Financial statements bulletin: Viria’s revenue grew by one-fifth in 2018

• The Viria Group’s revenue for the financial period 2018 was EUR 104.9 million
• The Group’s EBITA was EUR 18.7 million
• Profit for the period totalled EUR 32.1 million
• The figures are not comparable year on year due to acquistions carried out during 2017 and 2018

 
¹ The adjusted EBITDA, the adjusted EBITA, the adjusted operating profit (EBIT) and the adjusted profit for the period are calculated by excluding capital gains/losses arising from the disposal of properties, fixed asset shares and businesses, insurance and other compensations and other adjustments from the respective reported figure.
² The shares owned by the Group are excluded from the total number of shares
 
More key figures can be found in table and graphic formats on our website.
 
Viria’s Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting of this spring that a dividend of EUR 1.83 per share, totalling approximately EUR 9.7 million, be paid to shareholders.
 

CEO Mika Vihervuori:

In 2018, Viria continued its development towards becoming a forerunner of total security and digitalisation, as defined in its strategy. The Group’s transformation during the past two years has been enormous and, to my delight, it has borne fruit. The choices made have yielded results.
During the financial period, the Group’s revenue grew by nearly one-fifth to EUR 104.9 million. Some of this growth came from corporate acquisitions but Viria’s core businesses have also grown organically. Viria Kiinteistöt Oy is the only subsidiary with decreasing revenue while other subsidiaries have grown by 7–50 per cent from the previous year.
The profitability of business operations has also developed favourably: all companies belonging to core businesses have improved their EBITDA. However, the most important factor influencing profit at the Group level was the capital gains from selling the shares in AB Sappa and DNA. The capital gains from the Sappa transaction, recorded under other operating income, also strengthen EBITDA and operating profit (EBIT).
Strong growth is an integral element in Viria’s strategy and during the year Viria carried out several corporate acquisitions to expand and supplement its operations. The most significant acquisition was that of the digital service company Bitfactor, enabling Viria’s expansion to the software sector. As a result of the acquisition, Viria now has two roughly equal-sized business areas: the information business consisting of Bitfactor, Aureolis and Hibox Systems and the security business consisting of Viria Security and Tansec.
Viria strengthened its security business in late summer by acquiring Ymon Oy and Proteco-Turvatekniikka’s business operations. Both businesses have been integrated into Viria Security Ltd, with Ymon Oy’s legal merger taking place on 31 December 2018.
As the TV business is excluded from core businesses in Viria’s strategy, the company sold AB Sappa’s entire share capital to a Swedish investor group in October. Sappa’s performance has been good and it has generated approximately EUR 15 million in capital gains and dividends to the Viria Group in 3.5 years.
The generation of synergies was promoted with internal arrangements. At the beginning of June, Viria Securi and Viria LAN&WAN merged and formed one company, Viria Security Ltd. The merger turned Viria Security into the largest total security service provider in Finland.
During the financial period, Viria Plc sold part of its shares in DNA in multiple batches, with a total selling price of approximately EUR 33 million. The transaction yielded EUR 26.3 million in capital gains to Viria.
In the autumn, the first share-based incentive scheme was launched for Viria’s personnel. Its popularity was an indicator of the personnel’s commitment to and belief in Viria’s strategy.
Viria appreciates high-quality training and education and, authorised by the Annual General Meetings of 2017 and 2018, it has donated a total of EUR 100,000 to the Universities of Applied Sciences in Vaasa, Seinäjoki, Kokkola and Jyväskylä and to the Novia University of Applied Sciences.

Events after the period

Viria Plc’s holding in Aureolis Oy increased to 70 per cent as of 2 January 2019 and the company will be included in the consolidated financial statements as a subsidiary.
At the beginning of February, Viria acquired all the shares of the cyber security company Spellpoint Group Ltd. Spellpoint supplements Viria’s cyber security services with identity and access management services.

Outlook for 2019

Viria’s business operations have a solid market position and a high volume of orders. Digitalisation development continues strongly but the anticipated slowing down of economic growth will probably influence companies’ investments later this year. Consequently, Viria expects that its Group companies continue to grow but at a slower pace than in the previous years.
Viria’s goal is to grow both organically and inorganically and corporate acquisition investments that are in line with the company’s strategy or supplement the company’s offering are possible in the future, too. An important objective for this year is to increase the value that Viria generates to its customers through solutions shared by all businesses.
 
Further information             CEO Mika Vihervuori, tel. +358 40 720 2140
 
Viria is an information and security technology solution provider that promotes digitalisation without compromising security. Our operations combine strong expertise in business intelligence, digital business and physical and cyber security with a customer-oriented and creative approach.
The Viria Group consists of the parent company Viria Plc and its subsidiaries Viria Security Ltd, Aureolis Oy, Bitfactor Oy, Hibox Systems Oy, Tansec Oy and Spellpoint Ltd. All companies are experiencing good growth and have a strong market position.  Viria’s revenue in 2018 was EUR 105 million. At the moment, the Group has approximately 685 employees.  www.viria.fi/en