2018 First-Half Results

  • Double-digit growth in revenue (14%)
  • AI Sales & Marketing solutions kick off with 55% growth
  • Net profit up 16%
  • Very solid financial health

Steady double-digit growth in revenue (14%) and net profit (16%)

Olivier Novasque, SIDETRADE Founder and CEO, states:

“In less than eighteen months, Sidetrade has come to a turning point in their history with three acquisitions. We have moved from our position as a European SaaS leader specialized in Financial customer relations, to an Artificial Intelligence provider covering the entire spectrum of customer relations, from generation of sales opportunities to cash flow acceleration. In the first half of this year, we have already achieved convergence of our teams in every department, finalized a unique Sales & Marketing Artificial Intelligence platform blending three different recently acquired technologies, and successfully launched a new service in all the countries where we operate.

Although it is still too early at this stage to draw conclusions, we can say that we are off to an encouraging start with very high growth. These initial results are the concrete outcome of our AIM2020 strategic plan. AI is becoming an essential– perhaps even vital– asset for top-performing businesses. We have enabled ourselves to move quickly and gain a considerable lead in the market. We have faith in our capacity to achieve around 40% growth with our new AI Sales & Marketing offering in 2018 and 2019.”

SIDETRADE GROUP (IN € MILLION) 1ST SEMESTER 2018 1ST SEMESTER 2017 VARIATION (%)
REVENUE 12.2 10.8 +14%
OF WHICH AI SALES & MARKETING 1.7 1.1 +55%
OF WHICH FINANCIALS 10.5 9.7 +8%
OPERATING PROFIT 1.2 1.1 +3%
NET RESULT 1.1 1.0 +16%

AI Sales & Marketing solutions kick off with 55% growth

In the first half of 2018. the Sidetrade group continued its double-digit growth-up 14% against the first half of 2017.

Driving this momentum was the dynamism of the new Sales & Marketing offer, which contributed more than their core Financials offer, given base effect. Over the last eighteen months, the Sidetrade group merged three technologies from acquisitions to create a unique AI Sales & Marketing platform.

During this watershed period, Sidetrade extended their services to the customer lifecycle with:

  • AI Sales & Marketing (for sales and marketing teams)

These solutions use AI to boost customer acquisition, identify cross-sell/upsell opportunities, and predict churn

  • AI Financials (for finance teams)

These solutions use AI to reduce payment delay, anticipate payment behavior, manage credit risk, accelerate dispute resolution, generate additional cash and enhance customer satisfaction.

In the first half of 2018, AI Sales & Marketing performed remarkably. With revenue up 55% just eighteen months after launch, these solutions are sure to be a growth driver for the future. AI Financials grew surely and steadily by 8%.

The new product mix owes its success to Sidetrade’s acquisition strategy, the ability of the R&D department to integrate new technologies, and the drive of the Sales force to present a comprehensive range of solutions. Given these strengths, the group will forge ahead with even stronger sales teams to take the lead in the Artificial Intelligence market.

Net profit up 16%

The group’s operating profit reached €1.2 million this half, up 3% compared to the same period last year.

The first six months of the year have essentially been devoted to finalizing the integration of three acquisitions, and eliminating the losses of acquired startups (€0.8 million) by pooling resources and unifying support functions. In the meantime, the group invested an additional €2.1 million to accelerate its growth.

Operating profit includes a research tax credit of €0.8 million (vs €0.5 million in the 1st half of 2017) and activation of R&D costs of €0.1 million (identical to the 1st half of 2017).

The acquisitions had a positive impact on corporate income tax (€0.13 million), explaining a big 16% increase in net profit.

Solid financial health

The Sidetrade group is in solid financial health, with treasury of €5.5 million on 30 June 2018, and virtually no debt (€0.4 million)

The group holds 74,940 of its own shares for an estimated value of €4.7 million on 30 June 2018.