F-Secure Corporation, Half Year Report, 15 July 2021 at 08.00 EEST
F-Secure Half Year Report 1 January – 30 June 2021
Growth across all businesses – revenue up by 10% in Q2
Highlights of April-June (Q2)
- Revenue increased by 10% to EUR 58.2 million (53.0m)
- Revenue from corporate security products increased by 9% to EUR 20.2 million (18.5m)
- Revenue from cyber security consulting increased by 19% to EUR 11.6 million (9.7m)
- Revenue from consumer security increased by 6% to EUR 26.3 million (24.8m)
- Adjusted EBITDA was EUR 8.1 million (10.2m), 14% of revenue (19%)
- A strategic review resulted in items affecting comparability (IAC) of EUR 2.3 million
- Earnings per share (EPS) was EUR 0.01 (EUR 0.02)
- Cash flow from operating activities before financial items and taxes was EUR 12.9 million (11.4m)
Highlights of January-June (H1)
- Revenue increased by 8% to EUR 116.0 million (107.8m)
- Revenue from corporate security products increased by 7% to EUR 39.7 million (37.0m)
- Revenue from cyber security consulting increased by 9% to EUR 23.6 million (21.6m)
- Revenue from consumer security increased by 7% to EUR 52.6 million (49.2m)
- Adjusted EBITDA was EUR 17.8 million (17.4m), 15% of revenue (16%)
- A strategic review resulted in items affecting comparability (IAC) of EUR 2.3 million
- Earnings per share (EPS) was EUR 0.04 (EUR 0.03)
- Cash flow from operating activities before financial items and taxes was EUR 19.2 million (21.0m)
Figures in this report are unaudited. Figures in brackets refer to the corresponding period in the previous year, unless otherwise stated.
Outlook (unchanged)
F-Secure’s financial outlook for 2021 is:
- Revenue from corporate security products is expected to grow at a high single-digit rate.
- Revenue from cyber security consulting is expected to grow but uncertainty remains due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Revenue from consumer security is expected to grow approximately at the same rate as in 2020.
- Adjusted EBITDA is expected to remain approximately at the previous year’s level (EUR 35.7 million).
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the predictability of cyber security consulting and can also impact the new sales of software solutions. The related risks are described in this Half Year Report for January – June 2021.
CEO JUHANI HINTIKKA
F-Secure’s revenue grew across all businesses during the second quarter. I was particularly pleased to see growth picking up in both corporate security products and cyber security consulting. While the company’s revenue grew 10% year-on-year, the operational costs are returning to pre-pandemic level resulting in an adjusted EBITDA margin of 14%.
The revenue from corporate security products grew 9% year-on-year. In cloud-based business security software (endpoint protection platform, EPP), the growth in orders continued to outpace revenue growth driven by sales of the whole portfolio and complimented by landmark deals with large international customers in Cloud Protection for Salesforce. Demand for Managed Detection and Response (MDR) solutions strengthened due to the recent ransomware and supply chain attacks. F-Secure Countercept had many new customers committing to multi-year deals globally within the customer verticals such as retail, finance, critical infrastructure and professional services.
The revenue from cyber security consulting grew by 19% against a comparative period when this business was clearly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. I was happy to see good development in the UK and Nordics although operations in some countries remain negatively impacted by the pandemic. It is strategically important that many customers chose us for targeted attack simulation and incident response assignments. This is a great testimony to our technical capability and reputation within advanced cyber security domains.
Consumer security continues to grow driven by the sale of our core products that had an increase in device activations and a solid renewal performance. In Q2, we signed multiple new deals within our partner network. As an example, a leading Nordic energy company decided to complement their offering with cyber security and chose F-Secure TOTAL to provide full protection for their customers. This demonstrates the potential among new partner verticals that are looking for a way to increase average revenue per customer and reduce churn within their customer base.
F-Secure is a cyber security technology company for which the ability to innovate is crucial. In Q2 we launched F-Secure ELEMENTS which is a modular, cloud-native platform that enables customers to choose between standalone solutions and the full suite of endpoint products. This platform meets the need for the servitization of cyber security and is an easy way for our customers to deploy new solutions, which helps us to implement the Land and Expand strategy. Another highlight was the great results of F-Secure’s Detection and Response Capabilities in the 3rd MITRE Engenuity ATT&CK® Evaluation.
We start the second half of the year from an exciting position. F-Secure has positive momentum across all businesses, an enhanced offering and a 15% increase in deferred revenue year-on-year to give us tailwinds for the future. Furthermore, we completed a strategic review and analyzed different scenarios for building a platform for sustainable, long-term growth.
