TalkPool AG: Year-end report Q4 2024

CHUR, Switzerland, March 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The network technology service provider Talkpool presents another year of stable financial results. The company has reduced to the MAX while preparing for growth. 

This is a summary of Talkpool's interim financial results for 24Q4 and the calendar year 2024. The full 13-page report is available on Published Financial Reports & Filings – Talkpool.

OCTOBER – DECEMBER KEY DEVELOPMENTS

• The year ended with a stable performance in line with the "reduce to the MAX" motto. More conservative accounting practices were applied throughout the year 2024. The operational performance and profitability increased during the last months of the year.           
• The German business had a slow ending of the year after very good performance in the first 9 months of 2024. The Swiss company and Pakistani company showed strong performance during October to December of 2024.          
• Talkpool is returning to its telecom network services roots, building upon its legacy of bringing communication technology to diverse regions worldwide. The company has delayed publishing its new strategy as it continues to thoroughly evaluate strategic opportunities.           
• Moving forward, Talkpool's primary focus is to grow and strengthen its companies in Germany, Switzerland, and Pakistan. This growth trajectory will be accelerated through the implementation of cutting-edge technology tools powered by artificial intelligence, enabling more efficient service delivery and expanded market reach.

This report contains insider information that Talkpool AG is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication at 08:30 o'clock Central European Time on Friday the 14^th of March 2025.

This is Talkpool

Talkpool works behind the scenes to plan, build and improve large communication networks. Competence includes implementation of new technology including hardware, software, project management and human resources management. The company partners with Original Equipment Manufacturers to distribute, integrate and maintain technology that enhances telecommunication infrastructure.

Talkpool has global geographical reach and experience. The business has three main companies:          

• Germany: Fixed network planning of fibre and Copper technology performed by 40 staff
• Switzerland: One large Operation and Maintenance project of a complete mobile and fixed network in the Caribbean performed by approx. 400 staff
• Pakistan: Market leader with 45 projects to plan, implement, integrate, optimize and refurbish telecom sites performed by approximately 1 000 employees

Talkpool also owns businesses in the USA, Saudi Arabia and Sweden. The company is traded in Stockholm (Nasdaq First North) and Frankfurt (Deutsche Börse) with ISIN CH0322161768. The business has Swedish roots, is majority-owned by Swedish shareholders and managed by a Swedish team. A streamlined and efficient business is now emerging after a turnaround period that has taken several years.

Management Comments

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly surpassing human capabilities across numerous domains. While many telecommunications network operations are still in the early stages of this technological transformation, Talkpool is strategically positioning itself to harness the full potential of AI tools. By automating repetitive tasks currently performed by humans and optimizing use of infrastructure, Talkpool aims to drive efficiency, reduce costs, and deliver superior network performance for its clients.

Talkpool followed the motto "reduce to the MAX" in 2024 – keeping costs low while maximizing future opportunities. Additional resources have been allocated to sales and business development without increasing the cost base.

Germany has during 2024 developed into Talkpool's most important market. The German work volumes in the fourth quarter were however lower than previously, and accounting practices were further tightened.

The Swiss company continued to overperform based on operational profits from its Operation and Maintenance project in the Caribbean and low headquarter costs.

The business in Pakistan is going through big changes. An effort to export remote services and technology from Pakistan has been initiated. Pakistan has been in a crisis, but the business ended 2024 with a positive trend.

The TALK share price (ISIN CH0322161768) dived from just below SEK 8.0 (€0.62) per share in early October 2024 to SEK 6.3 (€0.45) at the end of the year, only to return to just below SEK 8.0 (€0.62) at the time of writing this text.

Beginning of the year 2025

The business has started the new year as stable as it finished 2024. After 8 years of absence, Talkpool visited the world's largest wireless show #MWC25 in Barcelona and signed two separate contracts for Artificial Intelligence tools. New sales managers have been hired while efforts to minimize costs continue.

Business development activities have increased in Talkpool's Miami office. Promising negotiations with optical fiber network operators are undergoing and a network services trial is evaluated in the USA.

Talkpool is considering re-entering the Swedish market to meet new demands for secure mobile communication technology.

Looking ahead, Talkpool is planning to accelerate growth while continuing to focus on cashflow and profit margins.

Despite economic uncertainties, demand for Talkpool's services remains resilient, with clients increasingly turning to innovation as a response to challenging market conditions. In this turbulent global landscape, Talkpool has established itself as a trusted anchor, providing stability and forward-thinking solutions when clients need them most.

