Atea shares ‘record high profit’ in Q1

Revenue boost driven by good performance across hardware, software, and services sectors

Norwegian IT infrastructure and service provider Atea shared figures on the up in Q1 FY25, thanks to good performances across almost all territories.

Revenue increased 12.5 per cent year-on-year to NOK 8.55bn (£615.61m), compared to NOK 7.6bn the year prior.

Product revenue led the charge, going up 13.6 per cent year-on-year, from NOK 5.3bn to NOK 6.13bn.

Hardware sales surged 14 per cent, reaching NOK 5.75bn compared to NOK 4.95bn the year before.

Services revenue went from NOK 2.3bn to NOK 2.42bn, a 4.7 per cent upward trend.

Geographically speaking, Sweden performed the best, as revenue ramped up 7.8 per cent to SEK 3.1bn compared to SEK 2.87bn at the same period last year.

It was followed by Norway (NOK 2.1bn), Denmark (DKK 1.28bn), Finland (€73.1m), and the Baltics (€36.8m).

While all countries’ revenue was on the up, Finland was the only one under pressure, going through a 2.7 per cent year-on-year dip, from €75.1m to €73.1m, led by a 3.6 per cent fall in products revenue.

Overall Atea gross profit climbed five per cent to NOK 2.68bn, compared to NOK 2.56bn the year prior.

On the other hand, gross margins declined from 33.6 per cent to 31.4 per cent this quarter due to a more important proportion of hardware sales and third-party services in the revenue mix.

The reseller also saw a decrease in headcount, with 191 (2.4 per cent) fewer employees than in Q1 FY24, which was reportedly “offset by higher variable compensation, overhead costs, and the overall effect of inflation/currency rates on operating expenses.”

Steinar Sønsteby, CEO of Atea, said: “Atea has seen solid growth in demand across all geographies and all business lines during the first quarter.

“We expect the market to maintain a healthy rate of growth and have not seen any material impact on our business from recent macroeconomic factors.

“Our customers are steadily increasing their investment in information technology.

“As the largest IT infrastructure partner in the Nordic and Baltic region, we are uniquely positioned to provide a full range of products and services to help customers successfully pursue their digital transformation initiatives.”

2025 outlook

Throughout the year, Atea expects to tackle the six to ten per cent growth in IT infrastructure predicted by IDC in the Nordics and Baltics in 2025.

The company explains it has not seen any material market impact from recent macroeconomic factors including tariffs, as it does not import from or sell goods to the US.

The firm is also less impacted thanks to its activities in the public sector, which represents around 70 per cent of its sales.

Atea now intends to boost sales by six to 11 per cent and EBIT by ten to 20 per cent for FY25 and is also planning on slightly increasing its headcount while keeping it below the level it was in FY24 (7,989).