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Bank Pekao S.A., supported by the Asseco Poland team, has successfully completed the fastest integration of universal commercial banks on the Polish market. The institution needed just 10 months to prepare for the transfer of customer data from the former Idea Bank S.A. to Bank Pekao’s operating systems, which was completed during the migration weekend on November 19-22. Since then, Idea Bank clients have been able to benefit from Pekao's full infrastructure and offer. Asseco's role was to create tools automating the migration and data transformation, integrated with a proprietary application supporting the coordination of migration team works and consolidated reporting on the progress, completeness and quality of the migration.

This was the first bank integration conducted from start to finish during the pandemic, which required developing a hybrid approach to the implementation of work. Teams involved in the project worked remotely and were dispersed throughout Poland. Preparations for data migration, within the scope of Asseco's responsibility, lasted 7 months. Considering the scope of the Idea Bank's migrated IT architecture, encompassing nearly 200 IT systems, and the team's ambition to automate the process as much as possible, the project schedule was extremely challenging. Moreover, the integration was an unusual undertaking due to the logistics of the migration weekend itself. During this 26-hour period, over 400 people flawlessly completed several thousand tasks precisely arranged in one correct sequence.

Since the migration weekend we have been fully operating as one bank, and the clients of the former Idea Bank fully benefit from Pekao's infrastructure and systems. This was the last stage of the merger process. 220 thousand corporate clients and about 50 thousand individual clients of the former Idea Bank have gained access to products and services, including those that had not been available in the former Idea. We appreciate our cooperation with Asseco whose support, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic and remote work mode, helped us achieve the fastest integration of financial institutions on the Polish banking sector. The integration was a success," said Jacek Trzynski, Integration Project Leader, Bank Pekao.

In order to successfully implement such a complex project, Asseco has developed dedicated tools - Asseco Migration Platform (AMP). AMP consists of three integrated applications. A parameterized migration engine responsible for online data transformation. A reconciliation engine responsible for the execution of control procedures at each stage of migration, from extraction from the source systems to loading into the target systems. The third component of AMP is a migration console, which is a graphical interface for the engine operator and migration participants. The scope of functionality of the console includes the coordination of tasks of migration participants and ongoing reporting on the progress of work or the completeness and quality of data migration. Moreover, the console structured the decision-making processes of the merger business leaders during the migration weekend.

The tools built made the migration process effective and transparent. We wanted them to be not only efficient but also user-friendly for the end users. Consequently, all the solutions used during the migration period successfully supported the team in monitoring the progress and quality of migration and automated the performed tasks, thereby reducing the operational risk," said Anna Stepanów, Manager, Asseco Business Consulting Team, Asseco Poland.

From the beginning we knew that the foundation for the success of this project had to be an exceptional team. We were aware that the challenges we would face would require exceptional commitment and unconventional solutions. We managed to build a team of enthusiasts, integrating specialists from several departments of Asseco, for whom overcoming the so-called "extra mile" became something absolutely natural. Thanks to them, we can all be proud that we took part in the fastest, first remotely implemented and most automated bank integration in Poland,” added Grzegorz Paskudzki, Team Leader Asseco Business Consulting, Asseco Poland.

Merging two organizations is an operation that requires care and the involvement of many teams. In technical, IT, and communication terms, everything must be carried out at the highest level so that the customers experience inconvenience as little as possible. Over six months of intensive work of the entire team and supporting the process with Asseco's tools helped minimize the unavailability of mobile and Internet banking.

Asseco Poland was recognized by LinkedIn and awarded the title of the "Best Talent Acquisition Team". In this category, LinkedIn distinguishes teams that effectively use its capabilities and reach for recruitment purposes. Asseco's team uses it to cooperate and increase engagement. More than 1000 Asseco Poland employees are already part of the LinkedIn community.

Asseco advanced 6 places in the 23rd edition of the "Rzeczpospolita 500" ranking. Hence, the company took the 21st position and became the top ranked computer software vendor on the list. Asseco achieved a high ranking among the largest companies owing to its record-high revenues which exceeded PLN 12 billion in 2020.

Asseco continues to grow intensively. In Q3 2021 alone, the Group recorded sales of PLN 3.5 billion, representing an increase of 19%. Operating profit amounted to PLN 373 million, showing a 25% increase; whereas, net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company, having grown by 33%, amounted to PLN 120 million.

We are very pleased with the results we achieved after three quarters of 2021. We see growing demand for IT solutions and services, which translates into increased scale of our operations across all segments and sectors of our business, said Karolina Rzońca-Bajorek, Vice President of the Management Board of Asseco Poland.

Asseco once again took the third place in the ranking of the "Largest Polish Private Investors Abroad 2021" prepared by the Forbes magazine. The value of Asseco's assets located outside Poland amounted to over PLN 5.4 billion. In 2020, Asseco's foreign markets accounted for nearly 90% of the Group's total revenues.

