Zagreb, 1st of March, 2023 - Mplus (Meritus ulaganja d.d. - ZSE:MRUL) recorded a 69 percent increase in revenue, amounting to HRK 1.35 billion (EUR 179 million) in 2022. Compared to the previous year, EBITDA increased by 32 percent, to HRK 197 million (EUR 26.1 million), while adjusted EBITDA increased by 38 percent, to HRK 220 million (EUR 29.2 million).
The strong growth of Mplus as a global BPTO (Business Process and Technology Outsourcing) player based in Zagreb was fueled by ambitious market expansion and investments in the latest technological solutions. The strategic decision to generate growth through the market consolidation of the acquired companies brought Mplus organic growth that amounted to more than 20 percent of the revenue achieved in 2021, i.e. around HRK 160 million. The rest of the growth is attributable to acquisitions made during 2022.
At the very end of 2022, Mplus partnered with the management of a group of companies that manage the American brand Manpower, a leading global name for human resources, in the region of Southeast Europe. The partnership, which is awaiting regulatory approval, builds a new HR vertical of Mplus, which will include 15 companies in six countries under the umbrella brand "Workplace", which in 2021 had a total revenue of EUR 90 million. With the implementation of new technologies and market consolidation, Mplus expects that the revenues of the HR vertical will increase materially in the next three years.
“The success of Mplus business in the past year is the result of a series of investments, which include expanding and raising the level of professionalism of our team, introducing new technologies and strengthening the profitability of our German companies. In 2023, we will continue to implement the same strategy, and we are particularly focused on expanding the market, optimizing operations, and raising the level of service quality. Our commitment to investments for the future was also confirmed by the business results for the past year.”, said Darko Horvat, President of the Mplus Management Board.
In 2022, Mplus successfully issued the first Croatian ESG bond on the Zagreb Stock Exchange, a security whose interest rate for investors will depend on the successful implementation of the issuer's environmental, social and management goals. This is the third successful issue of Mplus on the domestic capital market after the issuance of new ordinary shares in 2019 and the secondary public offering in 2021, and on this occasion, 300 million HRK was collected from institutional, private, and individual investors.
Mplus Group is the European BPTO (Business Process and Technology Outsourcing) leader founded in Croatia in 2007, it successfully integrates the dynamic industries of contact center, information technology and employment services with the aim of solving global challenges in the field of customer support. Mplus Group is owned by private investors, all mandatory pension funds in Croatia, several voluntary pension and private investment funds, and Mid Europa Partners, a leading investment fund for investments in Central and Eastern Europe based in London. With its innovative business model, Mplus Group accelerated its presence on the market with intensive organic growth and an M&A platform based on the buy and build strategy since 2016, it has made 18 acquisitions and secured a diversified portfolio of clients that includes leading European and global telecoms, financial, technological, energy, logistics and electronic trade companies, as well as companies in the consumer goods sector. Thanks to offices and operations centers located in 48 locations in 15 countries, Mplus' community of multicultural teams currently consists of over 13,000 employees creating superior user experiences in more than 30 world languages. n addition to Croatia, it operates in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Slovenia, Serbia, Turkey, Georgia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Spain, the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA, providing its services in 58 markets around the world. With its development strategy, the Group achieved impressive results of business integration, creating new value resulting from human expertise, talent management and the introduction of advanced technologies.
