• Turnover increased by 23%, reaching 170.8 million euros
• The EBITDA for the Group amounted to 28.1 million euros, 24.1% higher than in 2021.
• In 2022, the Group acquired the Latvian telemetry and payment systems company, Vendon, and the traditional coffee machine manufacturer, Ascaso
• The Group ranks among the most innovative industrial companies in Europe
Azkoyen, a leading Spanish technology multinational, which offers automated products and services designed to bring unique experiences to people in their daily lives, today announced its results for the 2022 financial year, in which it recorded a net turnover of 170.8 million euros, experiencing a 23% increase compared to the previous year, with 18% organic growth and 5% inorganic growth resulting from the company’s acquisitions of Vendon and Ascaso in July 2022.
This growth in turnover was fuelled by Coffee & Vending Systems, up 43.1%, Payment Technologies, up 27.2% and Time & Security, up 3.2%.
The solid financial position, geographic diversification, as well as its innovative spirit and its willingness to adapt to user trends, have enabled the Azkoyen Group to achieve a significant improvement in its business figures, recording a gross margin of 43.3%, rising by 19.6% to reach 71.9 million euros.
Fixed costs increased by 16.2%, in accordance with the organic and inorganic growth plans defined for the 2022 financial year.
EBITDA climbed to 28.1 million euros, 16.4% of sales, representing a growth of 24.1%. The Group obtained a EBITDA to cash conversion of approximately 42%. As at 31 December 2022, the indebtedness was less than 1.5 times EBITDA.
Furthermore, consolidated profit after tax for 2022 reached 15 million euros, implying a 15.5% increase.
These results have been achieved in a difficult business climate, dominated by inflationary pressures, cost overruns, the continuing negative impact of the pandemic on supply chains and global uncertainty due to the conflict in the Ukraine.
The Board of Directors will propose at the General Meeting of Shareholders that 30% of the consolidated net profit, i.e. 4.5 million euros, be allocated to dividends.
Sales performance by region
In terms of consolidated turnover by region, Spain accounted for 14.9% of the total volume, Germany 25.5%, Italy 11.2%, Belgium 6.5%, the rest of the European Union 16.3%, the United Kingdom 12.2% and 13.4% in other countries.
The Azkoyen Group works every day to distribute its products and services in more than 95 countries across the five continents.
Sales performance by division
The Coffee & Vending Systems division experienced a 43.1% increase in net turnover compared to the previous year, recording a 52% increase in sales. Growth in the United Kingdom and the United States was notable, both reaching historic figures.
In 2022, the Azkoyen Group incorporated the Ascaso company, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of traditional premium coffee espresso machines with a presence in markets such as Southeast Asia (China and Korea), Europe (Spain, France, Germany and the United Kingdom) and North America (Mexico, Canada and the USA), into this business area. This integration completes the Group’s coffee portfolio and makes Azkoyen one of the few full-service suppliers in the world. The division has never stopped innovating and working every day to satisfy the needs of both customers and users.
The Group has accelerated the division’s growth through strategic measures such as increasing the sales force in the markets with the greatest potential, strengthening its marketing and defining specific Go To Market business action plans by product, channel and geographic area, and focusing on the branding and its positioning at the top end of the range in terms of the quality of coffee dispensed as well as strengthening its positioning in the Horeca channel.
In this respect, the company launched its new Vitro S1 MIA automatic coffee machine with fresh milk, thus adding to its successful Vitro line. In addition, the company also took part in the NAMA OneShow in Chicago where the NSF-certified Vitro X1 machine was showcased, consolidating its ambitious business development and service plan in the United States.
Also, the Group participated in the Venditalia Worldwide Vending Show where it presented the NEO Q, an innovative product that responds to new social trends and user needs and promotes consumer awareness to reduce plastic consumption, and which was chosen as best product in the Catering Products and Office Equipment categories at the European Product Design Awards. Meanwhile, Coffetek was voted the best Machine manufacturer in the UK by Associated Vending Services (AVS).
During 2022, the Azkoyen Group unveiled its latest innovations in Europe, its patented and innovative MIA technology as well as its new Neo Q. First at an in-house event at the Basque Culinary Centre and at a similar one in Leeds (United Kingdom) where an event was held entitled “Beyond the Box”. Then later, at the EVEX-VendCon vending exhibition held on 7 and 8 November in Bonn (Germany).
In addition, in November 2022, the Azkoyen Group took part in CTW (Coffee, Tea & Water) 2022, where it presented its patented AZKV30 system, the dual version of its successful coffee machine.
The Payment Technologies division (Electronic means of payment) recorded a 27.2 % increase in sales compared to the same period last year (21.4% organic growth and 5.8% growth due to the acquisition of SIA Vendon)).
