For 61% of companies, the biggest barrier to implementing document digitization tools is the lack of specialists in the field, according to an Asseco report titled "The Paperless Gap and Other Challenges on the Road to Digitization of Documents in Business." Interestingly, this problem was felt more strongly by companies that already use digital solutions and have implemented electronic signatures in their organization (65%). Among those that have not yet done so, the shortage of specialists is perceived by 49%. The premiere of the entire report will take place on June 8 at the Trusted Economy Forum, the largest international conference on electronic trust services, digitization of business processes and cyber security.

According to a report compiled by Asseco, the main barrier preventing companies from digitizing documents is the shortage of specialists in this field. It is felt by more than 60% of companies. It is estimated that Poland currently lacks 50,000 IT professionals including: programmers, developers and architects, but also managers who are capable of leading an organization through digital change.

The IT industry has long struggled with a shortage of specialists, which is driving up the cost of providing services. Digitization covers so many areas of our lives that the shortage of human resources will translate into the entire economy in the long term. Our survey shows that the problem is also recognized by entrepreneurs in other industries who would like to digitize their business, but often do not have the knowledge and competence in their teams to implement the right solution. The problem arises from the very beginning, as many companies are not even able to formulate their expectations when it comes to digital or cyber security solutions. And digitization requires not only technical expertise, but also a comprehensive approach at different levels and an understanding of the change within the organization. Therefore, a broad cooperation of various business communities, industry experts, administration and universities is needed in order to improve the competencies of current employees on the one hand, and on the other, to intensively develop the education system for future generations of IT professionals. Asseco, as a leader in digitization in Poland, is already involved in initiatives such as Cyber Science to support the academic community in the preparation of curricula and specialized fields of study," says Andrzej Dopierała, President of Asseco Data Systems, Vice President of Asseco Poland

Entrepreneurs also see poor legal environment (43%) among the barriers to digitization, as well as a lack of good, industry-specific examples of successful digitization cases that have brought real benefits to companies. Such a limitation is seen by 41% of respondents.

The report, "The Paperless Gap and Other Challenges on the Road to Digitization of Documents in Business," is based on a survey conducted by Civitta Poland on behalf of Asseco Data Systems using the CATI method on a sample of 316 companies with 100 or more employees. The distribution of the surveyed sample reflects the structure of companies in Poland in this size segment. The surveyed companies included entities from manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, healthcare, construction, finance and insurance, and transportation, among others.

The results of the entire report will be presented on June 8 in Warsaw at the Trusted Economy Forum. Register for the event at www.trustedeconomyforum.pl.

Asseco took the second place in the "Polish ambassadors" ranking prepared by the editorial team of the Wprost weekly. In this year's ranking, the company with foreign sales of PLN 12.9 billion advanced by one position. The company is present in 60 countries worldwide and employs over 30 thousand people.

In 2021, we focused on sales of proprietary software and provision of related services, as well as on increasing the scale of our business through acquisitions. Last year we were joined by 18 new companies operating in the Israeli, European, and American markets, said Adam Góral, President of the Management Board, Asseco Poland.

The company has been growing both organically and through acquisitions, of which it has made almost 120 since 2004. Asseco companies are listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), NASDAQ and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Asseco is the leader in digitization in Poland* and the largest IT company in the CEE region.

*according to the Computerworld TOP200 report for 2020.

Asseco has remained in 12th place in the ranking of the "200 Largest Polish Companies 2022" prepared by the editorial staff of the Wprost weekly. Thus, the company has remained the leader of IT companies in this ranking. The company, on the wave of growing role of digitization, achieved record results in 2021. Revenues amounted to PLN 14.5 billion. Whereas, net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company amounted to PLN 468 million. Asseco recorded substantial earnings increases across all of its business segments and sectors.