Financial development

KEY FIGURES

The annual revenue for 2024 remained in line with 2023 levels, with a small increase to EUR 15.8 million in 2024 from EUR 15.6 million in the previous year.

The gross margin throughout 2024 remained stable at an average just below 27%. The Gross Margin in 2024 was approximately 2.5% higher than in the previous year.

Financial position and cash flow

KEY FIGURES

[EUR]

The consolidated balance sheet continued to strengthen, with an increasingly positive net debt trend. The Total interest-bearing liabilities declined due to ongoing loan amortization. The long-term loans, marked with green color as "non-current interest-bearing liabilities" in the graph above, have almost been reduced in half from 1'339 thousand to EUR 690 thousand.

The Net Debt of EUR 786 thousand is calculated by deducting Total Debt from the Cash and Cash Equivalents. For Talkpool at the end of 2024, the Net Cash amounted to 1.408m€ cash – 1.504m€ current liabilities – 690k€ long-term liabilities = -786 thousand. The net debt will be reduced by approximately EUR 450 thousand after validating the conversion of shares decided in 2024 and executed in 2025. If the current trend continues, Talkpool will reach zero net debt in the beginning of the year 2025.

EQUITY

The Total equity increased throughout 2024, reaching EUR 1 044 thousand by year-end. Talkpool is since 2016 using an unusual accounting practice, whereby goodwill is discounted from equity. This accounting method has led to drastically reduced equity levels. Equity cannot be negative when applying standard accounting practices, but Talkpool has during many years had a negative equity amounting to several million Euros. Equity incl. minority interest has recovered from negative EUR 1 156 136 at the end of 2022 to a positive equity of EUR 89 871 at the end of 2023 to (positive) EUR 1 044 487 at the end of 2024.

Talkpool has improved its Equity Ratio (=Total Shareholders' Equity / Total Assets) to 17.4% in 2024. This is a low Equity Ratio for an established service company. The main reason for the low Equity Ratio is Talkpool's unusual way of discounting goodwill from equity.

Return on Equity (ROE) measures how efficiently a company generates profits from its shareholders' investments. ROE is calculated as Net Income / Average Equity for the year. A Return of Equity of over 30% is considered as extremely high. This is however distorted in a similar way as described above.

CASH-FLOW AND INVESTMENTS

OCT 1^ST – DEC 31^ST 2024

Operating cash flow amounted to EUR 490 thousand, a significant improvement compared to the negative EUR 757 thousand recorded in Q4 2023. Strong cashflow will be a key priority in Talkpool's new strategy.

Working capital reached EUR 231 thousand in Q4 2024, compared to negative EUR 687 thousand in the same period last year.

JAN 1^ST – DEC 31^ST 2024

Operating cash flow totaled EUR 1 433 thousand for the full year 2024. This is a big improvement compared to previous years. No major extraordinary events occurred and the OCF trend was positive. Despite amortizing loans, Talkpool had more cash at the end of the year than it had at the beginning of 2024.

Talkpool has now reached a healthy level of cashflow generation and intends to intensely continue focusing on cashflow generation. Operating cash flow (OCF) for service companies varies by industry segment, size, and business model, but there are some general benchmarks. For healthy service companies, operating cash flow typically ranges from 8% to 20% of revenue, and this can be compared to Talkpool's OCF of 9.1% for 2024 and 12.3% for the last quarter.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS AFTER THE PERIOD

Bonds were converted in September 2024. The resulting capital increase will be completed in the first half year 2025. In this report, we've assumed that the validation day for the conversion will be in 2025.

AUDITOR'S REVIEW

The company's auditors have not audited this report.

CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

As per 31 December 2016, goodwill acquired is no longer capitalized and depreciated,
but offset against equity.

For further information:

Magnus Sparrholm, Interim CEO 
Telephone: +41 79 758 15 48
magnus.sparrholm@talkpool.com

Erika Loretz, Accounting & Finance Manager 
Telephone: +41 79 333 59 71
erika.loretz@talkpool.com

Talkpool

Gäuggelistrasse 7 Telephone: +41 81 250 20 20 
CH-7000 Chur Mail: info@talkpool.com 
Switzerland Web: www.talkpool.com 

FINANCIAL CALENDAR

CERTIFIED ADVISOR

G&W Fondkommission

This disclosure contains information that TalkPool AG is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU nr 596/2014). The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person, on 14-03-2025 08:30 CET.

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https://news.cision.com/talkpool-ag/r/year-end-report-q4-2024,c4118875

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