Trucking services group Eurowag shifts gear after acquisition drive

WAG Payment Solutions

27/04/2023 15:38

(Repeats without changes to text)
       PRAGUE, April 27 (Reuters) - Czech group WAG Payment
Solutions (Eurowag)  WPS.L  has shifted its focus from
acquisitions to integrating them and tackling the fragmented
nature of European trucking services, the company's founder and
chief executive said.
    The London-listed company's shares debuted in 2021 and have
climbed 12% in the last year to trade at 98.6 pence, but CEO
Martin Vohanka said there were still no plans to pay a dividend.
    Vohanka, who started the group commonly known as Eurowag in
1995, said last year marked the end of an acquisition phase,
which has been combined with investments in in-house technology.
    It secured the 306 million euro ($336.32 million) purchase
of Polish group Inelo, a provider of working time management
services, and also bought Webeye, a Hungarian fleet management
provider.
    "Now we are fully focused on the integration of everything,"
Vohanka told Reuters.
    Eurowag's platform brings services such as fuel and toll
payments, fleet management, routing services and tax refunds
under a single system.
    So far Eurowag services more than 200,000 trucks, he said,
leaving room for growth given that some 6 million trucks operate
in the European Union. 
    The company says 90% of operators are small- and
medium-sized, and make only limited use of technology.
    As it retreats from acquisitions, Eurowag plans to use cash
generation to cut debt after its leverage ratio passed the
top-end target of 2.5 times adjusted earnings before interest,
tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).
    That means there are still no plans to pay a dividend.
    "We were clear from the beginning that we are a growth
company," Vohanka said.
    Revenue has more than doubled since 2018, with growth
continuing even after the Ukraine war and the COVID-19 pandemic
have weighed on economies and added to inflation.
    Eurowag reported a nearly 25% rise in net energy and
services sales - its main revenue gauge that strips out energy
costs - to 190.9 million euros ($210.09 million) in 2022. It
forecasts a continued rise in the high teens or low twenties in
the medium term.
    Eurowag has sizable operations in 15 European markets, with
major trucking market Poland and other states in central Europe
providing almost half of revenues.
    ($1 = 0.9098 euros)

 (Reporting by Jason Hovet; editing by Barbara Lewis)
 ((jason.hovet@thomsonreuters.com;))