共有50多个国家安装了超过11,000个Axess POS系统和18,000个Axess智能门。由于目前产品系列扩大，未来的新品牌将能够在软件领域获得良好发展。这一发展对滑雪旅游业尤为有利，因为大多数地区冬季降雪量大，滑雪场门票销售大幅增加。斯堪的纳维亚半岛和北美的销售额创下历史新高，增长率分别达到56.7%和48.4%。此外，还获得了挪威新客户瓦灵斯科伦高山滑雪中心和瑞典超级市场格瑞克里茨集团的订单；有两个项目启动，一个是Axess团队在芬兰新成立的 Finland Oy分公司项目，另一个是爱沙尼亚的首个项目Äärmusliku。这些新分支机构为客户提供了更好支持，还将利用其他资源拓展业务。
A spectacular year for Axess: absolute peak reached with over 50 million sales and 18.9 % growth
With 62 new customer projects, the past fiscal year was the most successful in the company's history. Sensational growth was achieved in the USA, Japan and Russia, but Europe's DACH region also grew significantly. Even Covid-19 cannot detract from this success, several major projects have already been completed for the new financial year in times of a pandemic.
The world of Axess is spinning fast. Always on the pulse of time and hand in hand with its customers, it succeeds in bringing innovations quickly to the market. “The success speaks for the strategy of the company", Oliver Suter, CSO and member of the board summarizes. The North American region, including the USA and Canada, was a disproportionately high growth market. In this market, the already high sales of 2018/19 were increased by more than 70%. As in the previous year, many new customers were acquired, such as the ski resorts of Deer Valley, Mount Rose, Mount Seymour, Whiteface, Gore Mountain, Sierra at Tahoe, or the Wisp and Wintergreen areas, which belong to the Pacific Group. Particularly pleasing was the new contract for the two ski areas Big Sky and Loon, which belong to the Boyne Group, one of the largest operators of ski areas in the world. This group mainly relies on UHF transponders in their resorts, which are now complemented by the newly developed UHF Gates and the corresponding UHF Smart Cards from Axess. In addition to the already very successfully placed resort software solution, the UHF access system, which has now been brought to commercial maturity, brings further future growth potential. In order to optimize the US stadia market, a separate subsidiary, Axess Americas Events Inc. was founded in 2019. A dedicated team has been working intensively on stadia and arenas in America since December. A new subsidiary was also founded in Kazakhstan, Australia and on the east coast of the USA. The Spanish and Andorra markets, formerly sales territory of the French subsidiary, were served for the first time in the past fiscal year by the newly established Axess Ibérica subsidiary in Zaragoza. As an initial success, a million-euro project in the ski sector was implemented here with the state transport company Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya.
Sales also increased in Asia, with encouraging developments in the two most important markets of Japan and China. In Japan, the year-on-year increase was the largest of all countries, at over 100%. As in North America, numerous new projects were realized, such as the Appi Kogen, Takasu Snow Park, Dynaland and Hirugano Kogen ski resorts. An important customer has also been won outside the ski business with the renowned Kyoto Museum. In China, an important cooperation agreement was concluded with the Bank of China in view of the 2022 Winter Olympics, and a first major project has already been implemented. The leading position in the leisure market was further expanded with the completion of the Auto Museum project in Shanghai.
The CEE region as well as Russia continued to develop positively despite significant increases in sales in the previous year and were able to raise the high sales of the previous year. In these markets, non-ski areas such as stadia and trade fairs also set positive accents. In Russia, Ekaterinburg Expo - one of the most important exhibition locations in Central Asia - was equipped with a visitor management system. In the business segment stadia, the National Stadium Bucharest in Romania was upgraded to the latest system status and thus made fit for the upcoming European Soccer Championship. Turkey also developed positively with the new ski projects Kartepe and Kartalkaya.
Growth was also achieved in France. As a result, the sales record of the previous year was increased. In addition to new customers in the ski segment such as Prat Peyrot, the leisure segment with swimming pools and museums was also further expanded. The aerospace museum Musée de L'Air et de L'Espace in Paris, for example, has opted for the Axess system.
The development in the DACH region was equally pleasing. Due to the high number of existing customers, modernizations were realized in numerous projects and the ticket business was further increased. In addition, other new customers such as Axamer Lizum have been added.
Product lines are constantly growing and adapting to customer requirements. The software and hardware development makes this possible; the own factory in Innsbruck produces top quality products “Made in Austria". “Having the development department inhouse is an essential factor in our success. This is the only way we can respond quickly to new market requirements and offer appropriate products in a timely manner", says Christian Windhager, CTO and member of the board of Axess AG about the secret of the company's success. Thus, sales increased continuously, each year could be recorded as a success over the previous one. The 2019/20 financial year is also a good example of this, with sales of € 50.17 million and a profit of more than 9%, it is the best year in the company's history. 18.9% increase in sales compared to the previous year and a high equity ratio as well as over 300 employees form a solid foundation for the future.
The fact that the company is standing on solid ground is also reflected in times of the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite restrictions indirect customer support and acquisition, the project volume already exceeds the figures of the previous year! The company was able to convert all employees to remote work from home and production at the plant could be maintained. “We didn’t have to register a single employee for short-time work", remarks Oliver Suter proudly. “The plant in Innsbruck produces under the new safety regulations and thus guarantees customers the promised delivery dates. All other employees work productively from home. We were even able to win several important projects from our home office.”