2021 was another very good year for Asseco. In the face of the continuing coronavirus pandemic, the Asseco team demonstrated great commitment, flexibility, responsiveness to customer needs, and adaptation to rapidly changing market demands. We consistently pursued a strategy of geographical, sectoral and product diversification of our business. We focused on selling our proprietary software, providing related services, and on increasing the scale of our business through acquisitions. All this translated into strengthening our position in all segments and business sectors. Therefore, we achieved record-breaking financial results, both at the level of revenues and profits, while maintaining profitability, said Adam Góral, President of the Management Board of Asseco Poland.

Asseco is the leader of digitization in Poland* and the largest IT company in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. For over 30 years, it has been developing technologically advanced software for companies from key sectors of the economy. The company is present in 60 countries around the world and employs 30,000 people. It develops both organically and through acquisitions - it has carried out over 115 of them since 2004. Asseco's companies are listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), NASDAQ and Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

*according to Computerworld TOP200 report

Four of Asseco's initiatives were included in the list prepared annually by the Responsible Business Forum (FOB). Analysts of this largest Polish review of CSR and sustainable development initiatives appreciated the company's activities for the most in need and the natural environment.

Asseco, guided by local patriotism, supports Podkarpacie - the region where the company was established and where its headquarters are located. On the occasion of its 30th anniversary, Asseco organized the #AssecoForChildren campaign. It was a joint charity initiative of Asseco Poland and the Podkarpacki Regional Branch of the Polish Red Cross (PCK), aimed at supporting the students most in need in their access to knowledge and further education by providing them with 300 laptops with mobile Internet from the Plus network. It was addressed to the most needy and ambitious students of primary and secondary schools who live and study in Rzeszów or the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. To children who needed a computer to learn, but the material conditions of their families did not allow for its purchase. In particular, to those students who showed engagement and activity in learning. The Mayor of the City of Rzeszów and the Marshal of Podkarpacie Voivodship have given their support to the project.

In addition, next to its office in Rzeszów, at 14 Olchowa St., Asseco has created a flower meadow covering an area of 3,000 m2. The initiative aims to minimize the negative impact on the environment by increasing biodiversity and creating a natural habitat for insects, amphibians and birds. This type of solution also helps in water retention. The flower meadow has been created on the grounds of one of the plots belonging to the Asseco, which also takes care of its maintenance by, among other things, mowing it every year.

Another year in a row, the report included the annual Asseco employees' charity campaign "We help", whose aim is to support those most in need and motivate employees to get involved in these activities. Employees nominate selected organizations for financial support, e.g. orphanages or single mother's homes, hospices, foundations supporting poor families. From 2019, they can nominate pro-environmental initiatives (100% directed at environmental protection and those that are part of aid projects of a different nature, e.g. introduction of waste segregation in a given center). Since it is key to reach as many people as possible, an important criterion for selecting beneficiaries is the scale of the organization's activity and the employee's commitment.

The list also includes the #PaperlessBusiness campaign initiated by Asseco and joined by the European Leasing Fund. The purpose of the campaign is to educate and demonstrate the benefits of digitization and how it effectively affects business while reducing paper consumption.

The report "Responsible Business in Poland. Good practices" is the most important periodic publication of the Responsible Business Forum, issued since 2002. The report provides an overview of companies' CSR activities and summarizes the most important issues related to responsible business in Poland in a given year.

In the first quarter of 2022, Asseco generated revenues of PLN 4.1 billion, which are 22% higher than in the corresponding period of 2021. Sales of proprietary products and IT services increased by 21% and amounted to PLN 3.2 billion as compared with the first 3 months of the previous year. Consolidated operating profit amounted to PLN 390 million, showing a 21% increase. Net profit attributable to the shareholders of the parent company amounted to PLN 108 million, up by 6%. The Group continued its growth in all segments and business sectors.

In the 3 months of this year, non-IFRS operating profit stood at PLN 480 million, up by 20% versus Q1 2021, and non-IFRS net profit reached PLN 124 million, after an increase by 7%.

