CHUR, Switzerland, March 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The network technology service provider Talkpool presents another year of stable financial results. The company has reduced to the MAX while preparing for growth.
This is a summary of Talkpool’s interim financial results for 24Q4 and the calendar year 2024. The full 13-page report is available on Published Financial Reports & Filings – Talkpool.
THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2024 IN BRIEF (OCT 1ST – DEC 31ST 2024)
Net sales of EUR 3 970 thousand (compared to EUR 4 538 thousand in Q4 2023)EBITDA of EUR 425 thousand (848) and EBITDA margin of 10.7% (18.7%)EBIT of EUR 378 thousand (791) and EBIT margin of 9.5% (17.0%)Net Earnings After Tax of EUR 406 thousand (247) and net EAT margin of 10.2% (5.4 %)THE YEAR 2024 IN BRIEF (JAN 1ST – DEC 31ST 2024)Net sales amounted to EUR 15 757 thousand (compared to EUR 15 607 in 2024)EBITDA of EUR 1 753 thousand (1 980) and EBITDA margin of 11.1% (12.7%)EBIT of EUR 1 576 thousand (1 806) and EBIT margin of 10.0% (11.6%)Net Earnings After Tax of EUR 869 thousand (788) and EAT margin 5.5% (5.05%)
OCTOBER – DECEMBER KEY DEVELOPMENTS
The year ended with a stable performance in line with the “reduce to the MAX” motto. More conservative accounting practices were applied throughout the year 2024. The operational performance and profitability increased during the last months of the year. The German business had a slow ending of the year after very good performance in the first 9 months of 2024. The Swiss company and Pakistani company showed strong performance during October to December of 2024. Talkpool is returning to its telecom network services roots, building upon its legacy of bringing communication technology to diverse regions worldwide. The company has delayed publishing its new strategy as it continues to thoroughly evaluate strategic opportunities. Moving forward, Talkpool’s primary focus is to grow and strengthen its companies in Germany, Switzerland, and Pakistan. This growth trajectory will be accelerated through the implementation of cutting-edge technology tools powered by artificial intelligence, enabling more efficient service delivery and expanded market reach.
This report contains insider information that Talkpool AG is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication at 08:30 o’clock Central European Time on Friday the 14th of March 2025.
This is Talkpool
Talkpool works behind the scenes to plan, build and improve large communication networks. Competence includes implementation of new technology including hardware, software, project management and human resources management. The company partners with Original Equipment Manufacturers to distribute, integrate and maintain technology that enhances telecommunication infrastructure.
Talkpool has global geographical reach and experience. The business has three main companies:
Germany: Fixed network planning of fibre and Copper technology performed by 40 staffSwitzerland: One large Operation and Maintenance project of a complete mobile and fixed network in the Caribbean performed by approx. 400 staffPakistan: Market leader with 45 projects to plan, implement, integrate, optimize and refurbish telecom sites performed by approximately 1 000 employees
Talkpool also owns businesses in the USA, Saudi Arabia and Sweden. The company is traded in Stockholm (Nasdaq First North) and Frankfurt (Deutsche Börse) with ISIN CH0322161768. The business has Swedish roots, is majority-owned by Swedish shareholders and managed by a Swedish team. A streamlined and efficient business is now emerging after a turnaround period that has taken several years.
Management Comments
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly surpassing human capabilities across numerous domains. While many telecommunications network operations are still in the early stages of this technological transformation, Talkpool is strategically positioning itself to harness the full potential of AI tools. By automating repetitive tasks currently performed by humans and optimizing use of infrastructure, Talkpool aims to drive efficiency, reduce costs, and deliver superior network performance for its clients.
Talkpool followed the motto “reduce to the MAX” in 2024 – keeping costs low while maximizing future opportunities. Additional resources have been allocated to sales and business development without increasing the cost base.
Germany has during 2024 developed into Talkpool’s most important market. The German work volumes in the fourth quarter were however lower than previously, and accounting practices were further tightened.
The Swiss company continued to overperform based on operational profits from its Operation and Maintenance project in the Caribbean and low headquarter costs.
The business in Pakistan is going through big changes. An effort to export remote services and technology from Pakistan has been initiated. Pakistan has been in a crisis, but the business ended 2024 with a positive trend.
The TALK share price (ISIN CH0322161768) dived from just below SEK 8.0 (€0.62) per share in early October 2024 to SEK 6.3 (€0.45) at the end of the year, only to return to just below SEK 8.0 (€0.62) at the time of writing this text.
Beginning of the year 2025
The business has started the new year as stable as it finished 2024. After 8 years of absence, Talkpool visited the world’s largest wireless show #MWC25 in Barcelona and signed two separate contracts for Artificial Intelligence tools. New sales managers have been hired while efforts to minimize costs continue.