Since 2004 Asseco has completed over 110 acquisitions. Asseco companies are listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), NASDAQ and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

As a leader I am often driven by faith in the other person. Investors, often even my friends, said that if I pay this former owner a lot of money and he feels materially secure, his motivation will decrease. That was the theory, but it is not confirmed in our actions. It only works if someone wants to sell 100% of the shares, and we never wanted to enter into such a cooperation model. That is why we did not buy powerful organizations where this very intuitiveness would not matter. Software development means total dependence on people. If you took over the majority shares of a 50-person company, you know that if 10 people leave, there won't be much left. To sum up, we take over small and mid-sized companies where there is positive energy and belief that we can do more - said Adam Góral, President of the Management Board of Asseco Poland.

Asseco once again took the first place in the main ranking of the IT@Bank listing prepared by the financial monthly "Bank". The company was also recognized as the "Most Versatile IT Company". High sales and innovative products ensure Asseco a strong position on the market of IT providers for the financial sector. In addition, the title of the "Ambassador of the Electronic Economy" was awarded to Zbigniew Jagiełło, the member of the Supervisory Board of Asseco International, which is responsible for the Asseco Group’s development on the European market.

In the individual categories of the ranking, Asseco Poland ranked 3rd in terms of sales revenues. The company's success was also attributable to very high net profitability (2nd place with 26.6%) and one of the highest ratios of spending on research and development (R&D), which represented as much as 13.4% of the total revenues.

Asseco is also the creator of Asseco BooX (Bank out of the Box) platform. It is Poland's first universal process and technology platform for the sale and maintenance of financial products. It may serve as a nucleus for the development of a new bank as well as for the remodeling or modernization of an existing financial institution. Asseco BooX is available in the subscription model, but can also be operated traditionally - based on the purchase of a license. Operationally, it works in the following models: desktop, cloud or hybrid.

"Interest in using banking systems in the subscription model has grown recently. I believe that this is mainly thanks to the desire to optimize the costs of using technological solutions and the desire to abandon the maintenance of competencies that are not key for banking business. Undoubtedly, an important motivator for the use of cloud solutions are also threats related to cyber security, whose neutralization requires increasingly higher, and thus more expensive, competence," said Zbigniew Pomianek, the Vice President of the Management Board of Asseco Poland.

IT@Bank is an annual ranking of IT and financial sector leaders, organized and published by the "Bank" Financial Monthly Magazine.

After three quarters of 2021, Asseco generated sales revenues of PLN 10.3 billion, up by 18% year-on-year. Sales of proprietary IT products and services accounted for 79% of total revenues and reached PLN 8.1 billion. Consolidated operating profit surpassed PLN 1 billion, recording a 23% increase. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company increased by 35% to PLN 362 million. The Group recorded double-digit growth in all sectors and business segments, while maintaining profitability.

After 9 months of this year, non-IFRS operating profit stood at PLN 1.3 billion and was higher by 24%, while non-IFRS net profit amounted to PLN 386 million, up by 27%.

The Asseco Group consistently pursued its development strategy while supporting its clients in digital transformation, which has become a priority for companies and institutions. This enabled the Group to achieve double-digit increases in revenues and profits across all of its business segments and sectors.

Foreign markets, represented by the Formula Systems and Asseco International segments, accounted for 89% of the Group's total sales. The Formula Systems segment revenues surged by 21% to PLN 6.7 billion in the first three quarters of 2021, while its operating profit improved by 17% to PLN 522 million. Sales of the Asseco International segment increased by 14% to PLN 2.5 billion, while operating profit improved by 27% to PLN 319 million. In the Asseco Poland segment, sales revenues reached PLN 1.1 billion or were higher by 11% than in the corresponding period last year; whereas, operating profit improved by 34% to PLN 207 million.

In the reporting period the Group managed to increase its sales to the general business sector by 26%, to public administration sector by 16% and to the banking and finance sector by 12%. Asseco's revenues are well diversified by sectors. General business was responsible for 41% of sales, banking and finance for 35%, and public institutions for 24%.

In Q3 2021 alone, the Group recorded sales of PLN 3.5 billion, which marks an increase by 19%. Operating profit amounted to PLN 373 million, after an increase by 25%, and net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company, after an increase of 33%, reached PLN 120 million. This is historically the highest level of consolidated net profit on core business activities (in Q3 2017 net profit was impacted by one-off events in the amount of PLN 324 million related to the sale of shares in Formula Systems and write-downs in the amount of PLN 85 million of a portion of foreign investments).

Asseco's consolidated order backlog for 2021 in the area of proprietary software and services is currently worth over PLN 10.8 billion, up by 17% year-on-year.

"We are very pleased with the results we achieved after three quarters of 2021. We are seeing increasing demand for IT solutions and services, which is translating into growth in our business across all segments and business sectors. We are keeping a strong eye on the cost side, resulting in continued growth while maintaining profitability. Our strategy is based on strong geographical, sectoral and product diversification. Dynamic organic growth is supported by acquisitions. During the 9 months of 2021, the Asseco Group was joined by 14 new companies, reinforcing its position on international markets. We do not slow down when it comes to contracting new projects, which is confirmed by a double-digit increase of the Asseco's order backlog for 2021 in each of our operating segments," 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 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).