The management of Asseco Poland has reasons to be satisfied and did not hide this during Thursday's conference. The company does not feel the negative impact of artificial intelligence, which is consistent with the earlier expectations of CEO Adam Góral. In the first quarter, it recorded significant growth in results. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company increased by 68%, to PLN 228 million, and revenues by 9%, to PLN 4.4 billion. Asseco increased revenues in all key segments. The IT company's sales are highly diversified – the share of the 13 largest clients constitutes 13% of the revenue structure, and no client exceeds 2%.
High profitability and full order book
Revenues of the parent company alone increased by 12% to PLN 607 million, and operating profit by 44% to PLN 149.5 million, which means an operating margin of 24.6%. This is 5.5 percentage points more than a year ago.
"Such a level of profitability is extraordinary – it is the result of accumulation from several places. We had good contracts, including in the public sector. The coming quarters also look promising, for example in the healthcare and energy sectors. In many places, we have more work than resources," says Karolina Rzońca-Bajorek, Vice President of Asseco responsible for finance.
The order book indicates a busy year for the group. Its value in software and own services in variable exchange rates reached nearly PLN 12.3 billion, 21% higher than a year ago. The Formula Systems group has the highest backlog dynamics (27% YoY). In Poland, the dynamics are 21%, and in Asseco International, 8%.
"The value of the backlog makes us feel secure about revenues. Currently, there is no area that causes us concern, as was once the case with rising labor costs. If we also manage to secure contracts in Africa or the military, then generally this year should be good," says Karolina Rzońca-Bajorek.
AI as both an opportunity and a threat
Asseco, which is one of the leaders in the public sector in Poland, has been working for some time on entering the European Union market.
"We are trying to open up more to topics at the EU level. We want to become somewhat independent from domestic orders. We have a concept of building products in the public segment," says Karolina Rzońca-Bajorek.
One of the most discussed topics within the group is artificial intelligence and its impact on business.
"On one hand, thanks to AI, one can think about significant optimization of labor costs. On the other hand, if in a year or two the costs of this technology increase significantly, and we become dependent on a particular supplier, then it may no longer be so obvious that using these tools significantly reduces costs," said Karolina Rzońca-Bajorek.
Motivational program for a time of major change
[The March EGM of Asseco did not pass the proposed motivational program for key managers.] The company then announced that it would return with a new proposal. Another extraordinary general meeting, where new proposals will be presented, is to be convened shortly.
"We are constantly talking to the market, but we are not changing our minds regarding the structure of the planned programs, so a spectacular change in assumptions should not be expected. We are currently in the process of a major transformation related to succession. In practice, a CEO who has been with the company forever is leaving. In all this, the most important thing is to retain key people in the company during this change. Our goal is not only to maintain what Adam has built but also to develop the company. The new CEO must have the appropriate tools for this," says the CFO.
According to announcements, Adam Góral is to leave the management board at the end of the year, and Rafał Kozłowski is to become CEO. The intention of the management board is to establish a program that will retain the most important 100+ managers for five years. Under the motivational program, they are to be offered shares.
