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Ekinops H1 2024 results: EBITDA margin of 14.3%

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PARIS, July 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — EKINOPS (Euronext Paris – FR0011466069 – EKI), a leading supplier of telecommunications solutions for telecom operators and enterprises, reports its H1 2024 financial statements (for the period ended 30 June 2024) as approved by the Board of Directors on 29 July 2024. The statutory auditors conducted an interim review of these half-year financial statements.

m€ – IFRS

H1 2023

(6 months)

H2 2023

(6 months)

H1 2024

(6 months)

2023

(12 months)

Revenue

71.0

58.1

57.5

129.1

Gross margin

37.7

29.6

32.2

67.3

As a %

53.1 %

50.9 %

56.1 %

52.1 %

Operating expenses

31.0

31.3

29.3

62.3

EBITDA1

14.3

4.3

8.2

18.6

As a %

20.2 %

7.4 %

14.3 %

14.4 %

Current operating income (EBIT)

6.7

-1.6

3.0

5.1

Operating income

6.6

-3.0

2.6

3.6

Consolidated net income

6.0

-2.4

1.5

3.6

As a %

8.4 %

n.a.

2.6 %

2.8 %

1 EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) corresponds to current operating income restated for (i) amortization, depreciation and provisions, and (ii) income and expenses relating to share-based payments.

H1 2024 revenue: 57.5m€
Ekinops recorded H1 2024 consolidated revenue of 57.5m€, down -19% from the same period last year (identical at constant exchange rates).

Propelled by the sales rebound in France (+16% in H1 2024), the Access business line grew +1% over the period, after a decline over 2023. The Group’s main operator-customers are gradually rebuilding their Access equipment inventory, without reaching normative levels.

Conversely, sales of Optical Transport solutions were down -41% in H1 2024, after an all-time high performance in 2023 (+41% in H1 2023 and +27% on a full-year basis). This business line was mainly impacted by (i) reluctance from operators with substantial inventory to initiate CAPEX (capital expenditure), (ii) slower growth for 2023 internet traffic in a context of overcapacity and (iii) a wait-and-see attitude triggered by the delayed launch of Ekinops’ new 800G optical solution.  

Software & Services accounted for 17% of Group revenue, with an increasing share of recurring revenue, particularly for the SD-WAN solution.

Geographically, H1 2024 revenue increased by +5% in France while international business declined by -31%. International sales for this first half came out to 56% (vs. 66% a year earlier), of which 22% in North America (down -31%), 32% in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa, down -32%) and 2% in Asia-Pacific (decline of -15%).

H1 2024 gross margin: 56.1% 
At mid-year, gross margin stood at 32.2m€, versus 37.7m€ Y-o-Y.

Gross margin thus reached a record level of 56.1% in H1 2024, vs. 53.1% a year earlier and 52.1% end-2023.

This record gross margin performance results from a favorable business mix (growth in the Access business line), a solid “selling price/manufacturing costs” ratio for Ekinops’ solutions, and the increasing share of Software & Services’ in Group’s revenue.

H1 2024 EBITDA margin[1]: 14.3%
At mid-year, EBITDA came to 8.2m€ vs. 14.3m€ Y-o-Y, with a -6% decline in operating expenses, driven by carefully managed costs (-11% in general costs, -6% in R&D costs and -3% in marketing and sales costs).

As such, H1 2024 EBITDA margin was 14.3%, compared to an exceptional 20.2% a year earlier and 14.4% in FY 2023.

After accounting for net depreciation, amortization and provisions (4.1m€, including 1.1m€
of amortization relating to post purchase price allocation technologies), declining due to the discontinued amortization of OneAccess technology, and non-cash expenses relating to share-based payments (0.6m€), current operating income came to 3.0m€ in H1 2024 vs. 6.7m€ a year earlier.

Current operating margin therefore stood at 5.1% of half-year revenue, vs. 9.4% the same period last year and 3.9% in FY 2023.

