Comments on the first quarterly figures for 2019
May 16, 2019
NorCom Information Technology GmbH & Co. KGaA (ISIN DE000A12UP37, General Standard) got off to a solid start in 2019 with a total output of 3.4 million euros (Q1 2018: 3.6 million euros / Q4 2018: 3.0 million euros) . Euro). EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was positive at EUR 0.2 million (2018: EUR 0.5 million). Due to the political situation, there is still uncertainty among the automobile manufacturers, NorCom's central customer base.
“Our automotive customers are still hesitant about awarding projects. We regard the fact that we were nevertheless able to increase sales compared to the last quarter of 2018 as a good sign - but it would be too early to speak of a trend reversal, ”says Viggo Nordbakk, Managing Director of NorCom, assessing the figures. “Our EBITDA is in a satisfactory positive range, albeit below the previous year's level. The reason for this are significant investments in our products, which are essential for our competitiveness. The key catchphrase here is “cloud capability”.
Cloud computing
The cloud capability of NorCom Big Data software products is the central theme in 2019. Enterprise customers are reaching their limits when forecasting the huge amounts of data that are now being produced in the automotive development process with the previous on-premise solutions and are switching to cloud operation. Making the NorCom software available in the respective cloud environments is therefore a fundamental requirement of major customers for further cooperation.
“Our big data software products show their advantages especially in the cloud: Depending on roles and rights, any number of teams worldwide can access globally distributed data without loss of time. Thanks to this ability, we are in a good starting position for future negotiations, ”said Nordbakk. "Nevertheless, minor adjustments are necessary in individual cases, which are, however, a mandatory investment in order to be able to decide on the planned major projects for us."
Outlook and strategy
“With regard to the award of contracts, we continue to experience the market situation as volatile. Our goal is to optimally adapt our products to the requirements of the market with systematic investments and thus to secure our competitive edge. When the market picks up again, we have to be there with the right products, ”says Nordbakk, explaining the company's strategy.
Investing in cloud computing also simplifies access to the international market. In order to conquer this, NorCom works together with strategic partners: "DaSense is included in the product portfolio of our partner AVL, the sales team has been trained accordingly and there are several joint marketing events and customer appointments", says Nordbakk. “We expect these measures to take effect in the second half of the year. The aim is to build further partnerships based on this model for our products in 2019. "
The next expansion stage for EAGLE will take place in the second half of 2019. The software is then used by all of the more than 20,000 employees in the “Technical Development” department. EAGLE will manage the complete technical documentation of Audi AG and in particular ensure compliance with all compliance requirements. Documents are managed in EAGLE according to the "Classification System for Documents" (KSU).
“The KSU defines standards for the classification, processing, storage and timely deletion of data and documents. Temporary documents in particular are screened out at an early stage and waste of data is avoided. In the case of documents to be deleted, it is ensured that they can actually no longer be restored - this has been a relevant point, especially since the GDPR came into effect. With this installation we have an excellent reference project for further marketing ”, says Nordbakk.