SYZYGY : Annual Report 2023

17 Our Values

18 Responsibility

23 Togetherness

26 Innovation

32 Cases

33 Miles & More

36 RTV EURO AGD

38 d&b audiotechnik

40 Mumm

42 The Stock

1. Financial Information 2023
2. Group Management Report

1. Financial figures

1. Notes

1. IndependentReport Auditors'

1. Responsibility Statement by the legal Representatives
2. Corporate Governance Report

50.33 %

35.11 %

9.63 %

4.93 %

46 %

54 %

72 %

28 %

32 % Services

21% Automotive

20 % Finance/insurances 16 % Consumer goods

5 % Telecommunication/IT 6 % Others

Sales allocation by vertical markets

32 %

17 %

51 %

Top 5

Top 6-10

Others

Sales by clients volume

21 % Technology

17 % Strategy/consulting 16 % Performance marketing 16 % Design

16 % Project management 14 % Administration

Sales by employee (in kEUR)

Employees by function

Key Figures

Key sustainability

figures

Sustainable business is not just about cutting costs, but also about creating value and ensuring long-termsuccess.

-29% Reduction of the

CO2 emissions

in Scope 3

Scope 1+2 by employees (in t CO2e)

Electricity 100% from renewable

energies in all offices

51 %

49 %

Women

Men

Employees by gender

38 %

38 %

20 %

4 %

20-29 years

30-39 years

40-49 years

50-59 years

Employees by age

Female employees 35% in management

positions

100% Access of all Employees

to the Employee

Assistance

Programme (EAP)

38 %

36 %

26 %

Up to 5 years 6-10 years

More than 10 years

Client relationships

Letter

Letter from the

Management Board

The quality of the customer relationship and therefore brand and corporate success are hugely influenced by a positive

digital experience.

Business performance

2023 was marked by a generally weak economic environment, culminating in a recession. This led to many of our clients becoming reluctant to invest and applying budget cuts, resulting in a significant decline in sales, particularly at strategy consultancy diffferent and our UK company. We did, however, continue to see momentum and significant growth in the development and operation of digital platforms and in our technology services.

Sales

in 2023 (in Euro)

Mio.

71,7

This meant that despite all the challenges, we posted a new all-time sales high of EUR 71.7 million in 2023, representing a year-on-year rise of 2 per cent.

The company generated operating income of EUR 5.3 million before goodwill write-downs and restructuring costs, corresponding to an operating EBIT margin of around 7 per cent.

Our core SYZYGY brand and technology specialist SYZYGY Techsolutions again performed very strongly, achieving high growth rates. Our performance marketing specialist SYZYGY Performance also held its own in a challenging market environment.

We were able to partly compensate for the situation at diffferent, with the result that the Germany region generated overall sales growth of 4 per cent to reach EUR 57.4 million, with operating profitability coming in at 10 per cent. The core German market thus proved to

Although we are again able to

report record sales, in mid-year we had to adjust our forecast for the full year to reflect the latest business performance.

A major reason for this was that our strategy consultancy did not perform as planned, due to the recessionary market environment and a change in client demand. As a result, we introduced restructuring measures following a thorough review and planning process, which led to additional costs totalling EUR 1.2 million. Positioning was tightened and the service portfolio realigned.

The cost structure was also adapted in line with the latest performance figures, while efficiency was boosted through organisational changes. A goodwill write-down of EUR 4.7 million was required as part of this programme. The SYZYGY GROUP's operational viability and cash flow are unaffected by this write-down. The restructuring measures were completed in 2023 and we believe that diffferent is now well positioned for the future.

SYZYGY Frankfurt

be stable overall and now accounts for 80 per cent of total sales.

10%

operated EBIT margin in core market Germany

In the UK and US, we posted a 16 per cent drop in sales to EUR 8.4 million, due to a reluctance on the part of some existing clients to invest. We took early action to cut costs in response, focusing on rental space and overheads. This enabled an EBIT margin of 10 per cent to be achieved.

Looking ahead to 2024, we have introduced additional cost-cutting measures due to a further budget

cut by a major client. The size of the team has been aligned with future requirements and the staff moved into much cheaper office premises. These measures were also completed in 2023, so in this respect we believe we are likewise well positioned for the future.

The performance of our Polish specialist for creative production, Ars Thanea, and SYZYGY Poland remained stable overall. Sales were up 3 per cent to EUR 6.1 million year-on-year, with an EBIT

16%margin of per cent.

Operating EBIT margin in Poland

We are committed to sharing business performance appropriately with you, dear shareholders, and at the same time maintaining the continuity of dividends. As a result, it was not easy for us to make the decision to suspend the dividend for one year. The Management Board and Supervisory Board have decided to recommend suspending the dividend payment for the 2023 financial year as a one-off measure at the Annual General Meeting, due to negative total net income and in order to strengthen the capital base and liquidity reserves. This move underlines our commitment to creating a solid financial basis for sustainable growth.

diffferent Berlin

80 %

Germany

11 % United Kingdom & USA

9 % Poland

Sales by segments