Nepa AB (publ): GROSS PROFIT GROWTH OF 14 PERCENT, GROWTH ON ALL MARKETS

This is a translation of the Swedish interim report. If there should be any discrepancies, the Swedish language version governs.

SECOND QUARTER, APRIL – JUNE 2019

• Net sales increased by 9.1% to MSEK 70.8 (64.9)
• Gross profit increased 13.8% to MSEK 55.5 (48.8)
• EBIT was MSEK -0.4 (-1.2)
• Earnings after tax was MSEK -0.4 (-1.7)
• Earnings per share was, basic SEK -0.05 (-0.24), diluted SEK -0.05 (-0.23)

FIRST HALF YEAR, JANUARY – JUNE 2019 

• Net sales increased by 12.0% to MSEK 137.1 (122.5)
• Gross profit increased by 16.3% to MSEK 106.4 (91.5)
• EBIT amounted to MSEK -3.7 (-6.3)
• Earnings after tax amounted to MSEK -4.0 (-7.3)
• Earnings per share amounted to, basic SEK -0.50 (-1.03), diluted SEK -0.50 (-1.01)

IMPORTANT EVENTS

DURING THE PERIOD      

• Nepa Sweden starts to work with NENT and Storytel as CX subscription clients.
• The AGM on May 29 elected Kristin Luck as a new member to Nepa’s board of directors. Kristin is a serial entrepreneur in the analytics field and has founded two fast-growing and successful digital market analytics companies.

AFTER THE PERIOD ENDED

• Marie Audier D’Alessandris started as an advisor to the board of Nepa. Marie is a leading brand and marketing consultant and previously served as chief of Global and North America marketing and e-Commerce for Coach. She also held senior marketing roles at L’Oréal across Europe and the US.

A WORD FROM OUR CEO

During the second quarter, Nepa Group increased gross profit by 14 percent YoY (gross profit = net sales – data costs). During the same period, every individual Nepa market showed growth on an annual basis, with the US, UK and Sweden posting the strongest growth. This is the 53rdconsecutive quarter of increased gross profit growth for Nepa, measured on an annual basis. EBIT improved slightly from the same quarter last year to MSEK -0.4. Personnel costs increased by 16 percent compared to the same quarter last year due to planned investment in our product development teams and our sales and marketing effort.

• Our market leading position in Sweden was strengthened by strong growth overall and in particular within the Media, Telecom and Consumer Packaged Goods sectors. Growth in our home market was fueled by adding new clients and expanding existing relationships.
• Nepa UK continued the positive development and showed 58 percent gross profit growth for the first half of 2019. In addition to deepening existing relationships, Nepa UK added one of the world’s leading tech companies to the client roster.
• In addition to strong growth in the USA, Nepa reached an important milestone when Forrester, one of the worlds’ leading analysis research companies, acknowledged Nepa as a role model when it comes to creating value from customer experience (CX) programs.

In a rapidly changing business environment, one of our clients’ main challenges is to transform enormous amounts of data into actionable insights. Our product development is focused on developing new and increasingly efficient solutions for distributing the right data to the right decision maker at the right time. During the second quarter we have taken several important steps in the development of the next generation of technology by using artificial intelligence that analyzes large data sets to prioritize the recommendations that matter most to each recipient based on their profile and needs.

At the AGM in the end of May, Kristin Luck was elected as a new member to Nepa’s board of directors. Kristin is a serial entrepreneur in the analytics field and helps management teams to grow and scale companies, especially regarding growth in the USA. Kristin has previously founded two fast-growing and successful digital market analytics companies. Kristin is a regularly published author (e.g. Fast Company, Forbes, Journal of Brand Strategy) and a board member of industry organization ESOMAR.

At the end of June, Marie Audier D’Alessandris started as an advisor to the board of Nepa. Marie is a leading brand and marketing consultant and previously served as chief of Global and North America marketing and e-Commerce for Coach. Prior to Coach, Marie held senior marketing roles at L’Oréal across Europe and the US. She speaks frequently on a broad range of brand intelligence and marketing topics.

Kristin and Marie are important additions to Nepa and bring competence that will benefit our expansion, especially in the important US market.

Fredrik Östgren
CEO

CERTIFICATION 

The Board of Directors and the CEO certify that this interim report provides a correct depiction of the Group’s and parent company’s businesses, standings and results, and that it describes the relevant risk factors and uncertainties the company is facing.

Stockholm, August 21st, 2019
The Board of Directors of Nepa AB (publ)

                 Ulrich Boyer                          Bo Mattsson                         Kristin Luck                  Simon Hay                           

         Chairman of the Board                 Board member                     Board member             Board member

                 Jan Carlzon                          P-O Westerlund                    Niclas Öhman              Fredrik Östgren

               Board member                        Board member                     Board member           Board member, CEO

For further information, please contact:

Fredrik Östgren, CEO                          P-O Westerlund, Deputy CEO and CFO
+46 733 345 069                                  +46 706 404 824
fredrik.ostgren@nepa.com              p-o.westerlund@nepa.com

This is a translation of the Swedish interim report. If there should be any discrepancies, the Swedish language version governs. The Swedish version is information that Nepa AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 08:00 CET on August 21, 2019.