The Group improved its sales in all operating segments. This was possible owing to a consistently implemented strategy of business diversification as well as intense digitization in the economy. In Q1 2022 foreign markets represented by the Formula Systems and Asseco International segments accounted for 90% of the Group's total sales. Revenues in the Formula Systems segment reached PLN 2.7 billion, growing by 27%, while operating profit amounted to PLN 227 million, up by 36% year on year. In the Asseco International segment, sales increased by 15% to PLN 940 million, while operating profit was on a par with last year at PLN 96 million. The Asseco Poland segment reported sales of PLN 408 million, an increase of 11% year on year, while its operating profit was 15% higher at PLN 68 million.

Asseco's revenues, which are very well diversified by sectors, were distributed as follows in Q1 2022: general business - 44%, banking and finance - 33% and public institutions - 23%.

Asseco's consolidated order backlog for 2022 in variable exchange rates, in the areas of proprietary software and services, is currently worth PLN 11.2 billion and is 30% higher than in the same period last year. In fixed exchange rates, in which the backlog for 2021 was converted, the increase amounts to 18% to PLN 10.1 billion.

We are pleased with the results we achieved in the first quarter of this year. We recorded increases at all major levels of the profit and loss statement. Our sector, product and geographic diversification of business provides us with stable growth. We executed long-term maintenance and development contracts. We have been building a solid order backlog for 2022 and subsequent periods - we have expanded cooperation with existing customers and acquired new partners both in Poland and in foreign markets. The years 2020-2021 were exceptional for us in terms of profitability, among others thanks to projects of fundamental importance for the state, carried out by us in the public administration sector, in a very demanding time regime. All the more so, the operating margin at quite similar levels on year-on-year basis, amounting to 9.6% during the first 3 months of 2022, should be considered satisfactory. We continue to execute our M&A strategy. During the first three months of this year, the Asseco Group was joined by 3 new companies, said Karolina Rzońca-Bajorek, Vice President of the Management Board of Asseco Poland.

Non-IFRS figures including adjustments for: the cost of amortization of intangible assets recognized in purchase price allocation (PPA), the costs of share-based payment transactions with employees (SBP), the financial costs and financial revenues resulting from the transactions of purchase and sales of companies (M&A) and tax effects associated with them.

Asseco remained in the third place among the WIG30 companies best evaluated by financial institutions in the ranking prepared by the editors of the "Parkiet" daily. Whereas, in the survey conducted among individual investors, Asseco advanced to the fourth position. Thus, the company’s communication with the market was again recognized as one of the best.

The most important thing in investor relations is transparency and openness to dialogue, which is the basis for continuous modification of the communication strategy and its adaptation to the needs of different stakeholder groups. IR assumes an interdisciplinary approach to a company and its business. Our task is to collect and harmoniously arrange information and figures from many areas, including individual business divisions and subsidiaries, so that they form a coherent whole. In this way, messages are created that reach investors as the so-called equity story. In this profession, it is crucial to not only be a "transmitter" of information, but to really understand its business sense and its impact on the current and future situation of the company - said Joanna Paczkowska-Tatomir, Head of Investor Relations in Asseco Poland. A good IR team has its eyes wide open - it observes the market situation, understands its context, looks for connections and analogies, analyses case studies of other companies, and knows how to draw conclusions. It must also not be afraid of constructive criticism and should listen carefully to feedback from investors. Flexibility, the ability to adapt to different situations and the use of appropriate communication tools are also important. A professional IR team is a team which shares knowledge and expands this knowledge all the time by participating in trainings, courses and industry meetings - she concluded.

The pandemic, the geopolitical situation and major market turbulence have made transparent and reliable communication even more important. Not avoiding sometimes difficult topics is nowadays of elementary importance for conducting good IR. Equal access to information for all investors, openness to contacts with them and the ability to listen to their needs are also important. Without these elements, listed companies will not be able to build investor confidence.

The companies were awarded during the Conference of the Chamber of Brokerage Houses. The winners, as every year, were selected in two parts of the survey: through votes of readers and individual investors cast on the "Parkiet" daily website and through a questionnaire sent to fund managers and analysts from brokerage houses.