Retail and industrial means of payment (retail, gaming and service automation) increased sales by 32.3% year-on-year and accounted for around 55% of revenue. Meanwhile, means of payment for vending machines and Coges increased its sales by 9.2% and accounted for around 40% of the revenue of Payment Technologies. In addition, Connectivity and IoT solutions in digital payments and telemetry, which represents around 5% of the division’s revenues, has seen inorganic growth due to the acquisition of 100% of the Latvian company, SIA Vendon. The company has more than 49,000 connected machines in some 82 countries. During the 2022 financial year, this company’s sales increased by 34.9%.
The Group’s efforts to boost the growth of this division include the development of significant growth levers, such as, the launch of a new version of Cashlogy, the improvement of user experience and cloud services, the strengthening and prioritisation of international business positioning (mainly in Central Europe), reinforcement of its own sales and distribution network, reinforcement of resources in innovation and other departments, associated services, servitisation thanks to connectivity and cloud applications and the solution to integrate cash and cashless payments, providing both separate and joint solutions.
Azkoyen Group attended the Venditalia Worldwide Vending Show, showcasing the new version of the Nebular platform and a new change-giver called Sofis. In addition, Coges markets a technology through licences that allows payment in vending machines via an application for smartphones, called Pay4Vend. In 2022, Coges has exceeded 46,700 connections and subscriptions for connectivity services.
For its part, the Time & Security division (Security systems and technology) reported a 3.2% increase in sales compared to the previous year, despite the delay in project execution in the first quarter caused by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and disruptions in third party supply chains that resulted in a shift in the timing of project execution. In this regard, in the second half of 2022, a growth of 8.4% was recorded compared to the second half of 2021, which led to the best half-year for this business line.
By geographic area, around 63% of sales in 2022 were to Germany, 19% to Belgium, 5% to France, 5% to Spain and 8% to other countries. Also, maintenance revenues grew by 5.8% (17.3 million euros, up from 16.4 million euros the previous year) and represent 31.3% of turnover.
Incoming orders increased by 2.4% (59.7 million euros in 2022 compared to 58.3 million euros in the previous year). At the close of the 2022 financial year, the order book, including projects and maintenance contracts, amounted to 43.0 million euros, 10.7% more than in the same period of the previous year.
The division has not ceased to innovate, examples of which are the access control and time & attendance solutions from the Primion Subgroup (such as prime Mobile, prime WebAccess & PSM 2200, prime Visit and Prime CertifiedAccess), which allow the requirements of the new working models and the integration with management systems to be met (people tracking and counting, visitor management, alarm automation, facilitation of teleworking and flexitime, etc.), both for existing customers and for new customers or segments.
The Group has launched initiatives aimed at progressively providing resources and increasing its functionality in the creation of integrated solutions that provide our customers with greater protection and efficiency in their management processes, developing its sales strategy in the key markets on which it wants to focus, and strengthening the relationship with its customers through a more exclusive service, accelerating the deployment of cloud-based services, especially in the time and attendance market, strengthening marketing and product management, and focusing on research and development, a continuation of the multi-year technological and product development project.
According to Darío Vicario, CEO of the Azkoyen Group, “2022 has been an exceptional year for the Azkoyen Group and proof of this is the results we are reporting, with record business figures. Our strong financial position, combined with our management and innovative capacity, has enabled the Group to deliver excellent results in an environment that is more uncertain and unstable than ever before. In addition, in 2022, we have paid out an extraordinary dividend, demonstrating once again our strong commitment to shareholders and the financial community” Vicario added: “One of the Group’s main objectives for 2023 is to strengthen its commitment to sustainability. We are working at every level and in all business divisions to embed environmental, social and governance criteria. Not only is this a strategic commitment, but it also strengthens our position in the markets in which we operate, reinforces our resilience and, above all, contributes to a sustainable economy.”
“In 2022, the Azkoyen Group is leading the way in investment in innovation in Spain and Europe, appearing in the top positions of the European Commission’s innovation investment ranking, which is a major recognition of the company’s R&D efforts.”
Key prospects
On 24 February 2022, a conflict began between the Ukraine and Russia that continues today and that has caused economic repercussions on energy prices, shortages of raw materials, and logistical and supply chain problems. This has led to uncontrolled inflation. To curb this situation, the various central banks have raised interest rates with the aim of lowering inflation. In 2023, the global fight against inflation and the war in the Ukraine will continue to impact the economy. In 2023 and 2024, inflation is expected to be even higher than before the pandemic.
As in recent years, we will continue to live in a world of global disruptions (geopolitical tensions, pandemics or wars, inflation, supply chain bottlenecks) that will generate both risks and opportunities. Our strong positioning in the different businesses and territories, as well as our performance in recent years, suggests that we are well positioned to face the current situation. The short-term focus remains on preserving profitability as we continue to increase revenues in double digits and continue to convert EBITDA into cash.
The Azkoyen Group continues building the foundations for future growth and results, focusing on its key cornerstones: (i) innovation, (ii) growth in sales both within and outside Europe, (iii) improving efficiency and internal management and iv) teamwork to achieve collective goals.