Itera Q1 2024: Healthy profitability in the current soft market

Itera has launched a new AI platform named Sapience. The company continuous its business optimization measures to mitigate what is believed to be a temporary softer market resulting from macroeconomic factors that are set to start improving towards the end of the year.

— We remain optimistic about creating opportunities for our people, customers, and company. The fundamental importance of digital technology remains strong. Industries and markets have been affected differently, but all strategies continue to lead to cloud-based technology, data and AI to stay competitive, optimize operations and drive growth, says Arne Mjøs, CEO of Itera.

Itera reports revenue of NOK 228.5 million (NOK 230.3 million) for the first quarter of 2024. This is close to the record strong first quarter of last year, despite fewer working days due to Easter.   

— There is a lot of excitement around Generative AI and the potential of these technologies. During the last two quarters, Itera has developed our own AI-platform named ‘Sapience’ that provides every employee with Generative AI in a safe, secure and efficient way. As a platform, the bounds of what value we can create are only limited by our collective imagination, says Mjøs.

Itera’s headcount at the end of the first quarter of 2024 was 736 as compared to 731 at the end of the first quarter of 2023. 

— We continue to invest in developing our people and our business for the next waves of growth. We are leveraging automation and managed services through our Digital Factory at Scale, which allows us to do more with less and optimize operations. This approach enables us to manage growth without a proportional increase in headcount, says Arne Mjøs.

The revenue from Itera's 30 largest customers accounted for 83% of its operating revenue, which is 1 percentage point lower than in the first quarter of 2023. New customers, defined as customers won during the last 12 months, accounted for 6.1% (NOK 12.2 million) of revenue.

Returning cash to shareholders is an ongoing objective, and the company’s track record of high cash conversion rate and dividend payout twice a year reflects its commitment to providing value to shareholders. The Board of Directors confirmed its previous resolution to propose to the Annual General Meeting on 22 May 2024 the distribution of an ordinary dividend for 2023 of NOK 0.40 per share and for the Board to be authorized to approve a possible supplementary dividend later in the year.