LLYC reports revenue and EBITDA growth for 2023

MADRID, March 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- LLYC (BME: LLYC) has released its audited results for 2023, affirming the preliminary figures announced in January. The Corporate Affairs and Marketing consultancy experienced a significant upsurge in operating revenues, which climbed by 14% to €83.1 million, while total revenues surged by 13% to €101.4 million. Recurring EBITDA showed a notable improvement of 15% over 2022, reaching €18.5 million. This advancement, fueled by a blend of organic and inorganic growth, surpassed the targets outlined in the budget. Throughout 2020-2023, LLYC has magnified its operating revenues by a factor of 2.1 and its EBITDA by a factor of 2.2. Furthermore, the company's net profit soared by 24% to €9.2 million last year.

LLYC's expense and structure management resulted in an EBITDA margin of 22%, underscoring its ability to maintain high profitability despite competitors' margin reductions. Moreover, the company achieved robust cash generation, culminating in a closing balance of €10.7 million in cash and a net debt of €0.8 million by the end of 2023. This solid financial footing, coupled with low indebtedness, positions the company favorably to pursue future acquisitions in key markets, leveraging favorable terms for bank debt.

"Despite the uncertainties of 2023 that reverberated across global economies, our presented results are truly commendable," said Alejandro Romero, LLYC's Partner and Global CEO. "LLYC's evolution has positioned us to pursue the growth outlined in our 2023/2025 strategic plan. We have shown our ability to overcome new challenges and remain focused on achieving our goals."

In 2023, LLYC's revenue distribution by business unit was as follows:

• Europe accounted for 33% of operating revenues and 37.7% of EBITDA.
• Deep Digital contributed 34.5% and 28%, respectively.
• Latam represented 24.1% and 23.5%.
• The USA contributed 8.4% and 10.8%.

Notably, marketing services comprised almost half of the company's revenues in 2023.

Innovation, LLYC's central pillar

The pivotal contribution of Deep Digital services was instrumental in LLYC's performance, with revenues from this segment escalating by 21% in 2023. Deep Digital now constitutes 34.5% of operating revenues and 28% of recurring EBITDA. The company intensified its focus on innovation, investing €1.3 million (a 62% increase over 2022) in RDI last year. In 2023, revenue from innovation activities accounted for 11.4% of Deep Digital's total revenue.

LLYC's commitment to innovation facilitated the development of proprietary AI models, including a reputation measurement model that surpassed market benchmarks by 20 accuracy points and was validated by the Complutense University of Madrid, and which has already enabled the analysis of more than 850 million messages. Additionally, the company launched AIgent, a generative artificial intelligence solution tailored for specialized knowledge conversations.

ESG commitment

LLYC made significant strides in 2023 regarding its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives. ESG rating providers Clarity Ai and Refinitiv rated LLYC favorably, positioning it as a leader in its sector and surpassing its peers in sustainable performance.

Clarity Ai currently gives LLYC a score of 76 points out of 100, with a clear leadership position in relation to its sector and comparable companies. The analysis highlights the quality of the information provided by LLYC to the markets and its good sustainable performance, especially in the area of corporate governance where LLYC receives a score of 93 points out of 100.

In the case of Refinitiv, the rating obtained by the company for 2022 was "B" in the total ESG Ratings, with a score of 61 points out of 100. In the breakdown, LLYC stands out in environmental aspects such as the use of resources; social aspects such as labor, human rights or community relations policies; and corporate governance in its relationship with its shareholders and investors, with ratings of A-. LLYC also obtained the highest rating (A+) from the perspective of reputational risk associated with ESG controversies. The consulting firm is ranked 38th out of 183 in the world ranking of companies evaluated with an ESG perspective by Refinitiv in the Media & Publishing category.

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SOURCE LLYC