H1 2024 adjusted EBIT: 7.0%
Excluding amortization of intangible assets identified post purchase price allocation, adjusted current operating margin (adjusted EBIT[2]) came to 7.0%, vs. 14.0% a year earlier and 8.0% at end-2023.

Other operating expenses totaled 0.4m€, resulting in operating income of 2.6m€ for H1 2024 vs. 6.6m€ Y-o-Y and 3.6m€ for FY 2023.

After taking into account financial expenses of 0.7m€, comprising a net interest expense and foreign exchange gains on currency hedging, and a tax expense of 0.4m€, H1 2024 net income stood at 1.5m€, vs. 6.0m€ a year earlier and 3.6m€ in FY 2023

H1 2024 operating cash flow: 5.1m€
Despite the economic challenges impacting its business, Ekinops showed once again resilience with an ability to generate cash through its operations.

At mid-year, operating cash flow totaled 5.1m€, up significantly compared with H1 2023 (+0.9m€). Change in working capital requirements was limited to €2.1m, down considerably from the previous year (13.1m€ in H1 2023, boosted by the sharp increase in accounts receivable). H1 2024 decrease in accounts receivable (-3.4m€) notably offset rising inventory (3.3m€) as a result of slower business activity.

Cash flow from investments (non-current assets and R&D) amounted to -5.7m€ (vs. -4.5m€ a year earlier), with 1.1m€ in equipment investments and 4.5m€ for capitalized R&D and the acquisition of the 5View software suite.

Cash flow from financing activities totaled -4.7m€, including -2.5m€ in repayments under bank loans. No new loans were taken out during the semester.

At the end of H1 2024, change in cash flow was -€5.4m.

Comfortable net cash[3] position of €22.3m as of June 30, 2024

ASSETS – €m
IFRS

12/31

2023

6/30

2024

LIABILITIES – €m
IFRS

12/31

2023

6/30

2024

Non-current assets

78.8

85.4

Shareholders’ equity

119.4

120.4

o/w goodwill

28.5

28.4

Financial borrowings

21.4

19.5

o/w intangible assets

17.1

18.5

o/w bank loans

18.3

16.7

o/w right-of-use assets

6.7

12.4

o/w factoring

2.8

2.5

Current assets

66.6

68.9

French research tax credit pre-financing

5.1

4.3

o/w inventories

25.9

29.2

Trade payables

18.2

17.1

o/w trade receivables

30.0

26.6

Lease liabilities

7.0

12.9

Cash

47.2

41.8

Other liabilities

21.5

21.8

TOTAL

192.6

196.0

TOTAL

192.6

196.0

During the first half of 2024, Ekinops signed the lease for its new headquarters in Lannion (Brittany) as well as renewing its Belgian subsidiary’s commercial lease. This increased the Group’s right-of-use assets to 12.4m€.

Cash and cash equivalents totaled 41.8m€ as of 30 June 2024, for financial borrowings[4] of 19.5m€.

As such, Ekinops benefited from a healthy financial position at the end of H1 2024, with net cash at 22.3m€ (vs. 20.3m€ a year earlier and 25.8m€ at end-2023) with shareholders’ equity of 120.4m€ (vs. 119.4m€ as of 31 December 2023).

Subsequent to the semester, Ekinops secured a 1.8m€ subsidy, granted by the French government and Bpifrance as part of the “ORANGE MECT PART” major project of common European interest (PIIEC) initiative. The latter was developed in collaboration with Orange and its partners, to provide innovative connectivity solutions for specific configurations or digital deserts, as an alternative to current transmission solutions.

Outlook
Against a sluggish economic backdrop, Ekinops proved resilient thanks to a strong gross margin, sound management of operating expenses and a further demonstrated ability to generate cash flow despite the slowdown in business.

In Access, the gradual normalization of operator inventories in France led Ekinops to report modest growth for this segment over the semester. Looking ahead to H2 2024, the Group aims to accelerate this trend, both in France and EMEA, conditional on a favorable economic recovery. In Optical Transport, the launch of the 800G solution with its innovative features and the cost-optimized 100G product should spark fresh momentum in this business line over the coming semesters.

