The Materna IT group, which specialises in IT consultancy and digitalisation projects, has once again closed the past year with record turnover. Ranked as Germany’s leading IT consultancy for SMEs according to the Lünendonk list, the group increased its turnover for the 2022 financial year by 27.8 per cent (19.5 per cent organically) to 554 million euros (434 million euros in 2021). EBIT also continues to show a positive trend. The group has not only been able to further strengthen its market position through its business results. The Dortmund-based IT service provider has also recorded record growth in its workforce: the total number of employees has once again risen by 524. The Group currently employs around 3,700 staff worldwide.
“We are well on track with our Mission 2025 and are well ahead of schedule,” says Martin Wibbe, CEO of the Materna Group. The strategy, published in 2021, aims to increase the Group’s turnover to 700 million euros by 2025 and to raise the number of employees worldwide to 5,000. As a multi-award-winning employer, Materna is well on track: In the first three months of 2023 alone, 240 new employees joined the company. “We are very proud that, as a family-run business, our employees remain at the heart of #TeamMaterna,” says Martin Wibbe. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers, partners, suppliers and staff for the trust they have placed in us over the past year – they are all part of this success story and form the basis of our success.”
Digitalisation and security in public administration are driving growth
The increasing digitalisation of public administration remains an unstoppable megatrend. Issues such as the e-file, the digitalisation of specialist procedures, the Online Access Act (OZG) and the modernisation of registers were key growth drivers behind the year-on-year increase of over 30 per cent. “Digital technologies are the key driver for a modern public administration,” says Michael Hagedorn, Executive Board Member for the Public Sector at Materna SE. “We are delighted that we can support and advance public authorities on their journey towards digital administration, both internally and in their dealings with their customers.”
Through the acquisition of Virtual Solution AG in February 2022 (now Materna Virtual Solution GmbH), the group has added a solution for the protection of ultra-mobile communication (SecurePIM) as a further cornerstone of its offering for the public sector.
SAP and cloud transformation boost the industrial market
The consultancy business specialising in SAP-based enterprise solutions for industrial clients – which is operated within the Materna Group via its wholly-owned subsidiary cbs Corporate Business Solutions GmbH – recorded outstanding revenue growth of 45 per cent. In 2022, the Heidelberg-based consultancy welcomed its 1,200th employee and expanded its international presence with new offices in Japan, Finland and Croatia, amongst other locations. The portfolio was strengthened by the acquisition of the Schwerin-based firm Trebing & Himstedt Prozeßautomation GmbH & Co. KG, a specialist provider in the field of manufacturing execution. Key drivers of growth include not only strong demand in the core market but also robust international growth in the USA and South-East Asia, as well as the upcoming transition to the new generation of SAP software in a cloud architecture.
Materna Intelligent Passenger Solutions (IPS), which develops self-service solutions for and at airports, is performing very well thanks to flagship projects at its sites in Denver (USA), Cologne and Berlin. In the core area of software development, a comprehensive offering was established with the launch of the Digital Industry Solutions portfolio in 2022. The modular Journey2Cloud™ service offering has enabled further market penetration across all segments. In collaboration with the hyperscalers, topics such as Digital Twin, the Internet of Things, automation and artificial intelligence are being driven forward, with various projects and event formats setting new trends.
Long-standing core business, Enterprise Service Management, is showing stable growth
Solutions implemented using ServiceNow technology were the biggest revenue driver in Enterprise Service Management. The focus is therefore consistently on expanding this business: “We want to intensify our collaboration and jointly create services that offer our customers even greater added value,” says Uwe Scariot, the Materna Group’s Executive Board member responsible for this area. Cybersecurity is a key growth area for the Materna Group. The professionally orchestrated cyber-attack on Materna Information & Communications SE in March 2023 – the impact of which the company was able to minimise through the rapid implementation of a wide range of measures – particularly highlights the high relevance of this issue. “The threat posed by cyber-attacks is increasing significantly,” says Uwe Scariot. “We offer organisations a range of services and the expertise to reduce the risk of attacks and minimise their impact.” The acquisition of Radar Cyber Security – a specialist in both equipping Security Operations Centres (SOCs) and providing SOC services – has further expanded the portfolio of services on offer. Materna’s offering thus comprises end-to-end solutions from a single source.
Investments underpin growth and promote resilience
In 2022, the Materna Group invested over 60 million euros in innovation. “Diversification makes us particularly resilient and enables us to offer customers a broad portfolio of solutions,” explains Martin Wibbe. A significant portion was invested in a key area for the future: the integrated optimisation of the supply chain. For instance, investment was made in the SaaS solution myLeo/DSC, thereby establishing the company’s own Process-as-a-Service platform on the market, which has already won over more than 30 customers. The dynamism of this market segment is underlined by the fact that a double-digit number of additional customers were acquired in the first quarter of 2023. Furthermore, a large proportion was invested in staff training and development, as well as in the acquisitions mentioned above. “This strong organic growth is underpinned by acquisitions of companies that optimally strengthen our key focus areas. Thanks to our further strengthened capital structure, the Materna Group is able to finance transactions entirely from its own resources, independently of the capital markets, and thus remains highly capable of acting on the financing side even under changing conditions,” says René Rüdinger, CFO of the Materna Group.
GrowXtogether – Move to new corporate headquarters is within reach
The excellent business performance is paving the way for the final stage of Mission 2025. The Group is growing steadily at a rate significantly above that of the relevant market and is consistently aligning its portfolio with this. CEO Martin Wibbe comments: “2023 will be a very exciting year, which for us is themed ‘GrowXtogether’. Our focus is now on consolidating structures and leveraging synergies in the market to prepare the group for the next level of growth.”
This momentum is also evident in the construction of the new corporate headquarters at the main site in Dortmund, as well as the modernisation of other locations such as Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich and Hamburg. The new headquarters, with more than 1,800 workstations and representing an investment of over 120 million euros, offers a modern working environment, meets the highest energy standards and provides advanced e-mobility solutions for all staff. Highlights include a visitor centre with rooms for up to 199 people, a landscaped staircase and a ‘green centre’, as well as a sky lounge with a roof terrace. The move to the Phoenix-West Innovation and Technology Park in Dortmund is scheduled for early 2024.
