Skip to main content

Q-Free reports strong revenue growth

Q-Free has reported strong revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2014, reflecting a substantial increase in sales within the advanced transportation management systems (ATMS) business following the acquisition of US-based Open Roads by the end of the third quarter 2014 and an increase in product revenues. “In early 2014, we revised our strategy and now aim at creating more leads in the small and mid-sized segments. In Q4, we have made significant progress in this respect. At the same time we succeeded
February 12, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
RSS

108 Q-Free has reported strong revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2014, reflecting a substantial increase in sales within the advanced transportation management systems (ATMS) business following the acquisition of US-based Open Roads by the end of the third quarter 2014 and an increase in product revenues.

“In early 2014, we revised our strategy and now aim at creating more leads in the small and mid-sized segments. In Q4, we have made significant progress in this respect. At the same time we succeeded in improving our overall financial performance and increased our operational cash flow,” commented Q-Free CEO, Thomas Falck.

Revenue in the quarter was US$334 million, up 71 per cent from the corresponding quarter in 2013. For the full year 2014, revenues increased by 30 per cent to US$103million, up from US$479 million in 2013. EBITDA improved to US$11 million from minus US$4 million, while EBIT was US$1 million, an improvement on 2013’s minus US$12 million.

“We see that the expansion into ATMS is starting to pay off and we see signs of improvement in the road user charging market. In Q4 we demonstrated improving underlying margins from increasing volumes. We still have a long way to go and we expect some volatility in the quarters to come, but we are taking steps to continuously improve our business to become a stronger and healthier player within the ITS market,” Falck continues.

Order intake during the fourth quarter amounted to US$44 million, up from US$24.9 million in the third quarter 2014. By the end of the period, total order backlog amounted to US$63 million, of which US$47.5 is for delivery in 2015.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Australian fund manager to acquire Indiana toll road concession
    March 13, 2015
    Australian fund manager IFM Investors, on behalf of IFM Global Infrastructure Fund, has paid US$5.7 billion for the bankrupt Indiana Toll Road Concession, a 253-kilometre highway that runs from the border of Indiana and Ohio towards Chicago, giving it exclusive rights to operate and maintain the road for the next 66 years. The road, previously jointly owned by Macquarie and Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial, went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September due to poor traffic volumes and was put up for sal
  • EV charging station market in the US has grown immensely
    July 27, 2012
    New analysis from Frost & Sullivan says that the electric vehicle (EV) charging station market in North America has grown immensely, helped along by favourable government level (federal, state and municipal) incentives and subsidies for the purchase of EVs. The government is extending these plans to the installation of charging station and funding programmes such as ECOtality's EV project, which is trying to install electric vehicle charging infrastructure in six major states.
  • Countering falling fuel tax revenue with mileage fees
    April 20, 2016
    Eric G. O’Rear and Wallace E. Tyner look at the benefits of mileage charges and how these might be implemented. Since the early 1900s, taxes on petrol (gasoline) and diesel fuels have been used to finance the construction and maintenance of roadway infrastructure and, in some countries other government spending too. Now, a combination of improved fuel economy, the advent of hybrid and alternative fuelled vehicles and a reluctance in some countries (especially the US) to increase fuel taxes has led to a d
  • Growth of China ETC market
    January 22, 2016
    According to the latest report from Research and Markets, by the end of 2014, the mileage of toll highways in China amounted to 162,600 km, including 106,700 km of toll expressways, accounting for 65.7per cent; there were 1,665 mainline toll stations on toll highways nationwide, 696.5 of which were the ones on expressways, making up 41.8 per cent. The report, China ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) Industry Report, 2015-2019, claims that by the end of Oct 2015, China had had 25.15 million electronic toll col