Press Office

Asseco was included in the Index H&M 500, a list of trustworthy companies prepared by the editors of Home&Market monthly. The company was recognized for the creation and implementation of innovative solutions that support social development and the environment.

The purpose of the ranking is to identify companies that balance their activities with care for the environment and social relations. Asseco's strategy is defined by the following motto: “We think globally, act locally”. The company takes a responsible approach to business and is guided by local patriotism; therefore, among other things, Asseco companies pay taxes in the places where revenues are generated and support local communities.

One of such initiatives was the #AssecoHelpsChildren campaign organized in 2021 together with the Podkarpackie Regional Branch of the Polish Red Cross, under which 300 laptops were provided for the 30th anniversary of Asseco. Its objective was to support the most needy pupils in their access to knowledge and further education by providing them with 300 laptops with mobile Internet access from the Plus network. It was addressed to the most needy and ambitious students of primary and secondary schools who live and learn in Rzeszów or the Podkarpackie region.

In addition, Asseco organizes an annual charity campaign "We Bring Help", under which since 2013 it has donated a total of more than PLN 1.7 million to the needy, and 2 thousand employees have participated in the project. With these funds, it was possible to help about 5.1 thousand children and 130 families.

Asseco, which for many years has been providing IT solutions that not only make life easier for customers and citizens using digital services, but also make the digital world more efficient and secure, has also launched the #BusinessWithoutPaper initiative. It consists in conducting activities aimed at reducing paper consumption by promoting and supporting projects aimed at developing digital services.

In 2021, Asseco generated sales revenues of PLN 14.5 billion, which marked an increase by 19% versus 2020. Sales of proprietary products and IT services increased by 17% year-on-year to PLN 11.3 billion. Consolidated operating profit went up by 20% to PLN 1.5 billion. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company amounted to PLN 468 million, after an increase by 17%. The Group recorded significant improvement of results in all segments and sectors of its operations.

Last year, non-IFRS operating profit amounted to PLN 1.8 billion, which marked an increase by 21%. In turn, non-IFRS net profit stood at PLN 516 million, up by 14% from 2021.

The Group generated better results across all of its operating segments, which was possible thanks to its focus on supporting customers in the face of the pandemic and capitalizing on opportunities associated with the acceleration of digitization processes in companies and institutions. In 2021, foreign markets represented by the Formula Systems and Asseco International segments together accounted for 89% of the Group's total revenues. Sales of the Formula Systems segment increased by 23% to PLN 9.3 billion, while operating profit improved by 24% to PLN 760 million. In turn, revenues of the Asseco International segment increased by 13% to PLN 3.6 billion, while its operating profit improved by 12% to PLN 433 million. Sales of the Asseco Poland segment reached PLN 1.6 billion, up by 9% year on year, while its operating profit improved by 23% to PLN 263 million.

Asseco's revenues, which are very well diversified by sectors, were distributed as follows in 2021: general business - 40%, banking and finance - 35% and public institutions - 25%.

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. Last year we were joined by 18 new companies operating in the Israeli, European, and American markets. We also strengthened our position in the areas of cyber security and cloud, which have taken on particular importance after 2020. 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's consolidated order backlog for 2022 in variable exchange rates in the areas of proprietary software and services is currently worth PLN 9.8 billion and is 28% 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 9.0 billion.

In 2022 our goal will still be to maintain Asseco's leading position in banking, insurance, energy, telecommunications, healthcare and public administration. All the time we focus on further development in the area of proprietary products and services. Apart from sector solutions, we will also reinforce our position in ERP systems, payments, and trust services. We will continue to invest in the development of cloud products and cyber security services. We will continue to grow not only organically, but also through acquisitions. Of course, when thinking about the development prospects for 2022, one has to mention the war in Ukraine, the long-term effects of which are difficult to predict today. The first days of the war have already shown how important it is to take care of the country's cyber security and to maintain the continuity of key systems and critical infrastructure - added Adam Góral.

