• net profit of EUR 886 thousand significantly above April 2023 forecast
• Proposed dividend of €0.45 per share
• Annual General Meeting planned for April 2024

Düsseldorf December 14, 2023 - tick Trading Software AG (WKN: A35JS9 / ISIN: DE000A35JS99) confirms the preliminary figures for the 2022/2023 financial year published on 3 November with its final annual financial statements. The Supervisory Board of the specialist for platform solutions for global exchange trading has already approved the audited annual financial statements. Accordingly, the company closed the financial year ending 30 September 2023 with a net profit of EUR 886 thousand. Although this represents a decrease of 47.9% compared to the previous year's figure of EUR 1,699 thousand, it is well above the forecast published in April (EUR 400 to 800 thousand). "Our business is developing according to plan. The progress of our 'BOOSTER' investment programme is also in line with our expectations," explains Carsten Schölzki, CEO of tick Trading Software AG (tick-TS).

The weakening of trading activities on the stock exchanges and the price increases at many suppliers continued to exert pressure on tick-TS AG's operating business in the 2022/2023 financial year. The company was therefore unable to compensate for the associated loss of revenue from load-dependent remuneration, resulting in total revenue of EUR 8,001 thousand; this corresponds to a decline of 6.6% compared to the same period of the previous year (EUR 8,570 thousand). However, tick-TS's customer base remained largely stable despite the turbulent market situation. The company further expanded the number of co-operation agreements, for example. In the first half of the 2022/2023 financial year, for example, tick-TS gained another domestic bank as a partner: Baader Bank AG. "One of the things that convinces both existing and new customers is the reliability and performance that our technology offers them," continues Carsten Schölzki. The overall tick-TS system on offer achieved the forecast availability of more than 99.99%.

The "BOOSTER" product innovation programme also had an impact on tick-TS AG's earnings situation in the past financial year. The planned expenses for external services in connection with "BOOSTER" led to a significant increase in other operating expenses compared to the previous year of EUR 466 thousand to EUR 3,288 thousand.

Earnings before taxes (EBT) fell by EUR 1,206 thousand to EUR 1,304 thousand (same period in the previous year: EUR 2,510 thousand). After deducting corporation tax, trade tax, solidarity surcharge and other taxes, this resulted in a net profit for the 2022/2023 financial year of EUR 886 thousand (prior-year period: EUR 1,699 thousand). The annual result was therefore significantly higher than the forecast of EUR 400 to 800 thousand published by the company in April of this year. This was due to the lower than planned expenses for the "BOOSTER" programme.

"BOOSTER" was launched in the second half of the 2021/2022 financial year with the aim of providing a modern, modular, future-proof technology alongside the previous JAVA-based platform and creating a scalable solution that can serve as a white-label solution for partners and customers. In this way, tick-TS AG aims to raise its offering to an even higher level and thus make it even more attractive for existing and potential new customers. "In the 2023/2024 financial year, we expect to complete the 'BOOSTER' programme, which has so far fully met our expectations. Its end will have a dual impact: On the one hand, we will once again be state of the art on the product side, including offering the go-live of another version of the TBMX trading front end - on the other hand, expenses will be reduced accordingly in terms of figures," Carsten Schölzki continues.

As at the balance sheet date, equity totalled EUR 3,140 thousand (previous year: EUR 3,946 thousand). The equity ratio increased to 78.1% (previous year: 59.1%).

Cash and cash equivalents decreased by EUR 2,686 thousand. Cash flow from operating activities totalled EUR -820 thousand after EUR 442 thousand in the same period of the previous year. The decline is mainly due to the net income for the year in connection with the increase in assets and the decrease in provisions. The cash flows from investing activities (EUR -176 thousand) and financing activities (EUR -1,691 thousand) result from the expenses for investments in fixed assets and from the dividend paid out in 2023. Overall, the tick-TS Executive Board summarises: "The liquidity and financial position of tick-TS remains very good."

Appropriation of profits and Annual General Meeting

Overall, the balance sheet profit totalled EUR 926 thousand (previous year: EUR 1,731 thousand). The Management Board and Supervisory Board will propose a dividend of EUR 0.45 per share for approval at the Annual General Meeting. "Even if the amount of the distribution is temporarily lower than in previous years due to the investment programme, we are still offering our shareholders an above-average dividend yield," says Carsten Schölzki.

The Management Board is cautiously optimistic for the coming financial year. "Based on this years’ experience, we do not necessarily expect an increase in trading activities in 2024. Nevertheless, in view of the recent positive news from the stock market, including the DAX record high, we hope that market participants will become more active again." Assuming a stable regulatory and political environment and the continuation of average trading activity on the stock exchanges, the Executive Board plans to achieve a net profit of EUR 0.7 to 1.0 million in the 2023/2024 financial year.

The 2024 Annual General Meeting of tick-TS AG is scheduled to take place in April 2024. The full annual report for the 2022/2023 financial year will be published on the tick-TS AG website at https://www.tick-ts.de/investor-relations/zahlen-und-fakten in March 2024.
 

About tick Trading Software AG

With the TradeBase Multi Exchange Platform (TBMX), tick-TS AG has successfully provided its professional customers with one of the world's most advanced and reliable trading platforms for more than 20 years. The product portfolio includes direct connections to national and international marketplaces and brokers, market making tools for designated sponsoring, its own hosting and housing infrastructure, and the e-Trading Compliance Monitor (ECM) for compliance with ESMA regulations.

tick-TS AG has been listed on the primary market (open market) of the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange since 2017 (ISIN: DE000A35JS99, symbol: TBX0) and is available on many other trading venues. A special feature is the payment of the entire distributable net profit as a dividend to investors, as stipulated in the company's Articles of Association.
 

Press contact:

newskontor - agency for communication

Sascha Grundmann
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40212 Düsseldorf
Tel.: +49-211-863949-21
E-Mail: sascha.grundmann@newskontor.de