1
A profitable start
to the year
Q1 Report 2021
Columbus A/S | CVR no. 13 22 83 45
2
18 May, 2021
– Announcement No. 24
Highligh
ts
Financial highlights
•
Revenue declined by 8% in Q1 2021 to DKK
421m (Q1 2020: 457m).
•
EBITDA increased by 40% in Q1 2021 to DKK
55m (Q1 2020: 39m).
•
Profit before tax increased by 103% to DKK
48m (Q1 2020: 23m).
•
Extraordinary dividend payout of DKK 6 per
share, amounting to DKK 776m in total.
All numbers and comments in the Q1 report are on
the continued business, th
us excluding discontin-
ued operations (excluding the divested entities To
-
Increase and Baltics).
Operational highlights
•
Our new CEO, Søren Krogh Knudsen, who will
join Columbus 7 June 2021, was appointed.
•
Columbus realised a strong start to the year
with h
igh utilization in our consultancy business
resulting in a record-high EBITDA margin of
13%.
•
Completion of the divestment of our software
company, To-Increase and our Baltic compa-
nies in Estonia and Lithuania were important
milestones in executing our Focus23 strategy.
All in all,
a strong development in the first quarter of 2021, with progress across
the business.
Revenue declined by 8%, which was more than compensated by a
rise in EBITDA of
40%. Solid progress in key business areas, tight cost control
a
nd high efficiency in the services business have driven the results.
“
Despite an overall decline in revenue of 8% in the first quarter of 2021, Columbus
delivered a significant EBITDA growth of 40%
. With a profitable result, the initial
execution of Focus23 in Q1
, and the forthcoming onboarding of our new CEO Søren
Krogh Knudsen, we are confident that 2021 will be a successful year for Columbus”.
Contents
Highlights
2
A profitable start to
the
year
3
Key figures and ratios
4
EBITDA increased by
40% in the fir
st three
months of 2021
5
Outlook for 2021
7
Statement by
management
8
Financial statements
9
Colum
bus A/S
Ballerup (H
eadquarter)
Lautrupvang 6
DK
- 2750 Ballerup
Tel: +45 70 20 50 00
Live webcast and
conference call
Columbus is hosting a l
ive
webcast and conference call at
1
8 May 2021 at 13:00 CET.
The webcast is hosted by
Interim
CEO & Corporate CFO
Hans Henrik Thrane.
Please login to the webcast via
Columbus’ Investor Site
h
ttps://ir.columbusglobal.com/
calendar
-and-events
For furthe
r Information
Tine Rasmussen,
Communication Director,
tel: +45 29 69 06 77
Mail: tra@columbusglobal.com
3
High efficiency in our consultancy
business
Despite an overall decline in revenue of
8% in the first quarter of 2021, Columbus
delivered a significant EBITDA growth of
40%, and the EBITDA margin increased
from 8.6% to 13.1% due to tight cost con-
trol and high efficiency in our consultancy
business raising the rate of invoiced cus-
tomer work from 54% to 58%.
As expected, revenue in Q1 2021 declined
due to Covid-19 related reductions in peo-
ple capacity in April 2020. With increased
demand in Q4, we initiated onboarding ac-
tivities which continued during Q1 2021. In
our key strategic business areas, such as
Digital Commerce, Data & Analytics and
Customer Experience & Engagement, we
still saw increased revenue, and we have
built a very solid pipeline to deliver growth
across our business in the coming quar-
ters.
We are ready to deliver on Focus23
On 23 April 2021, we announced our new
CEO, Søren Krogh Knudsen. Søren has a
background within the management
consultancy industry and a very strong
track record in transformational change
and driving profitable growth. I look very
much forward to welcoming Søren as he
joins us on 7 June 2021.
The Focus23 strategy, which we launched
in November 2020, will set the direction for
Columbus in the coming years. Our ambi-
tion is to become digital advisors for our
customers driving increased customer
value. In order to focus the busines on dig-
ital advisory, we are implementing a more
focused and simplified operation with in-
creased customer centricity. A key priority
is to unleash the full growth potential and
make it possible to gradually increase or-
ganic growth to minimum 10% annually
from 2023
Divestments successfully completed
During the first quarter, we reached the
first important milestones that build the
foundation for our strategic journey. As the
first step to focus the business on digital
advisory, we completed the divestment of
our software company To-Increase on 26
January 2021. Columbus realized a
totalnet proceed of DKK 858m and a sub-
stantial amount of DKK 776m was re-
warded to our shareholders as an extraor-
dinary dividend of DKK 6 per share.
In addition, we divested our Baltic entities.
The Baltic companies will continue to be
part of the Columbus network in a partner-
ship model.
New global customer focused
organization
As a major step in forming our new cus-
tomer centric operation, we are in the pro-
cess of re-organizing Columbus into global
Business Lines and local Market Units.
This re-organization allows us to pull to-
gether our global strength around our solu-
tion areas and create full customer focus
in our marketplaces.
As part of the increased customer focus,
we are changing the way we strategically
work together with our customers. We fo-
cus our capabilities in order to be a rele-
vant partner to our prioritized customers
and customer development is achieved
through a close collaboration and planning
with the customer and our focused cus-
tomer team.
To support this new operating model, we
are implementing a new global business
platform to support collaboration and sys-
tem support across Business Lines and
Market Units.
Unleashing the potential
With a strong profitability, the initial execu-
tion of Focus23 in Q1, the forthcoming
onboarding of our new CEO Søren Krogh
Knudsen and our strong leadership team, I
am confident that Columbus will deliver
strong performance and progress in 2021
within our new strategic direction.
