SoftwareOne posts slight loss in 2024, to close Crayon deal in June

Recasts throughout with details, comments from CEO

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Swiss technology firm SoftwareOne SWON.S said on Wednesday it had slipped to a net loss in 2024 of 1.6 million Swiss francs due to extraordinary expenses arising from restructuring efforts and cost-saving measures.

SoftwareOne, which posted a 21.4 million franc profit in 2023, logged full-year revenue of 1.015 billion Swiss francs ($1.12 billion), marginally up from 2023 figure.

The software and cloud solutions company said it expects to close its acquisition of Crayon Group CRAYN.OL in June, earlier than its previous guidance for the third quarter.

In December, SoftwareOne agreed to buy its Norwegian competitor in a stock and cash deal worth $1.4 billion.

SoftwareOne said it had achieved annualised cost savings of 58 million francs by the end of 2024, exceeding the 50 million franc target by the second quarter of 2025. As a result, the program's target was raised to 70 million francs.

SoftwareOne CEO Raphael Erb said the company would be focusing chiefly on the integration of Crayon in 2025 and did not have any other major acquisitions planned.

There might though, he said, be room for some small bolt-ons under consideration.

Erb said he did not anticipate headwinds from any potential tariffs imposed by the new U.S. Trump administration, noting that the company had a presence in over 60 countries.

"We can bill in local currencies, we can bill locally," Erb said. "We're operating in an environment where the cloud and the hyperscalers are continuing to grow fast. And I think that's something we can benefit from."

($1 = 0.9036 Swiss francs)