Kudelski, renowned for the Skidata system used by ski-resort operators and ‘Nagra’ smart card encryption technology, has secured a CHF 150 million (€154 million) credit facility.
The loan, arranged by Farallon Capital Europe LLP, is intended to repay a Kudelski domestic bond maturing on September 27, 2024. It has an 18-month maturity period.
As of December 2023, Kudelski reported a total debt of $247.3 million (€229 million), marking a slight decrease from the previous year’s $264.1 million. According to its 2023 Annual Report, the company achieved total revenues of $761.5 million and other operating income of $28.7 million.
Notably, three out of four business segments showed robust revenue growth and improved profitability. However, the Digital Television segment experienced a significant downturn, with revenues declining by 14.3% to $257.8 million compared to the previous year.
Kudelski commented, “The transition to a software and service-oriented model is reflected in the sales performance of the Digital Television business in 2023. Smart card and hardware sales saw a continued decline, decreasing from $51.7 million in 2022 to $32.5 million. Revenue generated from professional services also decreased by $8.8 million in 2023 due to the completion of some major projects. Additionally, in 2022, the Group recorded a one-off patent licensing transaction amounting to $5.5 million. Conversely, software, maintenance, and royalties demonstrated greater resilience, experiencing only a limited single-digit percentage decline compared to the previous year.”