Solid results after SYSCO-Cegal-merger
Strong growth and profitability in the latter half of last year produced solid figures for Cegal. The turnover ended at NOK 1.6 billion, a growth of 15 percent from 2021.
“We have gained real momentum after the SYSCO-Cegal-merger. We grow faster than our competitors, have more satisfied employees, and win more major contracts.” This is how CEO Dagfinn Ringaas sums up last year.
“Tired but proud” is a good way of summarizing how we feel after a very busy 2022 with the merger with SYSCO. At the same time, we outperform peers in our industry, not only on financial performance but also on employee engagement and people attrition where we have excellent numbers despite going through a large merger,” starts CEO Dagfinn Ringaas at Cegal.
When 2022 is settled, Ringaas and his colleagues can look back on a year when hard work has resulted in several new, major local and global agreements with large companies. At the same time, the focus on the working environment has meant that Cegal has a lower turnover than comparable companies. Cegal's average is 3% turnover in the quarter, against the industry average of 5%.
Cegal's success comes from our employees.
Dagfinn Ringaas, Cegal
The battle for IT consultants and technicians with the right skills has characterized the industry in the last few years. Cegal CEO Ringaas expects that it will continue in the coming years.
“If we are to grow further and win new customers, we must retain our colleagues and, at the same time, succeed in hiring new, skilled colleagues. That is why we consciously work to build a corporate culture where meaningful work, social engagement, training, and competence development are central - together with competitive conditions. The strong Cegal culture we have created has resulted in lower turnover than our competitor's experience, says Ringås.
Faster growth due to merger
Cegal ended 2022 with a turnover of MNOK 1,626, a growth of 15% from 2021 (MNOK 1,418). The start of 2022 was marked by the merger, both financially and organizationally, but from the third quarter, the growth rate increased, and profitability improved.
In the fourth quarter, revenue ended at MNOK 490.2, a growth of 24% year-over-year, up 27% from the third quarter of 2022. EBITDA ended at MNOK 99.1, up 31% year-over-year. For the year, EBITDA ended at MNOK 307.6, up 5% from 2021 (294.1 MNOK). Last year we produced an EBITDA margin of 19%.
After the merger with SYSCO, Cegal has grown faster than the industry average.
Dagfinn Ringaas, Cegal
“Now we are also back with good profitability with an EBITDA margin of 19%. During 2022, we signed significant agreements with, among others, OKEA, Aker BP, and Skagerak Energi. In addition, we deliver more IT services to existing customers. Both parts are a result of the fact that together we have become a larger company, with a wider range of expertise and services,” Ringaas continues.
In 2023, we will emphasize delivering world-class IT services, revenue growth and maintaining profitability.
Dagfinn Ringaas, Cegal
Cegal has structured its operations in three business areas: cloud operations, services, and industrial software. All areas contributed to the strong growth. Cloud grew 17% year-on-year, services 21%, and software 43%.
Perfectly positioned for the growing demand in the energy industry
“Uncertainty and instability characterize the start of 2023, and in the big picture, businesses may spend less money on technology and IT services going forward. On the other hand, we see more tech spending optimism across the energy vertical as a combination of high energy demand and prices, digitalization, investment in renewable energy, and utilizing new technologies. Hence, we believe that Cegal is well positioned to continue to grow and protect our margins,” says Ringaas and highlights the vision of being a leading global technology company for the energy sector.
Cegal had good momentum out of 2022 with a record order backlog of NOK 2.4 billion, up from NOK 2.2 billion at the end of 2021.
“The vision of the merger of Cegal and SYSCO was to build a stellar nextgen tech company contributing to a more sustainable future. Our growth is accelerating, our pipeline and backlog remain solid, and our people are thriving. That makes us optimistic and energized for 2023 and ready to continue our mission to help energy customers turn complex IT into digital success for both old and new customers,” Ringaas concludes.
Some highlights in 2022
- Signed a major agreement with Skagerak Energi.
- Signed a major deal with OKEA.
- Signed a major deal with Aker BP.
- Signed strategic agreement with Easee.
- Acquisition of Danish Systemtech (Microsoft consultants).
- Opened a new office in Hamar, Norway
- Opened a new office in Tallinn, Estonia.
- Won Norvestor's sustainability award.
- Won the Climate Hackathon 2022, organized by Microsoft and DNB.
Read the story in The Norwegian Financial Daily >
Read the story in Digi (Norwegian) >
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Read the story in Stavanger Aftenblad (Norwegian) >