I want to thank Columbus’ employees for
their continued dedication and contribution
to the results. Likewise, we would like to
thank our customers for their business and
trust in Columbus, and our shareholders
for your continued support.
A profitable start to the year
Columbus came off to a strong start of 2021 with progress across the business resulting in 40% EBITDA growth as well as
a promising pipeline for the
coming quarter
s. We have appointed our new CEO, Søren Krogh Knudsen, who will lead the continuous progress of Columbus, and we are executing
on our new Focus23 strategy with the ambition to become digital trusted advisor for our customers.
Ib Kunøe Chairman of the Board
4
Growth in recurring revenue
Recurring revenue grew by 4% to DKK
409m. The recurring revenue continues to
constitute a larger part of the total revenue
with recurring revenue constituting 25% of
total revenue (2019: 22%).
Key figures and ratios
DKK ´000
Q1 2021 Q1 2020 2020
Income related figures
Sale of services
349,249 369,515 1,261,457
Sale of products
71,375 87,380 316,877
Net revenue
420,624 456,895 1,578,334
Recurring revenue % of total revenue
22.7% 21.5% 24.5%
EBITDA before share
-based
payment
55,444 40,540 138,707
EBITDA
55,142 39,324 134,228
EBIT
42,011 25,275 80,997
Net financial items
5,652 -1,831 -16,852
Profit before tax
47,663 23,444 64,145
Profit
for the year,
continuing operations
45,094 20,578 53,736
Profit
for the year,
discontinued operations
720,586 2,163 -5,172
Profit after tax
765,680 22,741 48,564
DKK ´000
31 Mar 2021 31 Mar 2020 31 Dec 2020
Balance sheet
*
Non
-current assets 979,082 1,135,604 987,440
Current
assets 1,256,268 481,002 438,944
Assets classified as held for sale
0 0 214,481
Total assets
2,235,350 1,616,606 1,640,865
Group shareholder equity
1,480,474 649,487 712,421
Minori
ty interests 0 2,924 3,184
Total
liabilities 754,876 964,195 831,369
Total liabilities relating to assets
classified as held for sale
0 0 93,891
Total equity and liabilities
2,235,350 1,616,606 1,640,865
DKK ´000
Q1 2021 Q1 2020 2020
Investm
ents in tangible assets 2,035 1,392 3,832
Cash flow
Cash flow from operating activities
16,340
35,974
190,862
Cash flow from investing activities
804,806 -44,884 -127,830
Cash flow
from financing activities -38,955 -11,465 -43,972
Total
net change in cash and cash equivalents 782,191 -20,375 19,060
Key ratios
EBITDA
-margin 13.1% 8.6% 8.5%
Operating profit margin (EBIT
-margin) 10.0% 5.5% 5.1%
Equity ratio*
* 66.2% 40.2% 43.4%
Return on equity*
* 72.0% 3.4% 7.0%
Return o
n invested capital (ROIC)** 5.8% 3.1% 11.9%
Number of shares
124,622 124,622 124,622
Average number of shares
124,622 124,622 124,622
Book value of equity per share (BVPS)
11.88 5.21 5.72
Earnings per share (EPS) from
continuing operations
6.14 0.18 0.43
Cash flow per share
0.13 0.29 1.53
Share price
, end of period 15,40 5,97 11.24
Average full time employee for the period
1,659 1,836 1,707
*All
2020 balance sheet items include Baltics which were sold March 2021. Balance sheet items as of
March 20
20 include To-Increase which was classified as held for sale as of December 2020
*
* Key ratios are calculated with balance sheet items including assets classified as held for sale
The key figures and financial ratios above have been calculated in accorda
nce with Danish Finance
Society' "Recommendation & Financial Ratios”
5
Columbus came off to a strong start to the
year. We experienced great demand in the
market and has been fully engaged in on-
going customer projects across our busi-
ness.
Q1 2021 was also the quarter in which Co-
lumbus completed the divestment of our
software company To-Increase and our
Baltic companies in Estonia and Lithuania.
The divestments are in line with our new
Focus23 strategy execution.
Revenue development
Columbus realised a revenue of DKK
421m in Q1 2021 corresponding to a de-
cline of 7.9%. Organically, the revenue de-
clined by 7.5%. The decline in revenue is
primarily due to a decrease in the number
of employees compared to Q1 last year re-
sulting in less customer work (1,659 aver-
age FTEs against 1,836 last year).
Most Market Units declined in revenue due
to the reduced number of employees.
However, Columbus Norway delivered
growth in Q1 2021 with improvement
across the business.
When the corona pandemic broke out
back in March 2020, Columbus did its ut-
most to mitigate risks and to keep the
business in good health by adjusting the
business to the expected activity level.
During Q4, we began to see the market
picking up, and therefore we started
onboarding people which is expected to
continue throughout 2021. In Q1 2021
market demand has significantly increased
and we have a solid pipeline with expected
revenue growth for Q2 2021.
EBITDA improved significantly
Reported EBITDA increased by 40.2%.
Normalized EBITDA
1
increased by 26.1%
to DKK 55m providing normalized margin
increase of 3.4 percentage points to
13.0%.
The EBITDA increase is mainly driven by
significantly higher customer work amount-
ing to 58% vs. 54% last year and by cost
savings, in particular less travel costs, em-
ployee related costs and provision for bad
debt.
The high demand in Q1 2021 resulted in
very high utilization of our consultancy
business (customer hours) despite that
most of our employees are still serving our
customers remotely working from home.
