Clx Communications Connecting People and Things to a World of Infinite Possibilities
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CLX COMMUNICATIONS CONNECTING PEOPLE AND THINGS TO A WORLD OF INFINITE POSSIBILITIES ANNUAL REPORT 2017 1 CLX COMMUNICATIONS ANNUAL REPORT 2017 CLX COMMUNICATIONS CLX Communications (CLX) is a leading global supplier of cloud communi- cations services and solutions for enterprises and mobile operators. Mobile communications services from CLX enable business critical communica- tion worldwide via messaging services (SMS), voice and video services, and mobile connectivity services for IoT (Internet of Things). CLX has delivered profitable growth since it was founded in 2008 and generated sales in 2017 of more than SEK 3 billion. Profit for the year amounted to SEK 134 million. The Group is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, and has over 30 offices in more than 20 countries. 2,000+ 80+ 18 billion+ LISTED ON ENTERPRISE OPERATOR ANNUAL Nasdaq CUSTOMERS CUSTOMERS TRANSACTIONS STOCKHOLM Please visit us on: www.clxcommunications.com The annual report is published in Swedish and English. In case of any differences between the English version and the Swedish original text, the Swedish version shall apply. 2 CLX COMMUNICATIONS ANNUAL REPORT 2017 2017 IN BRIEF • Net sales amounted to SIGNIFICANT EVENTS DURING THE PERIOD SEK 3,058.1 million (2,333.9). • On 16 February 2017, CLX acquired Xura Secure Communications GmbH, one of the leading mobile messaging services providers in Germany, with a market share above 30 • Sales grew by 31 percent com- percent. pared to previous financial year. • CLX acquired Dialogue Group Ltd on 10 May 2017. At the time of the acquisition, Dia- EBITDA amounted to SEK 263.2 • logue Group was one of CLX’s biggest competitors, particularly in Australia and the UK. million (161.9). Through the acquisition, CLX has reinforced its market-leading position in the mobile • Adjusted EBITDA amounted to cloud communications market. SEK 296.7 million (238.0). SIGNIFICANT EVENTS AFTER THE END OF THE PERIOD • EBIT amounted to SEK 124.9 • On 27 March 2018, CLX acquired Unwired Communication ApS, based in Copenha- million (112.5). gen, Denmark and with about 20 employees. The company is a leading vendor of cloud • Profit for the year amounted to communications and messaging services to the Nordic financial sector. The purchase SEK 134.4 million (111.6). consideration was DKK 148 million on a cash- and debt-free basis. The acquisition was • Diluted earnings per share were financed with expanded credit facilities of DKK 100 million and cash reserves. SEK 2.58 (2.55). • On 4 April 2018, CLX acquired Vehicle Agency LLC (Vehicle) based in Seattle US with about 10 employees. The company is specialized in technology and solutions for individ- ualized video- and content rich media communication solutions. The purchase price was SEK 8 million on a cash- and debt-free basis with a possible earnout of USD 4 million. The acquisition was financed with own cash. • On 18 April 2018, it was announced that the board of CLX has appointed Oscar Werner as new president and CEO of CLX Communications. He will assume his position on 1 Sep- tember 2018. Johan Hedberg will take on a new role as Corporate Development Manager and remain in the Group Management team. NET SALES, SEKM EBITDA, SEKM 3,500 3,058 300 263 3,000 250 2,334 2,500 200 2,000 162 150 1,500 93 844 100 78 1,000 606 500 50 0 0 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16* 2017 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16* 2017 KEY FINANCIAL DATA 2017 2015/16* MSEK 12 MON 18 MON Net sales 3,058.1 2,333.9 Gross profit 780.0 642.3 Gross margin 25.5% 27.5% EBITDA 263.2 161.9 EBITDA margin 8.6% 6.9% EBIT 124.9 112.5 EBIT margin 4.1% 4.8% Profit for the year 134.4 111.6 Diluted earnings per share, SEK 2.58 2.55 Cash flow from operating activities 51.3 107.6 Net debt 348.8 368.6 Debt/EBITDA ratio, multiple 1.3 2.3 Definitions are provided on page 34. *1 July 2015 to 31 December 2016 was an extended financial year of 18 months due to the change of CLX’s financial year to coincide with the calendar year as of 1 January 2017. 