Forecast 2023: 3U sets the course for further growth

For the financial year 2023, a double-digit percentage organic growth of the group turnover is forecast compared to the previous year. Organic sales revenues are expected to increase to between EUR 55.0 million and EUR 60.0 million. In the 2022 financial year, the comparable revenues of the continuing operations were around EUR 50 million. In view of lower other income (especially from the property development business), the Management Board expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) to be below the previous year’s figure, between EUR 6.0 million and EUR 8.0 million, leading to a consolidated net result of probably between EUR 2.5 million and EUR 3.5 million.

Great growth potential in all three segments

All three segments offer significant growth prospects for 3U. In the ITC segment, with its strategic focus on digitalisation, sales in 2023 will be at the level of the previous year due to lower fees in the telephony business. Nevertheless, the gross profit margin is expected to improve noticeably once again. The new Managed Services business area has the greatest growth potential. Here, 3U supports the further digitalisation of small and medium-sized businesses by providing comprehensive support for customers‘ corporate IT.

In the Renewable Energies segment, improved power purchase agreement conditions were concluded for electricity generated by the existing wind farms, enabling sales growth even with below-average wind yields. The already communicated repowering project, which is to be implemented by 2025, creates considerable additional earnings potential in the medium term.

In the 2023 financial year, the Management Board again expects double-digit sales growth for the SHAC segment with its strategic focus on e-commerce. Among other things, 3U expects momentum from the market launch of an own-developed, innovative heating system and from the expansion of the product range to include electrical products. The further expansion of planning services and the continuation of successful online marketing should also contribute to increasing demand. Both, scaling and further initiatives to increase the internal efficiency of processes, should lead to a slightly higher, positive EBITDA in the SHAC segment and an improved, although still negative, segment result.

Uwe Knoke, member of the 3U Management Board in charge of Strategy and Business Development, is convinced: "The 3U Group is well positioned in view of the high level of financial resources and the considerable growth potential in all three segments. We expect substantial organic growth in the 2023 financial year. However, we are also assessing acquisition targets which will eventually contribute to increasing the value of our investments. Such increases in value can be successfully realised to the benefit of our shareholders in due course – via a trade sale, as was recently the case with weclapp, or a possible IPO."

Substantial financial resources for external growth

The inflow of liquidity, especially from the sale of the weclapp subgroup in the 2022 financial year, led to a stock of liquid funds of almost EUR 190 million as of 31 December 2022, offering 3U HOLDING AG considerable flexibility for an appropriate participation of the shareholders in the company’s success on the one hand and for external growth steps on the other. Even after the planned payment of a dividend of EUR 3.20 (subject to the approval of the supervisory board and the resolution by the general meeting), the company will still have around EUR 70 million available for value-generating acquisitions. The possibility of acquiring companies or customer bases in the SHAC and ICT segments is currently being examined.

Therefore, the actual business results may be higher or lower than forecast here due to the acquisition of companies or the sale of operating units of the Group. The resulting effects can only be planned to a limited extent.

The extent to which the effects of the ongoing war in Ukraine or uncertainties in the global supply chains and the associated difficulties in procuring goods may have a negative impact on business activities cannot be predicted with certainty.

The 3U Group remains true to its corporate purpose of increasing value in the interest of the shareholders and all stakeholders as well as to its strategy of expanding successful parts of the business in the long term and selling them at attractive conditions if there is sufficient demand.