Financial performance
| EUR m | 4–6/2021 | 4–6/2020 | Change % | 1–6/2021 | 1–6/2020 | Change % | 1–12/2020 |
| Revenue | 58.2 | 53.0 | 10% | 116.0 | 107.8 | 8% | 220.2 |
| Consumer security | 26.3 | 24.8 | 6% | 52.6 | 49.2 | 7% | 100.1 |
| Corporate security | 31.9 | 28.2 | 13% | 63.4 | 58.7 | 8% | 120.1 |
| Products | 20.2 | 18.5 | 9% | 39.7 | 37.0 | 7% | 74.3 |
| Consulting | 11.6 | 9.7 | 19% | 23.6 | 21.6 | 9% | 45.8 |
| Cost of revenue | -12.2 | -11.6 | 6% | -24.5 | -24.0 | 2% | -48.0 |
| Gross Margin | 45.9 | 41.4 | 11% | 91.5 | 83.8 | 9% | 172.2 |
| of revenue, % | 79.0% | 78.2% | 78.9% | 77.7% | 78.2% | ||
| Other operating income | 0.5 | 0.8 | -38% | 1.0 | 1.3 | -27% | 2.1 |
| Operating expenses 1) | -38.3 | -31.9 | 20% | -74.7 | -67.6 | 11% | -138.5 |
| Sales & Marketing | -24.0 | -20.1 | 20% | -46.4 | -43.8 | 6% | -89.4 |
| Research & Development | -10.0 | -8.7 | 15% | -19.8 | -17.5 | 13% | -35.9 |
| Administration | -4.2 | -3.1 | 36% | -8.4 | -6.2 | 36% | -13.2 |
| Adjusted EBITDA 2) | 8.1 | 10.2 | -20% | 17.8 | 17.4 | 2% | 35.7 |
| of revenue, % | 14.0% | 19.3% | 15.3% | 16.2% | 16.2% | ||
| Items affecting comparability (IAC)2) | -2.3 | -2.3 | 0.4 | ||||
| EBITDA | 5.8 | 10.2 | -43% | 15.5 | 17.8 | -13% | 35.7 |
| of revenue, % | 10.0% | 19.3% | 13.3% | 16.6% | 16.2% | ||
| Depreciation & amortization | -2.7 | -3.3 | -18% | -5.5 | -6.5 | -16% | -12.6 |
| Impairment | -0.3 | ||||||
| PPA amortization | -0.7 | -0.8 | -11% | -1.5 | -1.7 | -13% | -3.2 |
| EBIT | 2.4 | 6.0 | -61% | 8.5 | 9.6 | -11% | 19.7 |
| of revenue, % | 4.1% | 11.4% | 7.3% | 8.9% | 8.9% | ||
| Adjusted EBIT 2) | 5.4 | 6.9 | -21% | 12.3 | 10.9 | 13% | 22.9 |
| of revenue, % | 9.3% | 12.9% | 10.6% | 10.1% | 10.4% | ||
| Earnings per share, (EUR) 3) | 0.01 | 0.02 | -55% | 0.04 | 0.03 | 22% | 0.08 |
| Deferred revenue | 83.2 | 72.3 | 15% | 81.0 | |||
| Cash flow from operations before financial items and taxes | 12.9 | 11.4 | 13% | 19.2 | 21.0 | -8% | 48.3 |
| Cash and financial assets at fair value through P&L | 44.4 | 39.8 | 12% | 51.4 | |||
| ROI, % | 7.8% | 22.5% | -65% | 15.2% | 18.5% | -18% | 18.5% |
| Equity ratio, % | 57.3% | 46.3% | 24% | 52.5% | |||
| Gearing, % | -14.4% | 14.3% | -201% | -14.1% | |||
| Personnel, end of period | 1,694 | 1,713 | -1% | 1,678 |
- Excluding Items Affecting Comparability (IAC) and depreciation and amortization
- Adjustments are material items outside normal course of business associated with acquisitions, integration, restructuring, gains or losses from sales of businesses and other items affecting comparability. Reconciliation and a breakdown of adjusted costs is in note 5 of the Table Section of this report.
- Based on the weighted average number of outstanding shares during the period 158,320,025 (1-6/2021).
Events after period-end
F-Secure’s CFO, Eriikka Söderström, has decided to leave the company on 30 September 2021. The process to appoint a new CFO is in progress.
Webcast
F-Secure’s CEO, Juhani Hintikka, and CFO, Eriikka Söderström, will present the results in a webcast starting at 14.00 EEST. The webcast will be held in English and can be accessed at https://f-secure.videosync.fi/2021-07-15-fsecureinterimreportq2. Questions are requested in written format in the webcast portal.
The presentation material and the webcast recording will be available on the company’s website.
Additional information
This is a summary of F-Secure’s Half Year Report 1 January – 30 June 2021. The full report is a PDF file attached to this stock exchange release and it is also available on the company’s website.
F-Secure will arrange a Capital Markets Day for investors and analysts on Tuesday, 31 August 2021 at 13.00 EEST.
Financial calendar
During the year 2021, F-Secure Corporation will publish financial information as follows:
- Interim report January-September 2021, October 21, 2021
Contact information
Eriikka Söderström, CFO, F-Secure Corporation
Henri Kiili, Investor Relations and Corporate Finance Director, F-Secure Corporation
+358 40 8405450
investor-relations@f-secure.com