EBITDA increased by 40% in the first three
mont
hs of 2021
DKKm
Q1 2021 Q1 2020
Develop-
ment
Revenue reported
421 457 -7.9%
Foreign exchange
2 0 0.0%
Organic revenue
423 457 -7.5%
EBITDA reported
55 39 40.2%
Adjustment of provision for loss making contr
act 0 4 -100.0%
Normalized EBITDA
55 44 26.1%
Normalized EBITDA
-margin 13.0% 9.6% 36.3%
Development in customer work
1
EBITDA adjusted for provision for loss-making
contract
29%
54%
17%
Q1 2020
Non-chargeable
Chargeable
Other
28%
58%
14%
Q1 2021
Non-chargeable
Chargeable
Other
6
Profit before tax
Columbus realised a profit before tax of
DKK 48m in Q1 2021, corresponding to an
increase of 103%. The increase is mainly
driven by the positive development in
EBITDA and financial income from cur-
rency adjustments.
Development in service revenue and
business segments
Service revenue declined by 5% to DKK
349m in Q1 2021. The decline is impacted
by the reduced number of consultants, es-
pecially in our Cloud ERP business declin-
ing by 8%.
However, we see a high demand for digital
transformation and especially our new
strategic Business Lines such as Digital
Commerce, Data & Analytics and
Customer Experience & Engagement are
increasing respectively 4%, 9% and 45%
compared to Q1 last year. Columbus Care
declined by 4% due to decline in the
consultancy revenue, however the
recurring contracts increased by 21%.
Stable development in recurring
revenue
In Q1, recurring revenue was at the same
level as last year of DKK 95m (Q1 2020
98m).
The recurring revenue continues to consti-
tute a larger part of the total revenue with
Q1 recurring revenue constituting 23% of
total revenue (Q1 2020: 22%).
The development in the recurring revenue
shows great progress in Columbus Care
contracts (+21%) and Cloud products
(+17%) and a decline in subscriptions. Go-
ing forward, Columbus expects subscrip-
tions to decline as part of the cloud con-
version, however the decline in Q1 2021 is
higher than expected due to a larger de-
cline from SMB customers in the US busi-
ness as well as a decline in US Dollars.
Service r
evenue split on Business Lines
DKKm
Development in recurring revenue
DKKm
Development in service revenue
DKKm
-8%
-4%
4%
9%
45%
-10%
0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225
Cloud ERP
Columbus Care
Digital Commerce
Data & Analytics
Customer Experience & Engagement
Other Local Business
Q1 2020 Q1 2021
48 35
38
46
12
14
98
95
Q1 2020 Q1 2021
Subscriptions
Columbus Care contracts
Cloud
370
349
Q1 2020 Q1 2021
7
Financial guidance
Despite the continued Covid-19 uncer-
tainty and the negative market impact, the
management believes that there are good
business opportunities going forward.
Columbus’ ambition is to gradually in-
crease profitable growth to minimum 10%
annually by 2023.
In our latest 2021 guidance which was
published in our annual report for 2020,
we had included Baltics’ full year expected
revenue and EBITDA. As we divested Bal-
tics in Q1 2021, Baltics will not be included
in the figures for continued business in
2021. However, based on the financial
performance in Q1 2021, current order
book and pipeline, our guidance for full-
year 2021 will remain unchanged as fol-
lows:
Revenue is expected to be in the range of
DKK 1,650m – 1,800m corresponding to a
growth of 5% to 14%.
EBITDA is expected to be in the range of
DKK 125m – 150m corresponding to an in-
crease of 1% to 21% compared to the
2020 EBITDA adjusted for customer provi-
sion and earn-out adjustments.
Events after the balance sheet date
The Board of Directors’ proposal of an ex-
traordinary dividend of DKK 6 per share
was adopted at the Annual General Meet-
ing 27 April 2021. This has impacted Co-
lumbus’ cash position with DKK 776m.
No other events or transactions with a ma-
terial effect on the company’s financial po-
sition have occurred since the balance
sheet date.
Outlook for 2021
DKKm
Revenue EBITDA
2021 Outlook
1,650 - 1,800 125 - 150
Implied growth to 2020 result
5% - 14% 1% - 21%
8
Statement by management
Ballerup,
18 May 2021
Executive Board
Hans Henrik Thrane
Interim CEO &
Corporate
CFO
Board of
Directors
Ib Kunøe
Chairman
Sven Madsen
Deputy Chai
rman
Peter Skov Hansen
Karina Kirk
Ringsted
9
9 Q1 Report 2021
Financial
statements
10 Q1 Report 2021
DKK ´000
Note Q1 2021 Q1 2020 2020
Net revenue
2 420,624 456,895 1,578,334
External project costs
-76,602 -98,430 -333,541
Gross profit
Staff expenses and
remuneration 3 -266,808 -272,150 -1,010,972
Other external costs
-22,010 -45,765 -141,362
Other operating income
Other operating costs
-3 -10 -17
EBITDA before share
-based payment 55,444 40,540 138,707
Share
-based payment 3 -302 -1,216 -4,479
EBITDA
Depreciation, amortization and
impairment
4 -13,131 -14,049 -53,231
Operating profit (EBIT)
Financial
income 8,173 10 949
Financial expenses
-2,521 -1,841 -17,801
Profit before tax from continuing operations
Corporate tax
-2,569 -2,866 -10,409
Profit after tax from continuing operations
Profit after tax from discontinued
operations
8
Profit after tax for the period
DKK ´000
Note Q1 2021 Q1 2020 2020
Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit and loss:
Foreign exchange adjustments of subsidiaries
Other comprehensive income
Total comprehensive income