Around 3 billion transactions were done via Axess systems, more than 28 million RFID smart cards, meaning admission tickets or ski tickets, were produced in 2019. Just as many access systems. Last year, 62 new customer projects were added, including ski resorts, stadia, exhibition centers, theme parks or excursion railways and tourist attractions. Axess AG is now represented worldwide by 20 subsidiaries, which serve a total of 53 countries. More than 300 employees meet the high expectations of international customers every day. “They will all guarantee that a gratifying growth will continue in future years. The prerequisites for this are absolutely given and strengthen the management of the company in its strategic orientation", Christian Windhager emphasizes in conclusion.
€ 2 million more in sales despite pandemic: Axess continues on its path of growth despite difficult times
With € 52.1 million in overall sales, success kept climbing in the last financial year. Even Covid-19 wasn’t enough to spoil the company’s growth; several major projects were completed during the pandemic, and three business areas were further developed. Unavoidable digitization in many areas accelerated projects, and new technologies stimulated demand.
While a company can be proud of its success during a global economic crisis, we also need to look back at the mark this time has left on the world. By dynamically adjusting to the new market conditions, Axess was able to quickly gain momentum after the first lockdown. The urgency for digitization resulted in many projects in the leisure and trade fair sectors. Restrictions that limited numbers of visitors and required spectator checks called for new solutions. “The success of the past year is a testament to how adaptable the company is, as well as to having the right strategy in times of crisis,” explains Oliver Suter, Board Member and CSO of the company. “By staying on the cutting edge and working hand-in-hand with our customers, we were able to quickly bring innovations to the market.” This is confirmed by the company’s € 52.1 million in sales with an EBITDA of € 15.2 million.
This year saw growth in the stadium, theme park and trade fair sectors. The foundation of Axess Americas Events Inc., which targets stadiums and arenas in the United States, brought numerous new projects. Well-known stadiums such as the LAFC’s Bank of California Stadium, the Alamodome in San Antonio, the Anaheim Ducks’ Honda Center, the Seattle Seahawks’ Lumen Field, the Seattle Mariners’ T-Mobile Park, and world-famous Yankee Stadium were all completely re-equipped with Axess access systems. The AX500 Smart Post NG was specially equipped for the US market with NFC technology, given WIFI and a battery, and mounted on a mobile pallet. It can be used anywhere and placed flexibly, regardless of cabling or the power supply.
Developments in the European trade fair market include software products that allow visitor flow to be regulated. Online registration and online ticket sales are must-haves for the future. Axess’ USP here is the ability to control everything from a single data center. New developments can easily be integrated into an existing system. Numerous trade fair halls and exhibition centers took the lockdown as an opportunity to invest in and upgrade their venues with new technology. The third major area of growth was the leisure industry. Theme parks, museums, zoos and other entertainment facilities needed systems that could regulate the number of visitors, whether in the park itself or to an individual attraction. Digitization has also made a major contribution to growth here.
The North America region, including the USA and Canada, was busy implementing projects won the previous year, and was also able to secure new projects. Mount St. Louis Moonstone, Calabogie Peaks Resort, Hilltop, Saddleback and Sugar Bowl ski areas now use Axess systems. The same goes for the Sunday River and Sugarloaf resorts of the Boyne Group, one of the largest ski resort operators in the world. In addition to the successful resort software solutions, the UHF access system has now reached commercial maturity and brings additional growth potential.
The German-speaking DACH area (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) increased the previous year’s already high sales by 5.1%. Austria was especially noteworthy, with an increase of 41.8% on the previous year. In addition to serving the existing customer base, many new small and mid-sized projects were completed. A pilot phase with Bluetooth low energy access, which converts smartphones into tickets, has started in twelve well-known ski areas. Projects in the non-ski sector include the Messe Dornbirn trade fair center, the “Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen”, the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, the Bayerische Seenschifffahrt and the Eisriesenwelt Werfen. Modules developed for ski customers, such as bookings or food and beverages, have also been successfully put into use in other areas of the leisure sector.
The new subsidiaries in Australia and Spain lived up to expectations and will make a strong contribution to growth in the coming financial year. Spain has already doubled sales with its second major project, Telesquis De La Tossa De Alp. Japan and China saw no growth due to the difficult situation during the pandemic, with severe supply conditions and cautious investment dominating these markets. France also saw sharp decline. This was caused partly by local elections, the reason why no major new orders were awarded in 2020, and also because the fall in ticket sales was much more significant than in other regions due to the complete closure of French ski areas as a result of the pandemic. Nevertheless, new customers, for example the Chamrousse ski area, were also acquired.
Sales in the CEE region increased by 7.3% compared to the previous year, with Serbia and Kazakhstan showing the strongest growth. Serbia’s largest ski resort, Kopaonik, was set up with Axess equipment, as was the world’s longest gondola – the Gold Gondola in the Tornik ski resort. In Kazakhstan, the Oi Quaragai ski resort was acquired through the company’s Russian subsidiary. The Czech Republic also saw high sales and acquired new ski customer Kralicak.
“Investment in research and development was at a record high at 12% of sales, or an increase of € 970,000 compared to the previous year. In the past year, we expanded our portfolio of products to include further digital solutions, and tested technologies for the future,” explains Christian Windhager, Board Member and CTO of the company. To advance further developments even more intensively, Daniel Wakounig has strengthened the team, joining as Head of Software and Hardware Development and authorized signatory from April 2020. His expertise in e-commerce will lead to many new products and solutions for the future. Lars Wolf, long-time CFO of the company, was promoted to Board Member in 2021. He will keep the company focused on its path of success.
The company is on solid ground – a fact that has been proven during the Covid-19 pandemic. With a healthy dose of respect, Axess is looking ahead to the new year. Despite growth and ongoing digitization, it is not yet clear when business will return to normal.