3 CLX COMMUNICATIONS ANNUAL REPORT 2017 CONTENTS 2 CLX in brief 30 Parent company company 5 CLX across the globe statement of changes in equity 6 Message from the CEO 31 Parent company cash flow statement 8 Market 32 Multi-year review, Consolidated 10 Strategy 34 Definitions 14 Employees 36 Notes 16 Management report 64 Certification and signatures 24 Consolidated income statement 65 Auditor's report 25 Consolidated balance sheet 69 Corporate governance report 26 Consolidated statement of changes in equity 74 Board of directors and Group management 27 Consolidated cash flow state- ment 78 Sustainability report 28 Parent company income 85 Annual general meeting, statement addresses, definitions and acronyms 29 Parent company balance sheet 4 CLX COMMUNICATIONS ANNUAL REPORT 2017 HQ STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 3,058 SEKM 3,873 SEKM 300+ 30+ 50,000+ SALES IN 2017 MARKET CAP EMPLOYEES OFFICES DEVELOPERS Stockholm Gotheneburg Kalmar Lund Köpenhamn* Sheffield London Warsaw Canterbury Dortmund Prag Kiev Paris Munich Madrid Istanbul Seattle Montreal San Francisco New York Dallas Atlanta Bagdad Miami Dubai Guatemala City Bangalore Kuala Lumpur Bogotá Singapore Quito Lima Sydney Melbourne CLX was founded on a vision to become the world’s largest and leading provider in the mobile cloud commu- nications market. With the two acquisitions last year of Xura Secure Communications GmbH and Dialogue Group Ltd, we reinforced our position as a global leader in cloud communications.” - Johan Hedberg, CEO CLX Communications AB (publ) * From March 2018 5 5 CLX CLX COMMUNICATIONS COMMUNICATIONS ANNUAL ANNUAL REPORT REPORT 2017 2017 MESSAGE FROM THE CEO FROM REGIONAL PRIVATE ENTERPRISE TO GLOBAL PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANY We continued our international expansion in the first half of 2017 through the acqui- 2017 was a year in which sitions of Xura in Germany and Dialogue, we focused on consolidat- which has presence in Australia and Asia. ing transaction systems In North America, eight of the ten largest and migrating clients from American tech firms are now CLX cus- acquired companies to a tomers. Several of these customers were corporate technical plat- brought on board in 2017 and will have form, Nova, to achieve syn- impact on our revenues by mid-year or in ergy gains and strengthen the second half of 2018. Organic growth declined in 2017, our position going forward. partly because the acquired entities did Since the IPO in 2015, CLX not have the same growth rate and partly has grown sales from SEK because organizational focus during 2017 844 million to SEK 3,058 was on integration. However, organic million while maintaining expansion in North America continued profitability. In 2018 and and we will be able to further step up the forward, we will further wid- pace in 2018 based on the strong position en our product and service CLX has achieved in the market. portfolio while continuing to In addition to most of the leading global consolidate the A2P messag- tech firms, some of the world’s biggest ing market until we achieve and most demanding companies in our vision to become the banking, financial services, aviation, and healthcare use our services every day. world’s leading provider in In 2017, we handled 18 billion transac- the mobile cloud communi- tions: nearly four messages on average cations market. to every mobile phone in the world. Our capacity to deliver elegant, inno- vative solutions to complex challenges is critical to the trust we have been given. The ability to offer high security and premium quality in the delivery of enter- prise communications to their customers - wherever in the world they happen to be - is essential in the rapidly digitalized economy. Our network of direct connections to mobile operators, which make it possible for our customers to reach more than five billion mobile device users across the globe is the foundation of our offering. Quite simply, we have the biggest and most sophisticated messaging services network in the world. Our new platform, Nova, has been deployed and migration of the customers 6 CLX COMMUNICATIONS ANNUAL REPORT 2017 MESSAGE FROM THE CEO CLX's vision is to become a leading provider in the rapidly growing global market for cloud communica- tion solutions in messaging, voice and video communi- cations services and for IoT - Internet of Things. of acquired companies will be succes- DRIVERS OF SUSTAINED 2018 AND BEYOND… sively completed in the second and third GROWTH CLX's sales have more than tripled since quarters of 2018. With a fully operation- There are several strong arguments indi- the IPO in October 2015, without compro- al Nova, we will be even more efficient cating that we have only seen the begin- mising profitability or quality. Our financial and will create a strong and cost-effective ning of our growth journey: position is stable, giving us the opportuni- base for continued market consolidation. • The market is growing and the A2P ty for sustained growth. We have a strong 2017 was a stable year for the Operator (Application to Person) communica- and growing customer base that includes Division. An unusually high number tions market is still in its infancy. The some of the biggest and most exciting of major capacity expansion projects market is still growing as large, global companies in the world, which are rapid- contributed to outstanding profitability. enterprises integrate communications ly adopting new communications technol- We are continuing to invest in developing solutions with their business support ogies in the digitalized world.