for the period 767,143 -17,285 42,646
Profit after tax
allocated to:
Shareholders in Columbus A/S
Minority interests
-607 -201 70
Total comprehensive income allocated
to:
Shareholders Columbus A/S
Minority interests
-608 -202 58
Earnings per share of DKK 1.25 (EPS)
Earnings per share of DKK 1.25, diluted (EPS
-D)
Statement of comprehensive income
11 Q1 Report 2021
DKK ´000
Note 31 Mar 2021 31 Mar 2020 31 Dec 2020
A
SSETS
Goodwill
Customer base
Other intangible assets
Development projects final
ized 4,122 72,569 3,397
Development projects in
progress 0 13,813 940
Proper
ty, plant and equipment 9,022 11,694 8,674
Right
-of-use assets 74,364 98,991 87,616
Deferred tax assets
Other receivables
Total non
-current assets
Trade receivables
5 247,983 287,477 222,571
Contract assets
6 7,673 34,899 14,733
Corporate tax receivables
Other receivables
Prepayments
Receivables
Cash
Total current assets
Assets classified as held for sale
10 0 0 214,481
TOTAL ASSETS
DKK ´000
Note 31 Mar 2021 31 Mar 2020 31 Dec 2020
EQUITY AND LIABILITIES
Share capital
Reserves on foreign currency translation
-44,805 -84,587 -46,269
Retained
profit 1,369,501 578,296 602,912
Group shareholders' equity
Minority interests
Equity
Deferred tax
Other provisions
Debt to credi
t institutions 176,000 169,708 176,000
Lease liability right
-of-use assets 47,062 74,460 59,929
Non
-current liabilities 266,880 306,969 281,759
Debt to credit institutions
Contingent
consideration 80,367 161,037 81,594
C
ontract liabilities 6 13,070 21,854 19,607
Trade payables
Corporate tax payables
Other payables
Other provisions
Accruals and deferred income
Lease liability right
-of-use assets 30,991 33,643 32,006
Current liabilities
Total liabilities
Total liabilities relating to assets
classified as held for sale
10 0 0 93,891
TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES
Balance sheet
12 Q1 Report 2021
Shareholders in Columbus A/S
DKK ´000
Share
capital
Reserves
on foreign
currency
translation
Retained
profits
Minority
interests Equity
YTD 2021
Balance at 1 Jan 2021
Profit after tax
Currency
adjustments of investments
in subsidiaries
Total comprehensive income
Share
-based payment cf. note 3 0 0 302 0 302
Dis
posal of minority interest 0 0 0 -2,576 -2,576
Balance at 31 Mar 2021
Shareholders in Columbus A/S
DKK ´000
Share
capital
Reserves
on foreign
currency
translation
Retained
profits
Minority
interests Equity
YTD 2020
Balance at 1 Jan
2020 155,778 -40,365 549,941 3,126 668,480
Profit after tax
Currency adjustments of
investments
in subsidiaries
Total comprehensive income
Share
-based payment, cf. note 3 0 0 1,216 0 1,216
Balance at 31 Mar 2020
Shareholders in Columbus A/S
DKK ´000
Share
capital
Reserves
on foreign
currency
translat
ion
Retained
profits
Minority
interests Equity
2020
Balance at 1 Jan 2020
Profit after tax
Currency adjustments of investments
in subsidiaries
Total
comprehensive income 0 -5,904 48,492 58 42,646
Share
-based payment, cf. note 3 0 0 4,479 0 4,479
Balance at 31 Dec 2020
Statement of changes in equity
13 Q1 Report 2021
DKK ´000
Note Q1 2021 Q1 2020 2020
Operati
ng profit (EBIT) 42,011 25,275 80,997
Non
-recurring income and expenses from acquisitions 0 0 -45,766
Depreciation, amortization and
impairment
4 13,131 14,049 53,231
Cost of incentive scheme
3 302 1,216 4,479
Changes in net working capital
-25,567 1,650 31,574
Cash flow from primary activities
Interest received, etc.
Interest paid, etc.
-5,669 -20,461 -3,363
Corporate tax paid
-16,077 -418 -6,019
Cash flow from operating activities
dis
continued operations 8 160 14,119 75,135
Cash flow from operating activities
Net investment in development projects
-2 1 509
Acquisiti
on of tangible assets -2,035 -1,392 -3,832
Acquisition of intangible assets
-6,110 0 -9,408
Disposal of tangible assets
-13 0 0
Acquisition of subsidiaries and activities
7 0 -35,370 -75,147
Disposals of subsidiaries and activities
9 815,981 0 -2,696
Cash flow from investing activities
discontinued operations
8 -3,015 -8,123 -37,256
Cash flow from investing activities
Repayment of lease liabilities
-8,797 -9,473 -36,050
Cash flow from financing activiti
es
discontinued operations
8 -30,158 -1,992 -7,922
Cash flow from financing acti
vities
-38,955 -11,465 -43,972
Total net change in cash and cash equivalents
Cash
funds at the beginning of the period 164,213 147,264 147,264
Exchange rate adjustments
Cash funds
at the end of the period
Cash flow
14 Q1 Report 2021
Note 1 – Significant accounting principles 15
Note 2 – Segment data 16
Note 3 – Staff expenses and remuneration 19
Note 4 – Depreciation, amortization and impairment 19
Note 5 – Trade receivables 20
Note 6 – Contract assets and contract liabilities 21
Note 7 – Business combinations 22
Note 8 – Discontinued operations 23
Note 9 – Disposal of subsidiaries 24
Note 10 – Assets classified as held for sale 25
Key figures, ratios and Alternative Performance Measures 26
Notes
Note
Page
15 Q1 Report 2021
Notes
The consolidated interim financial report is prepared in accordance with IAS 34, Presentation of Interim Fi-
nancial Reporting, as approved by the EU. The interim financial report is presented in Danish kroner (DKK),
which is the Parent Company’s functional currency.
