On Kapital's Top List

Omega has been ranked as one of the top three software companies in Norway, according to Finance Magazine, Kapital's, list of the hundred biggest organisations in the country. 

Published in Kapital, 12 September 2014

By Hans Jørn Næss

Records en masse

Kapital has again ranked the 100 largest software companies by turnover, and this year's analysis is very optimistic. The Software companies increased their collective turnover by NOK one billion. The 100 largest companies had a turnover of NOK 17 billion. Profitability was also strongly improved. The 2013 numbers show that the total profit increased from 300 to more than NOK one billion.   

Wide range in the Norwegian software market:

Bank, mobile, and offshore on top 

The software giant EVRY has showcased some tempting projects for potential buyers, and there is still no company able to threaten the stock-exchange-listed company's position at the top of the list of Norway’s 100 biggest software companies. 

The Norwegian software market is a diverse, jack-of-all-trades with solutions that tempt both private users and corporate customers. On the list over the hundred biggest, we find companies that offer traditional solutions such as customer support and accounting systems, while others offer gaming and mobile solutions for the new technologies we surround ourselves with; they also supply tailored software systems for use in libraries and car shops.

Topping the list, is still the software conglomerate, EVRY. The company, which operates in a number of Nordic and Baltic countries, offers a broad range of services, including software. What seems to be keeping the company on top of the list, and making EVRY the country’s biggest software program, is the delivery of their software program for several banks in the region. The turnover for software programs increased by only 4 percent, but with almost 4.6 billion NOK in turnover, it is still more than what the next four companies on the list have achieved. The only thing that may threaten EVRY’s top position is if possible sale of the company outside Norway. In our listing, we only look at Norwegian-owned software companies; Microsoft, SAP and Visma are not included in the date. Visma was removed from the Oslo Stock Exchange in 2006, and has now the American-owned equity company, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) as its majority stakeholder. However, if plans of a stock exchange comeback are realized, the traditional Visma company may claim their position on top of the list as the country’s largest software company. In the positions below EVRY we find that the Stock Exchange Company, Opera Software, and Omega have switched places. Opera increased their turnover in 2013 by 50 percent and reached 1.8 billion NOK in turnover; additionally, their result after tax quadrupled to NOK 360 million kroner. The web browser, Opera, is a popular choice among users of smart phones and tablets across the globe and some are anticipating that the company will be taken off the Oslo Stock Exchange for sale to a global giant, or take on the mobile market. 

Omega, can, as the supplier of the project management system Pims for the offshore sector, reflect on stable growth in turnover of about 20 percent over the past years. Last year, however, was not enough to maintain the silver-medal position on the list. The company achieved a turnover of approximately 1.6 billion NOK, and a result of 60 million NOK after tax.

Six stock exchange companies 

As many as three of the four largest Norwegian software companies are on the stock exchange; in fourth place we find the graphic design specialist Vizrt, which sold tools to Norwegian international media centers for NOK 720 million this past year. From these sales, the company was left with a turnover of NOK 21 million. Stock-exchange-listed companies make up an increasingly small part of the Norwegian software sector. If we look back to 2007, there were 18 stock-exchange-listed companies on the list of the 100 largest – now there are only six. In addition to Evry, Opera and Vizrt, on top of the list we can also find Funcom in twenty-fourth place. 

Akva Group is number thirty and Birsted is the country’s thirty-ninth biggest software company. The results from the software business have often been characterized by companies with extremely high deficits, but 2013 has seen few companies with two or three digit negative numbers. For example, the gaming company, Funcom, managed to reduce their deficit from NOK 360 million to NOK 27 million. Birdstep is a regular on the list, but has largely been a contributor to the large deficits. 2013 proved to be a step in the right direction, as their turnover increased by 60 percent and passed NOK 70 million, with a financial base that increased from NOK 42 to NOK 8 million in deficit. Akva Group reminds us a little of EVRY - not because of their size, but because the company has software as a part of their business in the aquaculture industry. 

Coming and going 

There are always some replacements when we list one hundred companies. Among the newcomers are names such as House of Control, Epsis, Admincontrol and Accurate Equity; companies that each represent their segment of the broad and diverse family of software programming. House of Control has developed a tool that enables control over acompany’s agreements and possessions, while the Epsis specialty is collaborative tools. Admincontrol delivers a program that ensures safe communication with members of leadership, and Accurate Equity solves challenges regarding equity capital-based salaries. Some companies experienced a loss in turnover and are therefore removed from the list, but there are also some who were purchased by others. If we look to the “shopping list”, the American oil service conglomerate Schlumberger’s acquisition of Geoknowledge has received a lot of attention. Schlumberger paid a quarter of a billion NOK for the software company that develops tools for analysis in the oil and gas industry. KSD Software is another company which has been sold to foreign ownership. 

The company developed tools for treatment of customs and was acquired by the American company, Descartes Systems Group, for NOK 190 million in May. In September, the Swedish consultancy company, Acando, bought E-vita for NOK 35 million kroner, and towards the end of last year, the Data Design System (DDS) company became a part of the German Nemetschek group. DDS delivers solutions for the construction industry. The NSB owned software company, Arrive, is not sold out of the country as of yet, but it has been removed from the company itself and into the consolidated firm.