Berlin, March 29, 2023 – The PSI Group achieved stable sales of 247.9 million euros in fiscal year 2022 (Dec. 31, 2021, adjusted: 245.5 million euros). Due to significant project overruns in the business with municipal utilities, the operating result (EBIT) of 20.2 million euros was 19% below the previous year's value (Dec. 31, 2021, adjusted: 25.0 million euros), the consolidated result decreased even more to 9.7 million euros (Dec. 31, 2021: 15.8 million euros) due to the withdrawal from Russia. High gas prices over the course of the year led to weak orders in the business with gas importers and municipal utilities, with the result that new orders were 4.9% down year-on-year at 253 million euros (Dec. 31, 2021: 266 million euros).
- Sales roughly constant at 247.9 million euros
- EBIT as announced at 20.2 million euros
- PSI App Store sales reaches 7.5 million euros
| Performance indicators (KEUR) | 1 Jan. – Dec. 31, 2022 | 1 Jan. – Dec. 31, 2021 (adjusted) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 247,938 | 245,493 | +1.0 % |
| EBIT | 20,186 | 24,995 | −19.1 % |
| Group net result | 9,694 | 15,837 | −38.8 % |
| Earnings per share (EUR) | 0.62 | 1.01 | −38.6 % |
The Energy Management segment (energy grids, energy trading, public transport) achieved 5.6% lower sales of 130.4 million euros (Dec. 31, 2021, adjusted: 138.1 million euros) and a significantly lower operating result of 1.4 million euros (Dec. 31, 2021, adjusted 9.7 million euros). New orders, sales and in particular the segment's earnings were impacted by weak municipal utility projects (7% of PSI sales). In addition, there were losses from over one hundred regulatory changes for the Redispatch 2.0 software, which helps municipal utilities and distribution system operators intelligently distribute renewable energy in their own grids and relieve the transmission grids. Business with distribution and transmission networks as well as industrial networks remained stable in real terms (30% of PSI sales). In order to focus the market-leading product PSIcontrol on more efficient customer customization and higher volumes, PSI management tripled product development capacity to 125 employees. In addition, the new partner-capable control system PSIscada, which was developed on the PSI platform, passed an important load test in 2022 for the management of a nationwide gas network. It will gradually take over more functional areas in combination with PSIcontrol. PSI also continued to enjoy high demand for software for electric bus depots.
Sales in the Production Management segment (metals, industry, logistics) grew by 9.4% to 117.5 million euros (Dec. 31, 2021, adjusted: 107.4 million euros). The segment's operating profit increased by 23% to 20.2 million euros (Dec. 31, 2021 adjusted: 16.4 million euros). In particular, the North American business with customers in the metals producing industry continues to develop very strongly. After 2.5 million euros in precautionary provisions due to the payment behavior of Chinese customers, PSI will limit itself even more to reliable regular customers and partners. The strong demand can be increasingly better served worldwide thanks to the PSI platform, as customers and partners increasingly take over order processing and independently carry out rollouts with workflow, PSI Click Design and e-learning in the PSI Virtual Factory and adapt the software to plant-specific features.
With the decision to sell the Russian subsidiaries in the 4th quarter, the Russian subsidiaries were classified as a business held for sale. This resulted in an earnings effect of -7.1 million euros (previous year: -1.7 million euros).
The number of employees in the Group was increased to 2,251 (Dec. 31, 2021: 2,223) due to new hires in Poland and the USA despite the departures in Russia. At 3.4 million euros, cash flow from operating activities was significantly lower than in the previous year (Dec. 31, 2021: 38.8 million euros), due to the lower consolidated net profit and the resumption of liabilities from vacation accruals and sales tax after the pandemic year. Cash and cash equivalents decreased to 45.4 million euros (Dec. 31, 2021: 67.5 million euros) also due to the dividend payment and the share buyback. Although only five product lines were available in the cloud-based PSI App Store during the course of the year, licenses and accompanying services were already ordered for 7.5 million euros, in some cases with seven-digit order sums. Further partnerships with international resellers and integrators have been agreed, including Accenture and Tata Consulting. PSI will further expand its business with Group rollouts and integration partners in 2023. The share of fixed price business, which is subject to inflation and fulfillment risks, was further reduced to now 29%. The annually recurring maintenance and upgrade fees were further increased to 97 million euros.
PSI expects a recovery in the Energy Management segment, a continuation of growth in Production Management and a significant increase in App Store sales in 2023. Without taking into account a possible worsening of the geopolitical situation, the management is planning increases in new orders and sales of up to 10% and the operating result of around 20% to 25 million euros for 2023. The strategic developments (cloud-based App Store and Collaboration Space) will be continued as planned, so that the PSI Executive Board continues to aim for the long-term target of 54 million euros EBIT for 2026.
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 cloud-based 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.