The accounting policies applied in the interim financial report are prepared in accordance with International
Financial Reporting Standards, as approved by the EU, and additional Danish disclosure requirements for
interim financial reports of listed companies and is unchanged compared to 2020, except for any new,
amended or revised accounting standards and interpretations endorsed by the EU, effective for the ac-
counting period beginning on 1 January 2021, as well as the following accounting policies.
Gains and losses on divestments or dissolvement of subsidiaries or associates
Gains or losses on divestments or dissolvements of subsidiaries and associates are stated as the differ-
ence between the sales price or settlement price and the fair value of any remaining equity and the book
value of net assets on the time of sale or winding up, including goodwill, less any minority interests. Gains
or losses are recognized in the statement of comprehensive income as well as accumulated foreign cur-
rency translation adjustments previously recognized in other comprehensive income.
For more information on the accounting policies, we refer to our Annual Report for 2020.
Note 1
– Significant accounting principles
16 Q1 Report 2021
Notes
In order to support decisions about allocation of resources and assessment of performance of the seg-
ments, the Group’s internal reporting to the Board of Directors of the Parent Company is based on the fol-
lowing grouping of operating segments:
Strategic Business Lines
Market Units
Cloud ERP
Columb
us Care
Digital Commerce
Data & Analytics
Customer Experience & Engagement
Other Local Business
Sweden
Denmark
Norway
UK
US
Russia
M
anagement monitors the business primarily based on the Business Lines and the geographical segments.
I
nformation about the Group’s segments is stated below.
During the launch of the Focus23 strategy, management has changed the way the business is assessed. In
order to support decisions and the Focus23 strategy, the operating segments has been divided into Busi-
ness Lines and Market Units.
Bu
siness Lines relate to the type of services or products that are delivered, and comprise of Cloud ERP,
Columbus Care, Data & Analytics, Customer Experience & Engagement and Other Local Business. Market
Units comprise of significant geographical markets that the group operates in. The Market Units are classi-
fied as being the market where the customer is located, rather than the legal entity it is delivered by.
The operating segments are measured from revenue to EBITDA, as this represents the significant part of
the operation of the segments. The balance sheet is measured for legal entities only.
Note
2 – Segment data
DKK ´000
Sweden Denmark Norway UK US Russia
Cross Market
Units Eliminations Total
Q1 2021
Sale of services
143,627 63,556 61,933 38,096 30,296 10,620 1,121 0
349,249
Sale of products
7,866 17,103 5,978 9,982 28,580 1,866 0 0
71,375
Total net
revenue 151,493 80,659 67,911 48,078 58,876 12,486 1,121 0 420,624
Gross profit
135,119 75,023 44,257 45,380 35,566 10,362 -1,685 0
344,022
EBITDA
22,420 7,077 7,718 7,915 1,968 78 -2,684 10,650
55,142
Operating pr
ofit (EBIT)
42,011
Profit before tax
47,663
Profit after tax
45,094
Average number of employees
563 326 154 207 164 170 75 0 1,659
17 Q1 Report 2021
Notes
Note 2
– Segment data (continued)
DKK ´000
Sweden Denmark Norway UK US Russia
Cross Market
Units Eliminations Total
Q1 2020
Sale of
services 154,296 65,444 53,655 43,443 38,206 14,242 229 0
369,515
Sale of products
9,589 17,779 14,129 8,965 32,479 4,439 0 0
87,380
Total net revenue
163,885 83,223 67,784 52,408 70,685 18,681 229 0 456,895
Gross profit
133,735 71,049 46,405 45,010 44,026 14,817 3,423 0
358,465
EBITDA
18,154 8,464 5,339 5,533 -213 998 -7,387 8,436
39,324
Operating profit (EBIT)
25,275
Profit
before tax
23,444
Profit after tax
20,578
Average number of employees
641 341 194 221 174 205 60 0 1,836
2020
Sale of services
527,582 247,746 151,567 143,747 136,323 54,089 403 0
1,261,457
Sale of products
36,711 83,452 35,868 28,882 116,777 15,187 0 0
316,877
Total net revenue
564,293 331,198 187,435 172,629 253,100 69,276 403 0 1,578,334
Gross profit
463,723 281,863 133,581 154,537 157,119 55,774 -1,804 0
1,244,793
EBITDA
41,562 45,442 -17,851 22,429 -7,735 5,583 11,076 33,722
134,228
Operating profit (EBIT)
80,997
Profit before tax
64,145
Profit after tax
53,736
Average number of emp
loyees 590 338 155 213 167 190 54 0 1,707
18 Q1 Report 2021
Notes
The table below shows the revenue for each Business Lines, divided into revenue from sale of services and
revenue from sale of products.
Revenue and non-current assets distributed in legal entities
The Group’s revenue from external customers and non-current assets distribution in geographical areas are
specified below. Revenue is distributed according to the country of the entity from where invoicing has
taken place, and the non-current assets are distributed according to location and legal relation.
In order to be able to estimate the results of the segments and allocate resources between these, the Board
of Directors also monitors the tangible, intangible and financial assets related to each segment.