Asseco consistently builds shareholder value and shares its profits with them; so far it has paid out PLN 2.7 billion in dividends. This year, the Company's Management Board is recommending a dividend payment of PLN 279 million from the 2021 profit, which translates into PLN 3.36 per share and constitutes 60% of the Group's consolidated net profit.

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

The CYBER4DE - "Cyber Rapid Response Toolbox for Defense Use" project began in December 2021. Under the project, Asseco along with seven other companies from the EU countries has formed a consortium that will develop and implement tools for rapid response to cyber incidents at the national and international level.

Within CYBER4DE, companies from Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, France, Croatia, Italy and Romania will develop an easy-to-deploy, modular and scalable toolkit. This will be used by PESCO's CyberRescue Rapid Response Teams (CRRTs), streamlining and improving the effectiveness of operations. and increase the efficiency of operational activities. The CYBER4DE project has a duration of 30 months and a budget of approximately €10 million.

"Rapid response to cyber-attacks is one of the main areas of focus for European defence, as it strongly affects stability in Europe and beyond, as well as the security of society. CYBER4DE will provide a proven, off-the-shelf toolkit that will be developed through consultation to tackle the most challenging operational environment, and will build state-of-the-art software to provide the most advanced crisis management and incident response capabilities," says Dr. Tomas Žalandauskas, CYBER4DE project coordinator.

"Asseco has years of experience in the design, development and implementation of cyber security tools. We are all the more pleased to be part of a project that will improve the cyber security of European Union member states. We should assume that we will continue to see an increased number of attacks due to the digital arms race, the spreading problem of disinformation as a method used by both states and cybercriminals, and the growing threat of attacks on ordinary users. This reality forces us to constantly improve and modernize solutions that protect countries and the community in the international arena," emphasizes Zdzisław Wiater, Director of International Organizations and Security Solutions Division, Asseco Poland.

The project will deliver a fully functional, easily deployable Next Generation Defense Cyber Toolkit (TRL7 / TRL8) consisting of four main modules - Workplace, Sensors, Back-office, and Cloud services - by mid-2024.

This project has received funding from the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) under grant agreement no. EDIDP-CSAMN-EDICT-2020-76-CYBER4DE.

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Asseco is a recognized provider of solutions for the Polish uniformed services, increasingly active in the global market. At present, it has over 350 clients worldwide. The Company has gathered its experience while working on projects for, among others, the Ministry of National Defence, European Union institutions and agencies (FRONTEX, ESA, EDA) and NATO. Asseco meets the highest standards of data and confidential information protection. It has been awarded the Industrial Security Certificate, among others.

Asseco Poland was a company whose analysis and valuation was prepared by participants of the Polish edition of the "CFA Institute Research Challenge" competition. The team representing Leon Koźmiński Academy in Warsaw won the competition. Over 50 students from 12 teams representing 8 universities participated in the project. The winning team of young analysts will compete in the next, international stage of the competition.

Participating in the CFA Institute Research Challenge is a valuable experience for us. We also congratulate all the teams which decided to join this initiative. We watched with great interest how the young people argued their valuations of our company, defended their theses, and answered the jury's questions, said Karolina Rzońca-Bajorek, Vice President, CFO of Asseco Poland. We maintain transparent and dialogue-based communication with the market. The teams' presentations gave us a new perspective on our activities and provided important feedback that we intend to use in our communication with particular groups of customers - she added.

The team from Koźminski University has qualified to the regional stage of EMEA (quarter-finals), where their presentation of analysis and valuation of Asseco Poland company will be further evaluated. The best teams will compete against other teams from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at the end of April. If the team representing Poland and the Baltic countries successfully copes with the task, they will advance to the global final in mid-May.

