The equity capital of INVL Technology, a company that invests in IT businesses, was EUR 23.146 million, or EUR 1.90 per share, at the end of 2017, and increased 17.3 per cent during the year.
The company’s investments in the businesses it owns totalled EUR 20.1 million at the end of December and increased by EUR 3.4 million from the start of 2017. According to preliminary data, the company’s net profit for 2017, taking into account a revaluation of financial assets, was EUR 3.418 million. The valuation of INVL Technology’s assets was performed by Deloitte Verslo Konsultacijos.
“Last year was successful for INVL Technology – most of our business holdings increased not only revenue but also profit, and the value of the company’s assets under management grew. The businesses operating in the areas of cybersecurity, financial technologies and solutions for IT-intensive industries showed good results. This year INVL Technology continues to actively seek new investment opportunities, giving priority to acquisitions in Norway, Sweden or Lithuania,” said Kazimieras Tonkūnas, Managing Partner for the closed-end investment company INVL Technology at INVL Asset Management.
He said INVL Technology last year sought to expand constant access to markets, while the businesses it owns prioritized developing new products and making their international activities more competitive. During 2017, INVL Technology’s businesses carried out projects in 17 countries, including 14 where projects were also conducted in 2016. New projects begun by the companies and ties established with partners in Cyprus, Albania, Malawi, Gambia and India, partly compensated for the fact that a new phase of EU financing for the IT area did not start in Lithuania.
This year INVL Technology will give priority to scaling up the businesses it owns and boosting their value. The group will operate three functional groups instead of the previous four. NRD Companies will continue to comprise a business climate improvement and e-governance group and NRD CS a cybersecurity group, while an IT services and programming group will be composed of Novian (which until February 2018 operated under the name Vitma), BAIP, Acena, Algoritmu Sistemos and Andmevara AS.
“We hope the combination of areas and operations will allow us to better serve clients and facilitate business expansion in the Nordic region, also making our businesses more attractive for potential investors,” Kazimieras Tonkūnas said. The company’s businesses will continue to focus in 2018 on new product development and improving the competitiveness of international activities. INVL Technology will also support the creation of internal startups at the companies it owns.
Performance of businesses
In terms of assessing the performance of INVL Technology’s business holdings in 2017, NRD Companies, which works in the area of business climate improvement and e-governance (and whose results also include the results of Etronika and NRD), saw revenue increase nearly 20 per cent in the year to EUR 7.23 million (versus 2016 revenue of EUR 6.03 million). The group’s EBTIDA rose in the same period from a negative EUR 42 thousand to a positive EUR 565 thousand. Net profit for 2017 was EUR 421 thousand, compared with a group loss of EUR 431 thousand in 2016.
Andmevara AS, meanwhile, had 2017 revenue of EUR 1.1 million, with EBITDA at a negative EUR 271 thousand. The company had a net loss for the year of EUR 292 thousand. Because publication of Andmevara’s data began on 1 May 2016, when control of the company was acquired, there are no comparable previous-year figures.
The revenues of BAIP and Acena, which work in the area of IT infrastructure, grew 5.7 per cent during 2017 to EUR 11.73 million (versus EUR 11.1 million in 2016). Their EBITDA for the same period more than doubled to EUR 780 thousand, up from EUR 373 thousand in 2016. The companies had a net profit of EUR 203 thousand for 2017, versus a net loss of EUR 107 thousand the previous year.
NRD CS, which operates in the area of cybersecurity, more than doubled its revenue in 2017 to EUR 3.49 million (compared with EUR 1.58 million in 2016). EBITDA increased 5.5 times to EUR 603 thousand (up from EUR 110 thousand in 2016). The company’s net profit grew to EUR 468 thousand in 2017, which is 6.8 times the previous year’s level of EUR 69 thousand.
Algoritmu Sistemos, which operates in the area of solutions for IT-intensive industries, for 2017 had revenue of EUR 2.76 million, EBITDA of EUR 358 thousand and a net profit of EUR 361 thousand. Because publication of its data began on 1 April 2016, when control of the company was acquired, there are no comparable previous-year figures.
INVL Technology has invested in the Norwegian company Norway Registers Development AS with subsidiaries NRD UAB and Etronika UAB in Lithuania, Norway Registers Development East Africa Ltd in Tanzania, Norway Registers Development Rwanda Ltd in Rwanda, NRD Bangladesh Ltd in Bangladesh, and the associated company Infobank Uganda Ltd in Uganda. It has also invested in BAIP UAB with its subsidiary Acena UAB as well as NRD CS UAB, Algoritmu Sistemos UAB, Novian UAB, all in Lithuania, and Estonia’s Andmevara AS with its subsidiary Andmevara SRL in Moldova.
On its receipt of a closed-end investment company license in July 2016, INVL Technology’s management was assumed by INVL Asset Management – a part of Invalda INVL, one of the leading asset management groups in the Baltics. INVL Technology will operate as a closed-end investment company until 14 July 2026.