Business Lines Revenue Spli
t Q1 2021
Legal entities
Net revenue from
external customers Non-current assets
DKK ´000
Q1 2021 Q1 2020 2020 31 Mar 2021 31 Mar 2020 31 Dec 2020
Sweden
159,482 176,724 595,297 486,116 446,215 498,248
Denmark
72,672
78,916
311,921
169,900
149,642
156,263
Norway
67,911 59,251 175,789 77,067 69,782 72,159
United Kingdom
48,079 52,407 172,629 51,581 50,144 49,108
USA
58,876 70,686 253,100 147,049 162,015 142,368
Russia
12,483 18,682 69,193 35,741 37,695 34,894
Rest of
the world 1,121 229 405 11,628 220,111 34,400
Total
420,624 456,895 1,578,334 979,082 1,135,604 987,440
*The non-current assets for the rest of the world segment is higher as of 31 March 2020 compared to 31
December 2020 and 31 March 2021, due to To-Increase was not held for sale at this point. To-Increase
amounted to DKK 183,297k as of 31 March 2020.
56%
16%
10%
2%
2%
14%
Cloud ERP
Columbus Care
Digital Commerce
Data & Analytics
Customer Experience & Engagement
Other Local Business
Note 2
– Segment data (continued)
DKK ´000
Q1 2021 Q1 2020 2020
Sale of services
Cloud ERP
194,263 212,020 696,786
Columbus Care
62,928 65,480 235,231
Digital Commerce
39,431 37,881 128,059
Data & Analy
tics 5,106 4,690 18,236
Customer Experience & Engagement
8,363 5,769 23,803
Other Local Business
39,157 43,674 159,342
Total sale of
services 349,249 369,515 1,261,457
Sale of products
Cloud ERP
42,265 53,301 187,803
Columbus Care
3,801 4,494 19,821
Digital Commerce
3,508 3,185 10,196
Data & Analytics
281 330 908
Customer Experience & Engagement
469
831
2,742
Other Local Business
21,051 25,238 95,407
Total sale of products
71,375 87,380 316,877
Total net revenue
420,624 456,895 1,578,334
19 Q1 Report 2021
Notes
Note 3 – Staff expenses and remuneration
DKK ´000
Q1 2021 Q1 2020 2020
Staff expenses
Salary and wages
215,440 220,723 828,236
Other social security costs
36,212 37,261 144,610
Other staff expens
es 15,156 14,166 38,126
Staff costs before share
-based payment 266,808 272,150 1,010,972
Share
-based payment 302 1,216 4,479
Staff expenses
267,110 273,366 1,015,451
Average number of employees
1,659 1,836 1,707
Note 4 – Depreciation, amortization and impairment
DKK ´000
Q1 2021 Q1 2020 2020
Depreciation
9,235 9,680 37,434
Amortization
3,896 4,369 15,797
Total depreciation, amortization
and impairment
13,131 14,049 53,231
20 Q1 Report 2021
Notes
DKK ´000
31 Mar 2021 31 Mar 2020 31 Dec 2020
Receivables (gross) at 1 Jan
241,749 322,535 322,535
Change in receivables during the
period 21,509 -16,458 -80,786
Receivables (gross) end of period
263,258 306,077 241,749
Provisions for bad debt at 1
Jan 19,178 15,304 15,304
Change in provisions for bad debt
during the period
-3,885 3,308 3,799
Loss realized during the
period -18 -12 75
Provisions for bad debt end of period
15,275 18,600 19,178
Carrying amount end of period
247,983 287,477 222,571
Provisions for bad debt are made based on the lifetime expected credit losses in line with the Group’s ac-
counting policies.
DKK ´000
31 Mar 2021 31 Mar 2020 31 Dec 2020
Age of receivables (gross):
Not due
199,885 213,505 167,236
0
-30 days 43,110 48,743 48,834
30
-60 days 5,980 12,256 9,827
61
-90 days 417 5,724 2,771
91
-180 days 4,109 16,322 4,508
181
-270 days 1,269 5,188 954
270
-360 days 764 1,710 1,874
Above 360 days
7,724 2,629 5,745
Total
263,258 306,077 241,749
DKK ´000
31 Mar 2021 31 Mar 2020 31 Dec 2020
Age of impairment:
Not due
266 278 2,599
0
-30 days 216 244 1,044
30
-60 days 735 306 446
61
-90 days 192 429 2,008
91
-180 days 4,109 7,815 4,508
181
-270 days 1,269 5,188 954
271
-360 days 764 1,710 1,874
Over 360 days
7,724 2,630 5,745
Total
15,275 18,600 19,178
DKK ´000
31 Mar 2021 31 Mar 2020 31 Dec 2020
Provision matrix:
Not due
0.1% 0.1% 1.6%
0
-30 days 0.5% 0.5% 2.1%
30
-60 days 12.3% 2.5% 4.5%
61
-90 days 46.0% 7.5% 72.5%
91
-180 days 100.0% 47.9% 100.0%
181
-270 days 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
271
-360 days 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Over 360 days
100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Note
5 – Trade receivables
21 Q1 Report 2021
Notes
Note 6 – Contract assets and contract liabilities
DKK ´000
31 Mar 2021 31 Mar 2020 31 Dec 2020
Balance at 1 Jan
-4,874 10,877 10,877
Changes contract assets during the period
-11,221 -2,459 -65,331
Changes on account billing and prepayments
during the period
10,698 4,627 47,526
Reclassified to assets held for sale
0 0 2,054
Balance at end of p
eriod -5,397 13,045 -4,874
Work in progress
34,708 129,541 45,929
On
account billing and prepayments -40,105 -116,495 -50,803
Balance at end of period
-5,397 13,045 -4,874
The net value is included in the balance as follows:
Co
ntract assets 7,673 34,899 14,733
Contract liabilities
-13,070 -21,854 -19,607
Balance at
end of period -5,397 13,045 -4,874
The Group’s contract assets are subject to significant judgements in relation to the classification of the con-
tract and in terms of how the contract is handled and recognized in the financial statements. When deter-
mining the appropriate recognition of the contract, the Group accounting policies are applied.
