Like the others, this division has not stopped innovating and working on a daily basis to meet the needs of customers and users. In this respect, the Azkoyen Group launched its new Vitro M5 coffee machine, as well as their new Vitro X1 automatic coffee machine with MIA technology, winner of the best catering product at the European Product Design Award Winners
Also noteworthy is the successful participation of the Azkoyen Group in the Mobile World Congress and at the NAMA OneShow trade fair in the USA.
In the Payment Technologies division, sales experienced a 35% growth compared to the previous year, due to the gradual recovery from the negative effects of Covid-19, which meant that sales in the second half of the year were slightly higher than in the previous year.
It is also worth to highlight the important efforts made in R&D. In this respect, over the last few years the division has been working on retail and vending machine connectivity, the development of Internet of Things (IOT) solutions and physical and/or digital payments.
An example of this is the launch of Cashlogy, the automated cash control solution, Cashlogy POSafe, a new cash management system aimed at retailers who need greater security at the point of sale. Also, it is worth to mention the connectivity solution Nebular, which takes cashless intelligence to the cloud.
Lastly, Time & Security (Technology and security systems) has recorded a 0.1% increase in sales compared to the previous year, as a result of the restrictive measures imposed in Germany in the first quarter of 2021. Despite these difficulties, in the second half of 2021, contracts and tenders were won, enabling us to close the 2021 financial year with an order book totalling 39 million euros, a record figure for the division and 13% higher than in the same period of the previous year.
It is important to mention that access control and time and attendance solutions from the Primion Subgroup (such as prime Mobile, prime WebAccess & PSM 2200, prime Visit and Prime CertifiedAccess) are already prepared to meet the requirements of the “new normality” (people tracking and counting, visitor management, alarm automation, enabling teleworking and flexible working hours, etc.), both for existing customers as well as for new customers or segments.
Key prospects
Based on current estimates, revenue and EBITDA are expected to grow in the 2022 financial year, with supply chain and inflation risks reducing as the year progresses.
At the end of November 2021, with the emergence of the omicron variant which caused a slowdown in the economic upswing, it was noticeable that the impact of this wave was less prominent than previous ones. In connection with this, in February 2022, a number of countries within the European continent are relaxing their public health measures, and some countries have even decreed the end of the pandemic, which will have a significant impact on each country’s industrial growth.
However, the pandemic has led to disruptions in the global supply chains, hampering activity and generating high rates of inflation. As a result, according to the winter economic forecast published on 10 February, the European Commission expects the EU economy to grow by 4.0% in 2022 and 2.8% in 2023.
A historic year for the company which, despite the circumstances, celebrated its 75th anniversary thanks to its continued focus on operational expertise and daily efforts to increase the satisfaction of its employees, customers, and shareholders.