Exasol announces preliminary figures for first quarter 2023: Operating profit improves - new business in the U.S. market ramps up

Exasol announces preliminary figures for first quarter 2023: Operating profit improves - new business in the U.S. market ramps up

• ARR increases by around 15% to EUR 35.8 million (March 31, 2022: EUR 31.1 million, like-for-like)
• U.S. business expands significantly in first quarter 2023
• Operating result (adj. EBITDA) improves to EUR -2.2 million (previous year: EUR -3.8 million)
• Liquidity increases to EUR 13.7 million at end of first quarter 2023 (December 31, 2022: EUR 12.7 million)
• Confirmed outlook for fiscal year 2023

Nuremberg, April 28, 2023: Exasol AG, a global technology company and provider of a high-performance analytics database, starts the new year with an increased annual recurring revenue (ARR) in the first quarter. According to preliminary figures, ARR increased by around 15% on a like-for-like basis to EUR 35.8 million compared to EUR 31.1 million at the end of first quarter in 2022. The U.S. business, which grew significantly in the first quarter, contributed to these results. The operating result (adj. EBITDA) also improved in the first quarter to EUR -2.2 million, compared to EUR -3.8 million the same period last year. The efficiency measures implemented in recent months continue to have a positive impact on earnings development and will lead to continued improvement in profitability over the course of the year. Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the first quarter amounted to EUR 13.7 million (December 31, 2022: EUR 12.7 million). Once adjusted for one-off effects (EUR -1.9 million), the company recorded positive cash flow of EUR +2.9 million in the first quarter (Q1 2022: EUR -0.6 million), supported by the traditionally strong incoming payments from current customers with fixed-term contracts at the beginning of the year.

The ARR value (like-for-like) of EUR 35.3 million as of December 31, 2022, increased by EUR 0.5 million in the first quarter of 2023. This includes an increase in order volume with new and existing customers of EUR 1.4 million, which is slightly higher than the previous year first quarter of EUR 1.3 million. This is mainly attributable to the positive development of the U.S. market, where business with both new and existing customers improved noticeably (EUR +0.9 million). The decline in business with existing customers in the amount of EUR -0.9 million (Q1 2022: EUR -0.3 million) had an offsetting effect. At EUR 0.7 million, this is mainly attributable to the EMEA region, where the decision of a major customer to withdraw from the Russian market, and accordingly close its local data clusters, had a negative impact. In addition, there was the effect of individual customers terminating their contracts over the course of 2022 for macroeconomic reasons, although their contracts were not set to expire until Q1 2023.

"Thanks to our strong U.S. business, we were able to further expand our ARR despite a negative macroeconomic impact. At the same time, we achieved an important milestone towards greater financial flexibility with the first positive cash flow since our IPO," says Jörg Tewes, CEO of Exasol AG. "Despite the continued challenging market environment, we remain confident that we can take Exasol to profitability in the second half of the year."

Outlook 2023 confirmed

With an increase in ARR to between EUR 42.5 million and EUR 44 million in fiscal 2023, the Executive Board continues to expect adj. EBITDA to improve to between EUR -3 million and EUR -1 million. In this context, the leap into the profit zone at a quarterly level should be achieved in the second half of the current financial year. Accordingly, cash and cash equivalents will remain about the same compared to the previous year at EUR 9 million to EUR 11 million at the end of the year.

The final figures for the first quarter 2023 will be published on May 10, 2023.

Exasol AG
Christoph Marx
Head of Investor Relations
Tel: +49 911 2399 114
E-Mail: ir@exasol.com