Herford, 11 July 2024 – Bitcoin Group SE (ISIN DE000A1TNV91) published its Annual Report 2023 today. The 2023 financial year was characterised by low trading activity due to challenging external conditions for the financial markets, such as high inflation, rising interest rates and geopolitical tensions.
Bitcoin Group SE generated revenue of EUR 7.8 million in the financial year 2023 after EUR 8.3 million in the previous year. The decline is primarily due to low trading activity on the Bitcoin.de cryptocurrency trading platform operated by the wholly-owned subsidiary futurum bank AG, particularly in the first three quarters. Trading activity on Bitcoin.de did not pick up until the significant recovery of Bitcoin as the most important benchmark for cryptocurrencies in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) amounted to EUR -1.8 million in the financial year 2023 compared to EUR 1.4 million in the previous year. In addition to the overall low level of trading activity, this development is attributable to higher personnel costs due to inflation and, above all, the one-off costs in connection with the acquisition of Bankhaus von der Heydt, which was cancelled in May 2023. The bottom line was a net profit of EUR 1.9 million after EUR -2.4 million in the previous year. The significant year-on-year improvement is primarily due to reversals of impairment losses. Accordingly, earnings per share totalled EUR 0.39 after EUR -0.48 per share in the previous year, with the number of shares remaining unchanged.
The Bitcoin Group continues to have a rock-solid balance sheet. Equity increased year-on-year from EUR 73.3 million to EUR 137.9 million in the reporting period due to the increase in retained earnings and the higher valuations of the cryptocurrencies held in treasury. Net crypto holdings increased to EUR 164.8 million as at the 2023 reporting date due to the price increase on the crypto market, compared to EUR 70.8 million as at 31 December 2022. The equity ratio was 74.7% as of 31 December 2023 (31 December 2022: 77.2%). Cash and cash equivalents totalled EUR 11.1 million after EUR 14.9 million as of the 2022 balance sheet date.
"Our stable financial position allows us to once again distribute a dividend of EUR 0.10 per share, as in the two previous years. We will submit a corresponding dividend proposal to the Annual General Meeting on 30 August 2024," says Marco Bodewein, CEO of Bitcoin Group SE.
At a strategic level, the focus in the financial year was on the further technical development of the Bitcoin.de marketplace to continue to offer the user base, which grew from around 1,040,000 to around 1,055,000 in the reporting period, a simple and reliable way to trade cryptocurrencies. In addition, important regulatory decisions were made: In the USA, crypto spot ETFs have now been authorised by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), while in the European Union, legal clarity has largely been created in the handling of digital assets.
"The course set at regulatory level will further increase the acceptance of cryptocurrencies as an asset class. I am firmly convinced that we will continue to score points with institutional and private clients with our regulated and reputable range of services," continues Bodewein.
Following the formative regulatory progress and growing institutional participation in the 2023 financial year, the crypto industry is fundamentally poised for further growth. However, interest in cryptocurrencies and thus in trading fluctuates greatly depending on a variety of external influences, which makes it difficult to forecast with any accuracy for the 2024 financial year. Market development remains unusually challenging, particularly due to the geopolitical environment and the dynamics of regulation. Against this backdrop, the Management Board of Bitcoin Group AG therefore expects revenue to remain stable for 2024 as a whole and also anticipates a slightly positive EBITDA.
The Annual Report 2023 is available for download as a PDF document in the Publications section of bitcoingroup.com. The English Report will be available by the end of July 2024.