Business development activities have increased in Talkpool’s Miami office. Promising negotiations with optical fiber network operators are undergoing and a network services trial is evaluated in the USA.
Talkpool is considering re-entering the Swedish market to meet new demands for secure mobile communication technology.
Looking ahead, Talkpool is planning to accelerate growth while continuing to focus on cashflow and profit margins.
Despite economic uncertainties, demand for Talkpool’s services remains resilient, with clients increasingly turning to innovation as a response to challenging market conditions. In this turbulent global landscape, Talkpool has established itself as a trusted anchor, providing stability and forward-thinking solutions when clients need them most.
Financial development
KEY FIGURES
Q4 2024
Q4 2023
FY 2024
FY 2023
Sales, € thousand
3’970
4’538
15’757
15’607
Sales growth in %
-12.5 %
-33.3 %
1.0 %
-38.8 %
Gross profit, € thousand
1’082
964
4’246
3’822
Gross margin
27.2 %
21.2 %
26.9 %
24.5 %
EBITDA, € thousand
425
848
1’753
1’980
EBITDA margin
10.7 %
18.7 %
11.1 %
12.7 %
EBIT, € thousand
378
791
1’576
1’806
EBIT margin
9.5 %
17 %
10.0 %
11.6 %
The annual revenue for 2024 remained in line with 2023 levels, with a small increase to EUR 15.8 million in 2024 from EUR 15.6 million in the previous year.
The gross margin throughout 2024 remained stable at an average just below 27%. The Gross Margin in 2024 was approximately 2.5% higher than in the previous year.
Profit Margins per Quarter
24Q4
24Q3
24Q2
24Q1
Revenue [EUR million]
4.0
4.1
3.7
4.0
Gross Margin
27.2 %
26.7 %
27.3 %
26.6 %
EBITDA
10.7 %
12.9 %
10.1 %
10.9 %
EBIT
9.5 %
11.9 %
8.9 %
9.8 %
EAT
10.2 %
3.8 %
4.1 %
4.2 %
Financial position and cash flow
KEY FIGURES
Q4 2024
Q4 2023
FY 2024
FY 2023
Equity ratio
17.4 %
2.5 %
17.4 %
1.4 %
Return on equity
45.3 %
1070 %
97.6 %
-1’450%
Net cash/debt, € thousand
-786
-2’071
-786
-2’071
Operating cash flow, € thousand
490
-757
1’433
-32
[EUR]
The consolidated balance sheet continued to strengthen, with an increasingly positive net debt trend. The Total interest-bearing liabilities declined due to ongoing loan amortization. The long-term loans, marked with green color as “non-current interest-bearing liabilities” in the graph above, have almost been reduced in half from 1’339 thousand to EUR 690 thousand.
The Net Debt of EUR 786 thousand is calculated by deducting Total Debt from the Cash and Cash Equivalents. For Talkpool at the end of 2024, the Net Cash amounted to 1.408m€ cash – 1.504m€ current liabilities – 690k€ long-term liabilities = -786 thousand. The net debt will be reduced by approximately EUR 450 thousand after validating the conversion of shares decided in 2024 and executed in 2025. If the current trend continues, Talkpool will reach zero net debt in the beginning of the year 2025.
EQUITY
The Total equity increased throughout 2024, reaching EUR 1 044 thousand by year-end. Talkpool is since 2016 using an unusual accounting practice, whereby goodwill is discounted from equity. This accounting method has led to drastically reduced equity levels. Equity cannot be negative when applying standard accounting practices, but Talkpool has during many years had a negative equity amounting to several million Euros. Equity incl. minority interest has recovered from negative EUR 1 156 136 at the end of 2022 to a positive equity of EUR 89 871 at the end of 2023 to (positive) EUR 1 044 487 at the end of 2024.
Talkpool has improved its Equity Ratio (=Total Shareholders’ Equity / Total Assets) to 17.4% in 2024. This is a low Equity Ratio for an established service company. The main reason for the low Equity Ratio is Talkpool’s unusual way of discounting goodwill from equity.
Return on Equity (ROE) measures how efficiently a company generates profits from its shareholders’ investments. ROE is calculated as Net Income / Average Equity for the year. A Return of Equity of over 30% is considered as extremely high. This is however distorted in a similar way as described above.
CASH-FLOW AND INVESTMENTS
OCT 1ST – DEC 31ST 2024
Operating cash flow amounted to EUR 490 thousand, a significant improvement compared to the negative EUR 757 thousand recorded in Q4 2023. Strong cashflow will be a key priority in Talkpool’s new strategy.
Working capital reached EUR 231 thousand in Q4 2024, compared to negative EUR 687 thousand in the same period last year.
