Egm in the X-ray: Maps recorded a sharp rise in ebitda (+48%)

But above all in 2024 Maps saw ebitda jump 47.9% to EUR 7.36 million, while ebit more than doubled from EUR 1.37 million to EUR 3.3 million and net profit from EUR 925,000 to EUR 1.89 million. This was in relation to a cost of sales that fell by 23.4% to EUR 1.46m and fixed operating costs that fell by 8% to EUR 911,000, and despite personnel costs that rose by 5.2% to EUR 16.7m. In addition, Maps showed non-recurring charges of EUR 333,000 in 2024, compared to EUR 93,000 in 2023.

72.2 % of the ebitda 2024 was generated by the business unit Maps Healthcare, 18.6 % by Maps Lab, 6.1 % by Maps Esg and 3.1 % by Maps Energy. This indicates that the "core business" of the services provided by Maps currently resides in the healthcare sector, with ebitda jumping 53%, while that of Maps Lab remained stable in absolute terms. Maps Energy also did well (with ebitda going from negative to positive) and Maps Esg whose ebitda rose by 31.5% to EUR 451,000.

It is therefore certainly not by chance that at the beginning of April Maps signed a binding agreement to acquire 51% of the Reggio Emilia-based Ellysse Srl (Maps is based in Parma), active in the development of virtual assistance and omnichannel solutions supported by artificial intelligence and marketed under the proprietary brand 'Contatta'. The transaction amount is approximately EUR 1.66 million and Maps will be able to exercise a call option on the remaining 49% after the approval of Ellysse Srl's 2026 financial statements (i.e. in 2027). In 2024 Ellysse Srl generated revenue of EUR 2.03 million entirely from the sale of software, obviously mostly to the healthcare sector, with an adjusted ebitda of EUR 0.59 million and net cash of EUR 0.64 million.

Maps as at 31 December 2024 showed a net financial debt of EUR 7 million, a significant improvement compared to EUR 12.5 million at the end of 2024, thanks to an operating cash flow of EUR 7.1 million, as well as the exercise of warrants that took place in June 2024 and contributed EUR 1.79 million. The Debt/Equity ratio at the end of 2024 was 0.27 times and thus at very low levels; the parent company will also allocate the profit for the year of EUR 544,800 entirely to reserves (it had closed 2023 with a net loss of EUR 210,000).

In addition to the contribution of Ellysse Srl once the transaction is finalised, in 2025 the group will benefit from the cost savings resulting from the recent merger by incorporation of two Healthcare subsidiaries (Scs Computers Srl into Artexe), while as far as the core Healthcare business is concerned, numerous orders have recently been obtained. The Maps software is specifically dedicated to increasing the quality of the Patient Experience (i.e. facilitating access to healthcare services), and since last November, the 'ZeroCoda' platform has also included the Wayfinding function, which, at the patient's choice, allows them to choose within healthcare facilities, in addition to the standard ones, routes that are accessible to those with reduced mobility, or, on the contrary, health routes that favour the use of stairs. The system was also supplied to the San Camillo Forlanini hospital in Rome at the beginning of 2024 with a EUR 310,000 contract.

Particularly important were the contracts obtained in the second half of 2024: reception system at the analysis laboratories of the Marche Region (EUR 550,000, duration 21 months), management of multifunctional kiosks and apps for an undisclosed Italian hospital company (EUR 640,000, completion by June 2025) and for a hospital company in Campania (EUR 227,500 annual contract).

In non-healthcare-related areas, Maps is particularly present in the infrastructure sector and has obtained four three-year contracts (one for EUR 1.16 million, one for EUR 362,000 and two for about EUR 530,000 each) for the management of legality protocols and access and presence at some railway and motorway construction sites. At the beginning of 2025, it then obtained two three-year orders of over EUR 100,000 each (from Autostrade Siciliane and the Municipality of Velletri) for strategic management, corporate objectives and personnel performance. These solutions are part of the Maps Esg business unit.

Last but not least, there is the framework agreement (annual with automatic renewal for a further three years) with the European food safety authority Efsa, in order to provide technological support for the processes of collecting, managing and analysing scientific data. The maximum countervalue is EUR 4 million (it may possibly be foreign for up to a further EUR 2 million), but the effect on Maps (in this case Maps Lab) is not foreseeable, as the company won the contract as part of a consortium led by the Czech group Ecomole and, above all, Efsa will not be bound to demand a minimum level of performance but will place individual orders on a case-by-case basis.

Maps is well positioned to continue its growth path also in 2025 but, of course, it will have to prove that it is able to grow especially in the hitherto 'minor' business segments (Energy and Esg), possibly also through acquisitions such as the one made with Ellysse Srl in Healthcare, given that the group is not in a situation of financial strain. The Maps Lab business remains important, but is largely tied to 'spot' contracts, even though revenues from fees in 2024 rose to EUR 2.17m from EUR 2m in 2023.

The company has a high free float (38.72% of the share capital) and has shown a positive performance over the past year with a share price increase of around 20%. The French private equity operator specialised in SMEs, Eiffel Investment Group, has been a shareholder for some time, currently with a 9.15% stake.