The software specialist ATOSS did better business than expected in the final quarter of 2023.
The dividend is now to be increased significantly. In the new year, boss Andreas Obereder is now expecting slightly more revenue than previously announced. In the future, the company founder will once again be in charge of the business alone; his co-boss Dirk Häumermann will be leaving the company at the end of March when his contract expires. The stock continued its recent record run on Wednesday.
The stock listed in the SDAX reached a record of 257.50 euros shortly after trading began. This marked the fourth day of records in a row. Most recently, the shares were up 3.47 percent at 253.50 euros. The specialist for personnel management software is at the top of the small cap index this year with a share price increase of 21 percent. The stock has more than tripled in value since the end of 2019.
Analyst Henrik Paganetty from the US investment bank Jefferies spoke of good figures for last year. The sales targets for this year and 2025 still have room for improvement. When it comes to the operating margin, he is also somewhat more optimistic than ATOSS itself.
Last year, ATOSS’ sales climbed by a third to 151.2 million euros, as the company announced in Munich. Of this, 51.8 million euros remained as profit before interest and taxes, an increase of a good two thirds. The corresponding profit margin was 34 percent, seven percentage points higher than a year earlier. In particular, high one-off premiums from the software license business drove the margin up. Sales and earnings were better than experts expected.
For the new year, ATOSS is targeting – as analysts expected – sales of 170 million euros with an operating margin (EBIT margin) of 30 percent. In its medium-term planning, ATOSS had previously forecast revenue of 160 million for this year. The plan for 2025 is still at least 190 million in sales and an operating margin of “at least” 30 percent.
The bottom line is that net profit increased by 85 percent to 35.8 million euros last year. Based on the long-term dividend policy with a target payout ratio of three quarters of net profit, ATOSS wants to propose a dividend of 3.37 euros per paper to shareholders. In the previous year, the group paid out a total of 2.83 euros, which included a special dividend of one euro.
From the end of March, CEO Obereder will again be responsible for expanding international business and marketing. These tasks have so far been held by co-boss Häßermann, who will be leaving the company at the end of March when his contract ends. Obereder, on the other hand, extended it by three years until the end of 2026.
Jefferies leaves ATOSS Software on ‘Hold’ – target 200 euros
The analysis company Jefferies has left ATOSS Software on “Hold” according to the annual figures with a price target of 200 euros. The software specialist did well and increased its sales targets for 2024 and 2025, wrote analyst Henrik Paganetty in an initial reaction on Wednesday. However, the latter, as well as the operating margin targets (EBIT), fell short of its expectations.
Warburg Research leaves ATOSS Software at ‘Buy’ – target 260 euros
According to the figures, the analysis house Warburg Research has left ATOSS Software at “Buy” with a price target of 260 euros. The software specialist had completed an outstanding year strongly, commented analyst Hannes Müller on Wednesday in his first reaction to the quarterly results. The outlook also sounds reassuring.
MUNICH (dpa-AFX) / NEW YORK/HAMBURG (dpa-AFX Broker)
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