Berlin, April 28, 2022 – The PSI Group improved sales in the first quarter of 2022 by 4.6% to 58.7 million euros (Mar. 31, 2021: 56.1 million euros). Due to the shift of almost 3 million euros in license orders from March to the second quarter, the operating result (EBIT) of 3.7 million euros was 14.4% below the previous year's value (Mar. 31, 2021: 4.35 million euros), and the group net income decreased accordingly to 2.6 million euros (Mar. 31, 2021: 3.1 million euros). At 99 million euros, new orders were 5.7% lower than in the prior-year quarter (Mar. 31, 2021: 105 million euros) due to order deferrals. At 202 million euros, the order book volume at March 31, 2022 was slightly higher than a year earlier (March 31, 2021: 197 million euros).
- Order book volume of 202 million euros slightly above the previous year's value
- Sales increase by 4.6% to 58.7 million euros
- EBIT down year-on-year due to postponed license orders
| Performance indicators (KEUR) | 1 Jan. – 31 March 2022 | 1 Jan. – 31 March 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 58,695 | 56,138 | +4.6% |
| EBIT | 3,723 | 4,351 | -14.4% |
| Group net result | 2,570 | 3,139 | -18.1% |
| Earnings per share (EUR) | 0.16 | 0.20 | -20.0% |
The Energy Management segment (energy grids, energy trading, public transport) achieved 9.5% higher sales of 31.9 million euros in the first quarter (March 31, 2021: 29.1 million euros) and a roughly constant operating result of 1.6 million euros (March 31, 2021: 1.65 million euros). The Network business invested heavily in functions for sector coupling as well as charging management and won further orders from major distribution network and traction power customers. In public transport, the good order trend continued, and the gas networks business was largely able to compensate for the loss of the Russian business with orders from existing German customers.
Sales in the Production Management segment (metals, industry, logistics) in the first three months were 3.4% below the previous year's figure at 26.1 million euros (March 31, 2021: 27.0 million euros). The operating profit of the segment decreased to 2.5 million euros (March 31, 2021: 3.0 million euros) due to postponed license orders. In particular, European customers in the target sectors automotive and metals were concerned about energy price increases, inflation and embargoes, while the metals business won further major orders in the US. In the logistics business and in Poland, PSI increased new orders and continued to invest in the development of the multi-cloud app store business with customers and partners.
The number of employees in the Group increased to 2,182 (March 31, 2021: 2,086) thanks to targeted new hires in Germany, Poland and the US. PSI is winding down its business in Russia as quickly as possible, with staff reduced or outsourced from 68 to 2 (managing directors). Among other things, a new order for 4.5 million euros was rejected. To help Ukrainian refugees, PSI immediately donated over 100,000 euros, procured relief supplies and granted employees special leave. Cash flow from operating activities of 4.9 million was 60% below the figure for the same quarter of the previous year (March 31, 2021: 12.1 million euros). Cash and cash equivalents of 67.8 million euros (March 31, 2021: 54.1 million euros) will be used for the proposed dividend payment and for seasonal sales financing.
PSI continued its investments in the Group platform and the PSI App Store unabated in the first quarter. This means that the first PSI platform products are delivered not only On Premise or in the PSI Cloud, but also in private clouds of our Group customers. After delivery, customers, partners and PSI consultants can adapt the software products to the customer's business processes at runtime with intuitive workflow, dialog design tools, and update them later via upgrades.
After the inflation and war shock in the first quarter, the uncertainty of customers is now calming down, so that PSI expects postponed orders from the steel and automotive industries for the second quarter and has already received some of them. In the Energy segment, demand continues to grow due to the ongoing electrification trend and the integration of ever-greater shares of renewable energy into the power grids. The PSI Executive Board therefore continues to aim for an increase in new orders and sales of more than 10% and in the operating result of just under 20% for 2022.
The PSI Group develops its own software products for optimizing the flow of energy and materials for utilities (energy grids, energy trading, public transport) and industry (metals production, automotive, mechanical engineering, logistics). The industry-specific products, which are built from standard components, are sold both directly and via the multi-cloud PSI App Store and can also be customized by customers and partners themselves. PSI was founded in 1969 and employs more than 2,200 people worldwide.