22 Q1 Report 2021
Notes
Acquisition of companies in 2021
There have been no acquisitions during Q1 2021
Acquisition of companies in 2020
The Group has per 6 January 2020 acquired Advania Business Solutions. The acquisition was an asset
purchase.
Name
Primary
activity
Date of
control
gained
Acquired
ownership
Acquired
voting
rights
Total
consideration
DKK ’000
Advania Business Solutions
Dist
ribution and
implementation of
standardised
business solutions.
6 January Activity Activity 36,357
Total
36,357
With the acquisition of Advania Business Solutions, Columbus creates a Microsoft Dynamics cloud Power-
house in Norway. After recognition of identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities at fair value,
goodwill in relation to the acquisition was assessed to DKK 16.8m. Customer base is recognised separate
from goodwill and goodwill therefore relates to knowhow.
Estimated tax deductibility of goodwill for Advania Business Solutions is DKK 16.8m.
Advania Business Solutions has since the acquisition 6 January 2020 had a revenue of DKK 44m and a
result after tax of DKK 11m.
DKK ´000
Total 2021 Total 2020
Fair value assessment of trade receivables
Trade receivables, gross amount
0 15,103
Trade receivables, not expected to be
collected 0 -277
Trade receivables
, fair value 0 14,826
Opening balances
DKK ´000
Total 2021 Total 2020
Tangible fixe
d assets 0 13
Other intangible assets
0 10,800
Other receivables
0 85
Total non
-current assets 0 10,898
Trade
receivables 0 14,826
Work in progress
0 191
Prepayments
0 5,315
Total current assets
0 20,332
Corporation tax and deferred t
ax 0 -2,187
Deferred income
0 -3,736
Accruals
0 -398
Other debt
0 -5,404
Total current debt
0 -11,725
Net
assets acquired 0 19,505
Goodwill
0 16,852
Total consideration
0 36,357
Net working capital not paid
0 -987
Cash conside
ration on acquisition date 0 35,370
Contingent consideration payments*
0 39,777
Net cash flows on
acquisitions 0 75,147
* Contingent consideration payments in 2020 relate to the acquisitions of iStone AB, which were paid in Q2
and Q4 2020. (DKK 38,645k.), BMI (DKK 1,132k) Since the acquisition date of Advania Business Solution
the other intangible assets have been revalued with DKK 3m and this has affected the goodwill accordingly.
Note
7 – Business combinations
23 Q1 Report 2021
Notes
DKK ´000
Q1 2021 Q1 2020 2020
Net
revenue 29,296 53,216 208,487
External project costs
-2,286 -3,553 -8,395
Gross profit
27,010 49,663 200,092
Staff expenses and remunera
tion -19,510 -29,175 -113,992
Other external costs
-3,707 -6,537 -16,832
Other operating in
come 15 14 314
Other operating costs
0
0
0
EBITDA
3,808 13,965 69,582
Depreciation, amortization and impairment
-561 -9,473 -29,912
Operating profit (
EBIT) 3,247 4,492 39,670
Financial income
195 534 49
Financial expenses
-129 -131 -1,621
Profit before tax from discontinuing operations
3,313 4,895 38,098
Corporate tax
-20 -2,732 -13,768
Profit after tax from discontinuing operatio
ns 3,293 2,163 24,330
Total gain (loss) on divestment of discontinued operations
717,293
0
-29,502
Profit from discontinued operations
720,586 2,163 -5,172
Earnings per share from discontinued operations of DKK 1.25
(EPS)
5.78 0.02 -0.04
Earnings per share from discontinued operations of DKK 1.25,
diluted
(EPS-D)
5.78 0.02 -0.04
DKK ´000
Q1 2021 Q1 2020 2020
Gain on disposal of subsidiaries
721,712 0 0
Transaction costs related to disposal
-4,419 0 -29,502
Total gain (lo
ss) on divestment of discontinued operations 717,293 0 -29,502
Cash flow
DKK ´000
Q1 2021 Q1 2020 2020
Cash flow from operating activities
160 14,119 75,135
Cash flow from investing activities
-3,015 -8,123 -37,256
Cash flow from financing a
ctivities -30,158 -1,992 -7,922
Cash flow from
discontinued operations -33,013 4,004 29,957
Discontinued operations in 2021
During 2020 Columbus initiated the process of a sale of our software company To-Increase, which repre-
sented our entire ISV segment. The sale was finalised in January 2021, and the business is therefore re-
ported as discontinued operations in the profit and loss.
Further, our Danish private cloud business was sold in January 2021 and this business is consequently
also classified as discontinued operations. The private cloud business was represented in our consultancy
segment across all Market Units.
Finally, in March 2021 our two companies in the Baltics was sold and consequently also classified as dis-
continued operations. The Baltic entities was represented in our consultancy segment.
Note
8 – Discontinued operations
24 Q1 Report 2021
Notes
On 26 January 2021, the Group disposed of its 100% equity interest in its subsidiary, To-Increase. The sub-
sidiary was classified as held for sale in the 2020 consolidated financial statement.
On 26 March 2021, the Group disposed of its 100% equity interest in its subsidiary, Columbus Lithuania
and 51% equity interest in its subsidiary, Columbus Estonia.
There were no disposals of subsidiaries made in 2020.