In this context, Ekinops expects Q3 2024 revenue to follow the same trend as previous quarters, with a more marked improvement in business targeted for Q4 2024.

In terms of external growth, Ekinops still aims to carry out operations to consolidate the Group, strengthen its offering and expand its customer base, favoring a non-dilutive source of financing.

See 2024 financial calendar here.

All press releases are published after Euronext Paris market close.

EKINOPS Contact
Didier Brédy, Chairman and CEO
contact@ekinops.com

Investors
Mathieu Omnes, Investor relation
Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 92
momnes@actus.fr

Press
Amaury Dugast, Press relation
Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 74
adugast@actus.fr

[1] EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) corresponds to current operating income restated for (i) amortization, depreciation and provisions, and (ii) income and expenses relating to share-based payments.

[2] Adjusted EBIT corresponds to current operating income adjusted for amortization of intangible assets identified after allocation of goodwill, Technologies developed and Customer relations.

[3] Net cash = cash and cash equivalents – borrowings (excluding bank debt relating to French research tax credit (CIR) pre-financing and IFRS 16 lease liabilities)

[4] excluding bank debt relating to French research tax credit (CIR) pre-financing and IFRS 16 lease liabilities

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SOURCE Ekinops

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Primero Games Acquires Win Systems Gaming Division, Expanding International Reach

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Acquisition adds slot and electronic-roulette products, manufacturing capabilities and an installed base of more than 3,000 gaming positions across Latin America and the Caribbean.

NORCROSS, Ga., Sept. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Primero Games LLC (“Primero”), a provider of gaming content, technology and products, today announced the acquisition of the Gaming Division of Win Systems (“WSG”), including its Gold Club electronic-roulette business.

The acquisition expands Primero’s international presence and product portfolio, adding established slot and electronic-roulette products, manufacturing capabilities and gaming operations across Latin America and the Caribbean. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquired operations have an installed base of more than 3,000 gaming positions in Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Puerto Rico, and Panama. Primero will support existing customers and products while introducing additional Primero game content, platform technology and development resources.

“This is an important step forward in executing Primero’s growth strategy to build a diversified, global gaming company,” said Mike Macke, Chairman of Primero Games. “Primero has built its reputation by creating compelling game content and developing innovative technology that helps operators deliver consistent revenue via engaging player experiences.”

“We are excited to welcome Eric Benchimol, Dario Zutel, and the talented WSG team to Primero,” Macke continued. “By combining Primero’s content and development expertise with WSG’s products, operations and customer relationships, we can deliver more products, more content and greater value to customers across a wider range of gaming markets.”

“This combination makes both businesses stronger,” said Eric Benchimol, CEO of Win Systems. “Pairing our installed base, manufacturing operations and market knowledge with Primero’s game library and development engine means we can bring more, and better, products to our customers faster than either company could alone. The team is energized, and we’re looking forward to getting to work as part of Primero.”

“This transaction marks an exciting new chapter for our Gaming Division,” said Dario Zutel, Executive Chairman of Win Systems. “We are confident that Primero Games is the right partner to build on what we have achieved and drive the business into its next stage of international growth.”

Building International Scale

Primero has an established presence in U.S. gaming markets, with a portfolio that includes game content, online gaming solutions, redemption kiosks, and a mature omnichannel gaming platform.  The WSG acquisition adds established products, manufacturing capabilities and long-standing customer relationships in international markets.

The WSG teams and infrastructure will continue to support customers in Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Panama and many other countries around the world. Primero and WSG are committed to providing continuity for every customer as Primero invests in the business and introduces additional products, content and technology.