JAN 1ST – DEC 31ST 2024
Operating cash flow totaled EUR 1 433 thousand for the full year 2024. This is a big improvement compared to previous years. No major extraordinary events occurred and the OCF trend was positive. Despite amortizing loans, Talkpool had more cash at the end of the year than it had at the beginning of 2024.
Talkpool has now reached a healthy level of cashflow generation and intends to intensely continue focusing on cashflow generation. Operating cash flow (OCF) for service companies varies by industry segment, size, and business model, but there are some general benchmarks. For healthy service companies, operating cash flow typically ranges from 8% to 20% of revenue, and this can be compared to Talkpool’s OCF of 9.1% for 2024 and 12.3% for the last quarter.
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS AFTER THE PERIOD
Bonds were converted in September 2024. The resulting capital increase will be completed in the first half year 2025. In this report, we’ve assumed that the validation day for the conversion will be in 2025.
AUDITOR’S REVIEW
The company’s auditors have not audited this report.
CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT
Oct – Dec
Jan-Dec
EUR
2024
2023
2024
2023
Net revenue from goods and services
3’970’165
4’538’192
15’756’871
15’606’987
Cost of sales
-2’888’552
-3’574’149
-11’510’760
-11’784’690
Gross profit
1’081’613
964’043
4’246’111
3’822’297
Selling expenses
-85’976
-85’655
-307’979
-352’004
Administrative expenses
-648’808
-791’434
-2’442’611
-2’436’185
Other operating income & expenses
31’353
704’533
80’910
771’947
Operating result
378’181
791’488
1’576’431
1’806’056
Financial net
65’121
-421’083
-118’870
-486’773
Profit before income taxes
443’303
370’404
1’457’561
1’319’282
Income taxes
-37’564
-123’656
-588’671
-531’090
Net profit
405’739
246’749
868’890
788’193
Net income attributable to:
Stockholders of the parent company
399’339
231’549
859’727
790’705
Minority interests
6’400
15’200
9’162
-2’512
Other information
Average number of shares
6’778’097
6’778’097
6’778’097
6’778’097
Earnings per share (no dilutive effects)
0.06
0.03
0.13
0.12
Number of shares, end of period
6’778’097
6’778’097
6’778’097
6’778’097
Earnings per share (no dilutive effects)
0.06
0.03
0.13
0.12
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
EUR
December 31
2024
December 31
2023
ASSETS
Current assets
Cash
1’407’778
1’035’045
Trade receivables
826’186
1’550’295
Other current receivables
1’240’347
1’187’972
Inventories and unvoiced services
1’200’340
1’168’190
Prepaid expenses and accrued income
123’533
70’719
Total current assets
4’798’184
5’012’221
Non-current assets
Other financial assets
2’066
6’759
Investments in associates and financial assets
486’268
501’589
Intangible assets
88’437
116’453
Property, plant and equipment
611’927
605’917
Total non-current assets
1’188’698
1’230’718
TOTAL ASSETS
5’986’882
6’242’939
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities
Trade payables
922’007
1’180’967
Current interest-bearing liabilities
1’503’735
1’766’856
Other current liabilities
397’901
415’781
Accrued expenses and deferred income
1’392’177
1’359’253
Total current liabilities
4’215’820
4’722’587
Non-current liabilities
Non-current interest-bearing liabilities
690’434
1’338’765
Provision
36’141
91’716
Total non-current liabilities
726’575
1’430’480
Total liabilities
4’942’395
6’153’067
Equity
Stockholders’ equity
881’002
-54’540
Minority interest in equity of subsidiaries
163’485
144’411
Total equity
1’044’487
89’871
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
5’986’882
6’242’939
As per 31 December 2016, goodwill acquired is no longer capitalized and depreciated,
but offset against equity.
For further information:
Magnus Sparrholm, Interim CEO
Telephone: +41 79 758 15 48
magnus.sparrholm@talkpool.com
Erika Loretz, Accounting & Finance Manager
Telephone: +41 79 333 59 71
erika.loretz@talkpool.com
Talkpool
Gäuggelistrasse 7 Telephone: +41 81 250 20 20
CH-7000 Chur Mail: info@talkpool.com
Switzerland Web: www.talkpool.com
FINANCIAL CALENDAR
Annual Report 2024
25 April 2025
Interim Report January – March 2025
15 May 2025
Annual Shareholder’s Meeting
10 June 2025
Interim Report January – June 2025
8 Aug 2025
Interim Report January – September 2025
14 Nov 2025
Year End Report January – December 2025
27 Mar 2026
CERTIFIED ADVISOR
G&W Fondkommission
This disclosure contains information that TalkPool AG is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU nr 596/2014). The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person, on 14-03-2025 08:30 CET.
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https://news.cision.com/talkpool-ag/r/year-end-report-q4-2024,c4118875
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