The deferred consideration will be partly settled in cash by the purchaser in April 2021 (DKK 12m), and the
remaining consideration will be paid in monthly instalments until 2026.
The gain on disposal is included in the profit for the year from discontinued operations, note 8.
At the date of disposal, the carrying amounts of disposed subsidiaries net assets were as follows.
DKK ´000
31 Mar 2021 31 Mar 2020 31 Dec 2020
Goodwill
97,258 0 0
Customer base
5,166 0 0
Other intangible assets
19 0 0
Devel
opment projects finalized 52,334 0 0
Development projects in progress
42,404 0 0
Property,
plant and equipment 2,281 0 0
Right
-of-use assets 20,712 0 0
Investments in subsidiaries
0 0 0
Trade receivables
36,753 0 0
Contract assets
7,575 0 0
Corpora
te tax receivables 1,052 0 0
Deferred tax assets
370 0 0
Other receivables
1,474 0 0
Prepa
yments 2,800 0 0
Cash
22,169 0 0
Total assets
292,367 0 0
DKK ´000
31 Mar 2021 31 Mar 2020 31 Dec 2020
Deferred tax
19,095 0 0
Other provisions
0 0 0
Contingent
consideration 0 0 0
Debt to credit institutions
357 0 0
Lease liability rig
ht-of-use assets 20,277 0 0
Contract liabilities
3,854 0 0
Trade payables
14,829 0 0
Corporate tax payables
54 0 0
Other payables
30,221 0 0
Accruals and def
erred income 30,578 0 0
Total liabilities
119,265 0 0
Net assets disposed of
173,102 0 0
Cash and cash equivalents
865,279 0 0
Deferred consideration
29,535 0 0
Total consideration
894,814 0 0
Gain on disposal of
subsidiaries 721,712 0 0
Net Cash inflow arising on disposal:
Consideration received i
n cash and cash equivalents 865,279 0 0
Less: cash and cash equivalents disposed of
-22,169 0 0
Transaction costs related to disposal
-27,129 0 0
Net Cash inflo
w arising on disposal 815,981 0 0
Note
9 – Disposal of subsidiaries
25 Q1 Report 2021
Notes
At 31 March 2021, no parts of group were classified as held for sale.
DKK ´000
31 Mar 2021 31 Mar 2020 31 Dec 2020
Goodwill
0 0 81,683
Customer base
0 0 4,670
Development projects finalized
0 0 52,350
Development projects in progress
0 0 38,899
Pro
perty, plant and equipment 0 0 1,567
Right
-of-use assets 0 0 16,086
Trade receivables
0 0 15,739
Contract assets
0 0 950
Corporate tax receivables
0 0 1,050
Other receivables
0 0 676
Prepayments
0 0 811
Total assets classified as held for sale
0 0 214,481
Deferred tax
0 0 17,181
Other provisions
0 0 4,464
Lease liability right-of-use assets
0
0
15,409
Contract liabilities
0 0 3,004
Trade payab
les 0 0 3,278
Other payables
0 0 13,380
Accruals and deferred income
0 0 37,175
Total liab
ilities relating to assets classified
as held for sale
0 0 93,891
Net assets
0 0 120,590
Note
10 – Assets classified as held for sale
26 Q1 Report 2021
Notes
Key figures and ratios
Earnings per share (EPS) and diluted earnings per share (EPS-D) are calculated in accordance with
IAS 33.
Other ratios are calculated in accordance with the Danish Finance Society “Recommendations & Financial
Ratios”. The financial ratios stated are calculated as follows:
EBITDA
-margin
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciations and
amortizations (EBITDA)
Net revenue
Operating margin
Operating profit (EBIT)
Net revenue
Return o
n equity
Profit after tax and excl. minority interests
Average equity excl. minority interests
Return on invested
capital (ROIC)
EBITA
Average invested capital including goodwill
Equity ratio
Equity excl. minority interests
Total equity and liabilities
Earnin
gs per share (EPS)
Profit after tax and excl. minority interests
x f
Average number of shares
Book value per share (BVPS)
Equity excl. minority interests end of year x 100
x f
Number of shares end of year
Cash flow per share
Cash flow from operations
x f
Average number of diluted shares
Adjustment factor (f)
Theoretical rate
Listed price of stock the day before the subscription
and/or stock right cease
Re
curring Revenue % of total revenue
Recurring revenue
Net revenue
Alternative Performance Measures
Recurring Revenue
Recurring Revenue includes Software maintenance, Cloud revenue and Columbus Care agreements.
Recurring revenue does not necessarily mean a binding contractual agreement. However recurring revenue
is defined as revenue with a high degree of certainty for renewal >95%.
The purpose of defining Recurring Revenue is to express a level of predictability in the revenue. The higher
degree of Recurring Revenue in pct. of total revenue – the more predictable is the Columbus revenue going
forward.
EBITDA before Share Based Payment
EBITDA before Share Based Payment is Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation, Amortization and
the expense (black Scholes value) from Share Based Payment.
The purpose of excluding Share Based Payment is that this is a non-cash consideration and therefore dif-
ferent characteristics than cash-based considerations. Another purpose is that the IFRS rules for expending
Share Based payments is uneven through the 3-year maturing period Columbus normally exercise.
EBITDA before Share Based Payment will therefore express a more comparable year over year develop-
ment.
Normalized EBITDA
Normalized EBITDA represents the business excluding the impact of one-off items, such as acquisitions,
divestments etc. Details on the normalization is provided on page 5.
Key
figures, ratios and Alternative Performance Measures
27 Q1 Report 2021
Notes
For more information about Columbus visit www.columbusglobal.com