About Primero Games

Primero Games is a leading provider of innovative games, platforms and products designed to deliver engaging player experiences and value to gaming operators across land-based and digital environments. Founded by gaming-industry veteran Mike Macke, Primero has made significant investment in its Hurricane gaming platform to support international expansion. The Hurricane platform is designed to support offline, online, single, and multi-game applications across emerging and regulated gaming markets. Primero’s Spark server-based gaming solution extends the Hurricane platform by offering value-added features such as business intelligence, linked and wide-area progressive jackpots, game content subscription features, and player marketing/retention.

Headquartered in the United States, the company designs, manufactures and markets a portfolio of more than 100 original titles for land-based and multi-game platforms, as well as online games for markets worldwide. With studios in the U.S., the U.K., and Canada, Primero combines international creative talent with deep technical expertise to produce high-performing, scalable gaming solutions. For more information, visit www.primerogames.com.

About Win Systems

Win Systems is a global technology company with extensive experience providing innovative solutions to the gaming industry. Through its international operations and long-standing customer relationships, the company specializes in casino management systems and has a strong track record of delivering technology and solutions to operators across multiple markets worldwide. Following the transaction, Win Systems will continue to focus on its remaining businesses and strategic opportunities, building on its technology expertise, international experience, and commitment to delivering value to its customers and partners.

Contacts:

Primero Games
Gina Lanphear, Director of Marketing
422019@email4pr.com 

WinSystems Gaming
Virginia Pin, Marketing Manager
422019@email4pr.com 

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SOURCE Primero Games

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AEON Launches Agentic Checkout, Powered by AI Card for Autonomous Commerce

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HONG KONG, Sept. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — AEON, the settlement layer built for the AI economy, has launched Agentic Checkout, enabling AI agents to autonomously shop, check out, and pay across e-commerce platforms such as Shopify and Amazon. Powered by the AEON AI Card, Agentic Checkout gives agents controlled spending capabilities to turn user intent into completed purchases.

Natively integrated with Model Context Protocol (MCP) and the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), Agentic Checkout allows users to interact with an AI agent through a conversational interface, describe what they are looking for, and let the agent search for suitable products and build a shopping cart based on their requirements.

Once a product is selected, the user can authorize the purchase with an AEON AI Card settled over the Visa/Mastercard networks, allowing the agent to complete the transaction without exposing the user’s primary payment credentials or treasury wallet. The agent can move from product discovery to cart creation and payment, turning a natural-language request into a completed purchase.

AI Card: Giving AI Agents Controlled Spending Power

At the core of this experience is the AEON AI Card, designed to give AI agents financial autonomy while keeping spending under defined controls. 

The infrastructure supports single-use agent cards and predefined budget limits, allowing spending authority to be scoped to individual tasks or transactions. Backed by crypto-based authorization and connected to existing Visa payment infrastructure, the AI Card creates a bridge between on-chain assets and everyday commerce.

This allows agents to spend on behalf of users without requiring direct access to their primary wallets or traditional credit cards, bringing agentic commerce closer to a model where AI can not only assist users with decisions, but also securely execute those decisions in the real economy. 

Agentic Checkout to Bigger Commerce Ecosystem

Agentic Checkout is designed to give AI agents access to an open commerce ecosystem, rather than a limited list of curated merchants. Through Shopify, agents can search across 3M+ active storefronts in 175+ countries and more than a billion products, spanning categories including apparel, home, beauty, electronics, and books.

Shopify is one of the first environments where AEON’s Agentic Checkout capability is being demonstrated, but the underlying infrastructure is designed to extend across e-commerce ecosystems and support both physical and digital goods. Amazon and Travala are next, bringing mass-market retail and travel inventory into the same agent interface.

The infrastructure is also designed with the safeguards required for production use. Full card numbers and security codes never enter conversation logs or model context, while uncertain payment states are verified before any retry to prevent silent double charges.

As more commerce platforms become accessible to AI agents, the ability to securely authorize and settle these transactions will become increasingly important. AEON Agentic Checkout and AI Card provides the financial execution layer that allows agents to act within defined spending boundaries. And AEON is building the settlement infrastructure to enable these agents to transact, pay, and settle securely across the digital and physical economies.

