CYBER1 has released its fourth-quarter 2023 financial report, highlighting revenue growth of 16% to €18.8m, up from €16.2m in the same quarter a year earlier.
In addition, fourth-quarter gross margin increased by 39% compared to the same period the year before through increased next-generation security operations centre (SOC) sales, combined with growing vendor commercial partnerships.
“Looking back at the last quarter and the year as a whole, we are proud of the progress that has been achieved. We are also excited at the opportunities to develop further as an organisation and within our three business lines,” said CYBER1 executive director and president Robert Brown.
Brown said that during the last quarter of 2023, several key strategic deals were closed, ensuring that the company continued its headline growth through expansion of customers and additional upselling.
Brown added that year to date, group revenue has increased by 13% year on year, from €46.8m in 2022 to €52.8m in 2023, adding that this overall growth achievement is significant, as 51% of growth is derived from new business.
Gross margin for Q4 2023 year to date has been a significant success for the company, Brown said, increasing overall by €2.6m, or 28%. This growth has been achieved through closer collaboration with the company’s valued vendor portfolio, alongside a significant investment in professional services and the SOC.
Operating expenditure for the Q4 2023 year to date has continued the downward trend, decreasing in the financial year by €1.2m when compared to 2022. This 9% reduction has been achieved through greater alignment within the distribution segment (Trinexia), followed by greater technology and staffing efficiencies in CYBER1 Solutions South Africa.
Ebitda
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for the full year have shown a return to positive results, recording €624 000 for 2023. This result is an improvement of €3.7m from the prior year.
“We have been focusing on costs and on where we’re going with our technologies. We did a lot of planning in Dubai last year, and that’s starting to see some better ventures that are bearing fruit,” Brown said.
The company’s Southern Africa and broader Africa units performed exceptionally well in the last quarter, he said, with both exceeding their targets.
“CYBER1 Solutions, our largest entity in Southern Africa, had a very good fourth quarter, which helped improve results across the entire group, finishing with a revenue of about €10m. This has been a significant contributor to the group’s success.”
From a growth point of view, he said, positive results like these have seen several vendors requesting the company to take on additional territories, so the industry can expect news of expansion into the likes of Egypt, Tunisia and the Ivory Coast soon.
“This is due to the benefit of how we’re doing business. Customer adoption and onboarding are sky-high within South Africa. However, we also have a strong relationship with partners across the rest of Africa, and with the expansion of our SOC, there are a fair number of clients who were included in the fourth quarter who have signed longer-term contracts, and this will start to improve revenue in the SOC.”
Growth initiatives
Brown added that the company is focusing on adopting new customers in Africa and its continued partnership with 9th BIT Consulting is growing stronger by the day.
In other news, Brown announced that CYBER1 has appointed Renaldo Ferreira as the acting chief financial officer, effective 1 February. “Ferreira brings a wealth of experience and expertise in financial management, strategic planning and corporate governance. He has a proven track record of success while serving as the lead financial manager of CYBER1 Solutions South Africa. Moreover, he has experience serving as the financial manager at Federal Airlines, and has a background in auditing.”
Brown said CYBER1 will continue to focus on its main strategic growth initiatives, including its vendor engagements, C1 SOC proliferation, expansion of DevSecOps sales and the development of key partnerships.
“We are very excited to build on a successful year and make 2024 the best year for the company in all areas. We will do this by driving excellence in all that we do,” he said.
To learn more about CYBER1, please visit cyber1.com/investor-relations.
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