I highly appreciated the students' qualifications in the area of financial analysis, which we saw in the reports prepared by the teams, as well as in the presentations of these reports. The contest participants demonstrated that they are already prepared to work in the analytical departments of financial institutions, not only in Poland. The strength of this project is evidenced by its global nature, with nearly 1000 universities participating in this year's CFA Institute Research Challenge, concluded Krzysztof Jajuga, President of CFA Society Poland.

As part of the project, students taking their first steps in the field of financial analysis have the opportunity to benefit from the knowledge and experience of mentors, graders, university supervisors and jurors, who in this way support the professional development of future analysts.

Asseco Data Systems has acquired a majority stake (65.24%) in Pirios, a Kraków-based company. Pirios is a producer and integrator of omnichannel systems that support processes and automate customer service. Pirios solutions are already used by the largest Polish companies. Having joined the Asseco Group, these solutions will be available to a broad group of companies and institutions from almost all sectors of the economy.

Pirios is a leader in the Polish market of solutions designed to automate customer service using voicebots and chatbots. It supports companies and institutions in effective communication with the mass customer. Its solutions, so-called virtual agents, executing tens of thousands of different business processes are currently used by the largest Polish companies from the power, banking, insurance, telecommunications and public administration sectors. The company provides, among others, a solution for handling the 991 power emergency number.

For years at Asseco Data Systems we have been developing our competence in customer service systems; therefore, we are very pleased to be joined by specialists with such extensive experience and knowledge. With this transaction we wish to broaden the scope of our services and, as a leader in digitization, strengthen our position across all sectors in Poland as well as in African markets. I am confident that together with Pirios we will be able to deliver even more innovative and comprehensive solutions and services, both to our existing and new clients - says Andrzej Dopierała, President of the Management Board of Asseco Data Systems.

We are delighted that a leader of the Polish IT market and an international player such as Asseco has decided to make a capital investment in our company. This confirms to us that the development strategy we have chosen for many years brings measurable results. We want to use the synergy and potential offered by Asseco to further dynamic growth, also in the international markets - says Paweł Olech, President of the Management Board of Pirios.

Our products have been used for years by companies to provide even more efficient and effective customer service. They provide comprehensive and multi-channel support and optimization of business processes. I am convinced that they will complement the portfolio of products offered by Asseco - says Jacek Jacheć, Member of the Management Board of Pirios.

Products offered by Pirios are specialist solutions including: "front office" Contact Center systems with a highly efficient telecommunication platform, capable of handling several thousand telephone calls simultaneously. These are also "back office" systems such as call logs, workflow class systems, and "field service management" class solutions, as well as dispatching systems, effectively supporting and monitoring the tasks performed by mobile employees.

One of the selling parties was also Rubicon Partners Ventures, a VC fund that had supported Pirios in its development in previous years. As part of the transaction, it sold its shares to Asseco and thus exited the investment.

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Asseco is the largest IT company in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. For over 30 years it has been creating technologically advanced software for companies in key sectors of the economy. The company is present in 60 countries worldwide and employs over 29 thousand people. It has been expanding both organically and through acquisitions. Asseco companies are listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), NASDAQ and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

In 2020, Asseco invested assets worth more than PLN 5.4 billion outside Poland. This result earned the company a place in the list of "10 top investors abroad" prepared by the monthly magazine "Strefa Biznesu". The ranking includes the largest Polish private investors abroad.

In 2020, Asseco's foreign markets together accounted for nearly 90% of the Group's revenues. During this period, 15 new companies joined the Group. In total, the company has made over 110 acquisitions since 2004. Asseco companies are listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), NASDAQ and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Last year, the Group was joined by several new companies from the Israeli, American and European markets, complementing our offer with interesting products and competences. We continue to analyze our regions of interest and meet with new companies as potential acquisition targets, although due to the pandemic we are more cautious in our decision making. We are taking a close look at companies, including those with whom we have already held talks. We are checking how they cope in the current situation and how they achieve their business goals - said Marek Panek, Vice President of Asseco Poland.