Fastned Annual Report FY23 stays on track

Fastned already reported a trading statement on 16th January with revenues and gross margins for 4Q23. The annual FY23 report drills further in to P&L. The EBITDA fell short vs. our expectations at 4.5m vs. 11.0m expected. The EPS loss narrowed from -1.27 FY22 to -1.00, but missed our 0.88 expectation. The FTE count rose from 114 to 172. As Fastned is opening more regions, it has to invest in new areas with low initial scale. Fastned changed its P&L reporting to a more traditional split of operational costs. The Admin expenses rose 47.5% YoY while sales more than doubled. Before, costs were split over expansion and network costs. The financial costs were in line with expectations, D&A came in 2.0m below our expectation and explains a smaller miss on the bottom line: EPS at -1.00 vs. -0.88 expected. A FY24 financial outlook FY24 is given at the 1Q24 trading update on 16th April. The share price has been weak recently. The AR show Fastned is gradually improving its profitability while expanding at rapid pace.