As we are getting ready for a sunny and warm summer vacation in the Nordics, it is a good moment to reflect on SmartCraft’s two years anniversary as a listed company. The 24th June 2021, under full covid restrictions, we rang the virtual bell on Oslo Stock Exchange.
Stepping up as a publicly listed company was a tremendously exciting and – to be honest – somewhat exhausting effort for the organization, but for us, being listed has been a great inspiration and energy boost. Not only did we raise NOK 568 million of new equity securing significant muscle for continued growth, but we also got a range of international, highly competent, and supportive shareholders. It is reassuring to see that the vast majority of them remain key shareholders two years later. As a CEO, the combination of long-term and active private equity ownership and the daily feedback from the ever-critical limelight at the stock market can be challenging, but undoubtedly also fun and inspiring.
Steady course
For SmartCraft it has always been, and will continue to be, important to build trust by consistently delivering on our plans and ambitions. Looking back on the last two years, I am happy to conclude that we have been able to fulfill our communicated ambitions for growth and profitability. Our medium-term targets remain firm: 15-20 percent organic revenue growth per year, combined with improved EBITDA margins.
Being a scalable SaaS company, the one KPI we always look at first is the annual recurring revenue (ARR). Since the IPO we have increased our ARR by 54 percent to NOK 347 million. We have worked hard on shifting non-recurring revenue to recurring business models, and as a result, the share of recurring revenue has increased from 94 percent in Q2 2021 to 97 percent in Q1 2023.
Our growth strategy is a dual one: Firstly we focus on organic development with new sales and upsales as key drivers. Our organic growth has been within the 15-20 percent range. Secondly, we have successfully added software solutions, highly competent employees, and many new customers through three targeted acquisitions: Kvalitetskontroll, Elverdi, and Inprog. The additions have been particularly important for strengthening our offering within electro, a segment where we expect solid growth going forward.
Synergies
Even though SmartCraft history goes back to 1987, the group structure under the SmartCraft name is relatively new. During the two years since the IPO, we have made considerable progress in realizing the vast synergy potential of being a group. With a new country-based management structure, we have become much better at capturing sales and marketing benefits across our solutions. We have also established a CTO position and a joint technology development setup, which over time will lead to a joint tech platform across the group. This is crucial in order to speed up innovation and product development, increase scalability, as well as minimizing operational costs and capital expenses.
We continue to see vast opportunities for SmartCraft. Even in the Nordics, the construction industry is still one of the least digitalized, despite the enormous benefits we see for those who start using mission-critical solutions. With a very low take rate per day, our solutions help new customers almost instantly increase revenue and reduce costs. Our commitment is to continue to develop our solutions and to continue to work hard to reach out to new customer segments.
Shareholder returns
Wrapping up, I am happy to conclude that during our first two years as a listed company we have produced good returns for our shareholders. From an IPO price of NOK 17.80 per share, the market cap of SmartCraft has increased by around 25 percent. Adding to this, we have repurchased more than 1 percent of our own shares.
Looking ahead, we are more than ready for continued good development and value creation, driven by a market with strong underlying drivers, solid products, and a great team, supported by a strong financial platform with no financial debt and strong cash flow.
Have a great summer!
Gustav Line
CEO, SmartCraft
