Also Holding AG
Overview
ALSO (SIX:ALSN) offers more than 550 vendors of hardware, software and IT-services access to over 100 000 buyers, who can call a broad spectrum of other customized services in the logistics, finance, and IT services sectors, as well as traditional distribution services. From the development of complex IT landscapes, the provision and maintenance of hardware and software, right through to the return, reconditioning and remarketing of IT hardware, ALSO offers all services as a one-stop shop.
In 2018, ALSO had a turnover of 9.2 billion euros[1]. ALSO is active in 23 European countries: Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria[2], Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine.
ALSO was founded in 1984 and has been listed on the Swiss stock exchange since 1986. In 1988, ALSO became majority-owned by Schindler Holding AG. On February 9, 2011, Actebis of Germany and the ALSO Holding of Switzerland merged their activities and renaming the company ALSO-Actebis Holding with its headquarters in Switzerland. On March 14, 2013, the name was changed back to ALSO Holding AG.
ALSO’s three business models – Supply, Solutions and Service – cover the entire range from “on-premise” (transactional, aquisition of hardware and software) to “off premise,” (consumptional, usage-based IT-as-a-Service via the cloud) including possible hybrid solutions. The three business models complement one another, with all three areas benefiting from the shift toward usage-based offers.1
Acquisitions
The funds used for acquisitions amounted to around 57.4 million euros in 2019 (previous year 14.6 million euros) and relate primarily to the purchase price ayments for four acquisitions. With the acquisition of ABC Data, ALSO can establish the strongest Eastern European operation for buyers and providers. The company is the IT distributor with the highest coverage of countries in Eastern Europe, operating in six countries there. Together with this acquisition and the additional acquisitions of RECRO in Croatia and Solytron in Bulgaria implemented in 2019, the ALSO subsidiaries in Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia form a strong network for addressing the Eastern uropean market. ALSO is thus represented in 13 Eastern European countries at present
Financial highlight
For the year 2019 the ALSO Group’s net sales increased from 9.2 billion euros to 10.7 billion euros (+16.5 percent). 52 percent of this increase was achieved by means of organic growth. In the Supply sector net sales increased by 16.4 percent, in Solutions by 16 percent and in Service by 21 percent. Within this business model especially cloud-based revenue increased significantly (+58 percent). The total number of seats grew from 2.3 million to 3.8 million.2
The company generated EBITDA of 197 million euros in 2019 as compared to 153 million euros in the previous year. On a like-for-like basis (excluding the effects of IFRS 16), EBITDA climbed by around 20 million euros or 13 percent to around 173 million euros in fiscal year 2019. Consolidated net profit improved by 23.6 percent to around 100 million euros (previous year: around 81 million euros). Encouragingly, the acquisition in Poland has already started to contribute to earnings thanks to its rapid integration. Hence, ALSO has exceeded the analysts’ consensus expectations.
