[ad_1]
28 April 2023
Pion Group (PION B:STO), a Sweden-based staffing provider previously known as Poolia AB, reported revenue for the first quarter ending 31 March 2023 of SEK 531.7 million (€46.8 million), an increase of 5.5% compared to the previous year. Organic growth stood at 1%.
Q1 2023 revenue was adjusted for the discontinued operations of Germany.
Pion Group noted that the first quarter was burdened with non-recurring costs of SEK 13.2 million (€1.1 million), which resulted in an EBITA margin of -1.9 (4.8% in 2022) and the EBITA stood at SEK -9.9 million (€-0.8 million) compared to SEK 24.0 million (€2.1 million) in 2022.
On 15 March 2023, Pion Group’s board decided to part ways with CEO Jan Bengtsson and began recruiting a permanent replacement. The board also decided to appoint Mats Kullenberg as acting managing director and group CEO until a new managing director has been recruited. It also appointed Anna Bäcklin as deputy CEO of PION Group.
“During the quarter, we grew by 5.5%, but profitability did not follow due to a turbulent market,” Kullenberg said. “We now see that it is the right time to drive strong efficiency in aiming to create a stronger Pion that can deliver better margins. We have incurred significant costs for this in the first quarter and will continue to streamline during the year.”
“We focus on sales and increasing the added value in our service offering to drive growth and profitability,” Kullenberg said. “Our assessment is the market is challenging.”
Effective 3 January, Pion Group acquired 100% of the shares in Dreamwork Scandinavia AB. The company has extensive experience in consulting, recruitment and executive search, and they also have staffing activities aimed at industrial and warehouse personnel.
On 17 January 17, Pion Group acquired 40% of the shares in Whippy AB, an SaaS (software as a service) solution for on- and off-boarding.
“The integration of Dreamwork and Whippy has contributed positively to the group and through our investments in HR Tech and continued development of customer offers, we create the best conditions for continued growth and to take market share,” Kullenberg added.
“In summary, we are experiencing a slowdown in the market, but we are now taking the necessary measures to adapt our cost structure, increase our margins and have a strong focus on sales,” Kullenberg said.
| (SEK millions) | Q1 2023 | Q1 2022 | Change | Q1 2023 (€ millions) |
| Revenue | 531.7 | 503.7 | 5.5% | 46.8 |
| Adjusted EBITA | 3.3 | 24.0 | -86.2% | 0.3 |
| Adjusted EBITA Margin | 0.6% | 4.8% | – | – |
| EBITA | -9.9 | 24.0 | – | -0.8 |
| EBIT | -12.4 | 23.3 | -1.0 | |
| Profit After Tax | -11.8 | 20.8 | 103.9% | -1.0 |
Pion Group’s segment reporting consists of three segments as of the third quarter of 2022: Qrios, Poolia and Uniflex. Qrios consists of the Swedish Qrios companies as well as Roi Rekrytering Sverige AB, which is included as of 1 February 2022. The Poolia segment consists of the former segments Poolia Sweden and Finland as well as most of the operations in the company Dreamwork Scandinavia AB acquired during the year. The Uniflex segment consists of the former segments Uniflex Sweden and Norway. Germany is reported as discontinued operations in this report.
Revenue by geography
| (SEK millions) | Q1 2023 | Q1 2022 | Change | Q1 2023 (€ millions) |
| Qrios | 53.7 | 60.8 | -11.6% | 4.7 |
| Poolia | 189.7 | 157.4 | 20.5% | 16.7 |
| Uniflex | 288.3 | 285.5 | 0.9% | 25.4 |
| Germany | – | 22.1 | – | 2.0 |
| Total | 531.7 | 525.8 | 1.1% | 46.8 |
| Departing income from discontinued operations (Germany) | – | -22.1 | – | |
| Total revenue | 531.7 | 503.7 | 5.5% | 46.8 |
According to the Pion Group, Qrios revenue was down due to the current economic situation as well as to the investments the segment made for growth. As growth had stalled, these investments have had a negative impact on the segment’s profits.
Poolia’s growth was driven by a continued investment in sales and a modernised brand, as well as the acquisition of Dreamwork, which is now part of Poolia.
During the quarter, Uniflex successfully managed to renegotiate the majority of its agreements and developed new business models together with customers which provides better profitability for both parties, it said.
Pion Group shares closed yesterday at SEK 0.85 (€0.07), down 1.1% on the day. The company has a market cap of SEK 331.70 million (€29.2 million).
[ad_2]
Source link