MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - Software specialist Atoss did better business than expected in the final quarter of 2023. The dividend is now to be significantly increased. In the new year, CEO Andreas Obereder now also expects slightly more revenue than previously announced. The company founder will once again manage the business alone at the helm, while his Co-CEO Dirk Häußermann will leave the company at the end of March with his contract expiring. The share continued its recent record run on Wednesday.

The SDax-listed share reached a record high of EUR 257.50 shortly after the start of trading. This marked the fourth consecutive day of records. Most recently, the shares were still up 3.3 percent at EUR 253. The specialist for HR management software is at the top of the small cap index this year with a 21% increase in its share price. The share has more than tripled in value since the end of 2019.

Analyst Henrik Paganetty from the US investment bank Jefferies spoke of good figures for the past year. He added that the sales targets for this year and 2025 still have room for improvement. He is also somewhat more optimistic about the operating margin than Atoss itself.

Last year, Atoss' turnover climbed by a third to 151.2 million euros, as the company announced in Munich. Of this, 51.8 million euros remained as earnings before interest and taxes, an increase of a good two thirds. The corresponding profit margin was 34 percent, seven percentage points higher than in the previous year. In particular, high one-off contributions from the software license business drove up the margin. Turnover and earnings were better than experts had expected.

For the new year, Atoss is targeting sales of EUR 170 million with an operating margin (EBIT margin) of 30 percent, as expected by analysts. In its medium-term planning, Atoss had previously forecast earnings of EUR 160 million for this year. The plan for 2025 remains unchanged at a turnover of at least 190 million and an operating margin of "at least" 30 percent.

At the bottom line, net profit rose by 85% to 35.8 million euros last year. Based on the long-term dividend policy with a targeted payout ratio of three quarters of net profit, Atoss intends to propose a dividend of EUR 3.37 per share to shareholders. In the previous year, the Group distributed a total of EUR 2.83, which included a special dividend of one euro.

From the end of March, CEO Obereder will again be responsible for the expansion of international business and marketing. These tasks have so far been the responsibility of Co-CEO Häußermann, who is leaving the company at the end of March at the end of his contract. Obereder, on the other hand, extended his contract by three years until the end of 2026./men/mis/jha/