Building the Settlement Layer for the AI Economy

The Agentic Checkout and AI Card represent two connected components of AEON’s agentic payment infrastructure: Agentic Checkout gives agents the ability to execute commerce, while AI Card gives them controlled financial authority to pay for it. Together, they connect agent intent, payment authorization, checkout execution, and settlement into a unified flow.

AI agents are increasingly capable of searching, reasoning, coordinating tasks, and making decisions on behalf of users. The next step is enabling those decisions to result in secure, verifiable economic transactions. AEON is building toward this infrastructure by combining agent identity, payment authorization, checkout execution, and settlement into a unified framework for the AI economy, enabling AI agents to transact across digital and physical economies, autonomously, securely, and within clearly defined financial boundaries.

About AEON

AEON is the native settlement layer built for the AI economy. By equipping agents with a comprehensive suite of programmable payment primitives, spanning across Agent Account, AI Card, AI Gateway, and more, AEON empowers autonomous AI to seamlessly navigate global value networks. Designed to eliminate the fee overhead, programmability gaps, and settlement lag of legacy infrastructure, AEON provides the universal financial rails needed for agents to enter the global economy across any currency, chain, or protocol.

Natively integrating with leading standards like x402, ERC-8004, MCP, and Google A2A, AEON enables verifiable AI payments at scale and connects agentic capabilities directly to a network of 50M+ global merchants. Having processed over $514M in cumulative volume for 2.3M+ users, AEON is backed by top investors including YZi Labs, IDG Capital, HashKey Capital, and the Stanford Blockchain Builders Fund. The $AEON token is live on major global exchanges including OKX, Bitget, Binance Alpha and Bithumb.

Website | X | Telegram | Medium | AEON Pay

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WOODLAND DIRECT OPENS NEW DISTRIBUTION CENTER IN RENO, NV

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Sept. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Woodland Direct, the nation’s premier e-commerce site for fire products, is opening a new 47,000-square-foot distribution center in Reno, NV. This is the company’s second distribution center, joining its world headquarters and distribution center in Auburn Hills, MI.

The new facility, officially opening in September, will improve the customer experience by shortening shipping times for West Coast customers.

“Woodland Direct has grown and evolved substantially over the past several years,” said President and Founder Andrew Ingram. “We already ship all around the country. By opening the Reno distribution center, we’re able to serve our West Coast customers more quickly and efficiently.”

The leadership team began exploring the idea of opening a second distribution center in the final quarter of 2025. Woodland worked with logistics consultants to determine whether an expansion west of the Rocky Mountains made sense, and Reno’s strategic location made it a natural choice for the expansion.

“We are excited to be a part of the Reno community, and we look forward to making our customers’ experience even more enjoyable,” said Gunnar Bennethum, senior manager of supply chain operations and business planning.

In addition to using local Reno companies Engineered Solutions, Teledata Technologies, and WTR Electrical to build and prep the warehouse, Bennethum and Warehouse Assistant Wesley Davey will be making the move from Auburn Hills to Reno to oversee operations.

The Reno distribution center will be using industry-standard software NetSuite to increase efficiency.

“This will be a new milestone for Woodland,” Bennethum added, “that will improve our inventory accuracy and allow our sales team to have better visibility of product availability.”

For more information on Woodland Direct, visit our website www.woodlanddirect.com/ or contact Drew Maresco at drew.maresco@woodlanddirect.com or (877) 771-2925.

ABOUT WOODLAND DIRECT

Woodland Direct is a premier online retailer specializing in fireplaces, patio heaters, fire pits, and outdoor living products. Founded in 2004, Woodland Direct offers a curated selection of top fire brands to homeowners, contractors, and businesses. Woodland Direct has the most NFI-certified sales professionals and Master Hearth Professionals under one roof. For more information, visit woodlanddirect.com.

Media Contact:

Drew Maresco

Drew.maresco@woodlanddirect.com

(877) 771-2925

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