Operating income for Q4 2009 was SEK 60.9m and operating margin was 34%.
For the full year 2009, operating income increased by 122% and income after tax rose by 132% compared to 2008. At year-end 2009, Orc had cash and cash equivalents of SEK 315m and no interest-bearing liabilities.
The Board of Directors has decided to propose to the AGM an increased dividend of SEK 10 (4) per share, which is equal to a total dividend of SEK 153.1m (60.8).
The annualized contract value (ACV) at the end of Q4 2009 was SEK 652.3m (645.1), up by SEK 7.2m, or 1%, compared to Q4 2008. On a fixed exchange rate basis, the increase was SEK 42.3m, or 7%.
October - December 2009
• Operating revenue of SEK 180.3m (146.9)
• Revenue growth of 23%
• Operating income of SEK 60.9m (8.9)
• Operating margin of 34% (6)
• Income after tax of SEK 46.6m (3.9)
• Basic earnings per share of SEK 3.07 (0.26)
January - December 2009
• Operating revenue of SEK 704.9m (564.2)
• Revenue growth of 25%
• Operating income of SEK 207.5m (93.3)
• Operating margin of 29% (17)
• Income after tax of SEK 150.4m (64.7)
• Basic earnings per share of SEK 9.89 (4.25)
CEO Thomas Bill comments: "For Orc, the fourth quarter brought a stable end to 2009 with the strongest results of all quarters in the year and an operating margin of 34%. It is also satisfying that we were able to deliver an increase of SEK 24m in our key financial metric - ACV.
On the whole, 2009 presented challenges in the form of sizeable contract reductions in a still turbulent market and weakening of the US dollar and the euro. At the same time, high sales and the lower costs resulting from the efficiency program carried out by Orc at the beginning of the year enabled us to increase our revenue by 25% and more than double our operating income compared to 2008.
We have also experienced the importance of having a business that is well diversified geographically, between customer segments and across multiple solutions. The different regions have fluctuated between strong and weak development from quarter to quarter. We noted particularly positive sales growth among trading firms at the start of the year, while it was the banks that returned in the final quarter. Lastly, the advantages of offering solutions for both trading, not least automated trading, and connectivity have become clearly apparent.
In light of the accelerating shift to automated trading, increased use of derivatives and rising demand for both trading and connectivity solutions, together with our strong and efficient organization characterized by far-reaching expertise and experience, we see a bright outlook for 2010.
With the current exchange rates and assuming that contract reductions and cancellations will fall to more normal levels, we expect to increase our ACV, revenue and income during 2010.