Investment Highlights for Hybrid Sofware Group PLC

Investment Highlights for Hybrid Software Group PLC (HYSG-Euronext Brussels)

Hybrid Software Group (“the Group” or “the Company”) through its operating subsidiaries, develops enterprise software and hardware solutions for industrial digital inkjet printing.
The Company’s subsidiaries include: (1) Global Graphics Software: a developer of software components for high-speed digital printing; (2) HYBRID Software: an enterprise software developer for the label and packaging market; (3) Meteor Inkjet: a provider of industrial inkjet printhead driving solutions, electronics, and software; (4) Xitron: a developer of prepress workflow solutions; (5) ColorLogic: a developer of color management software technology; and (6) iC3D: a provider of 3D packaging and design tools.

The Group’s combined product portfolio has created a company unique in the industry: a single provider of all core technologies required to drive digital printing equipment. Because of this, the Group does not see itself as a holding company, but as an integrated group of six interrelated companies that allows it to leverage its offering to the market.
The Group’s strategic focus is to offer OEMs, print manufacturers, and print service providers integrated solutions covering all stages of a digital printing operation. The Company’s customers include leading press manufacturers such as HP, Canon, Kodak, Epson, Ricoh, Durst, Roland, and Hymmen, among others, as well as hundreds of packaging printers and trade shops in Europe, North and South America, and Asia.
The global digital printing market size was valued at $27.6 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $42.7 billion by 2028. Inkjet adoption is increasing rapidly across multiple industry sectors as analog markets are converting to digital production. The Company plans to continue to grow revenue both organically and through acquisitions as it focuses on integrating its subsidiaries’ combined offerings to strengthen its position as the only vertically integrated supplier to this market.

The Company is focused on four strategic digital printing growth markets: labels and packaging, ceramics, textiles, and additive manufacturing (3D printing).

One key element of the Company’s competitive strategy is the ability of the Group’s portfolio companies to collaborate and integrate each other’s products and technologies into complete solutions to meet the demand of their respective customers. The Company believes that its ability to offer an integrated solution encompassing the software and related products and services needed for its clients’ digital printing operations translates into a competitive advantage.

A key project that demonstrates the potential of this collaboration efforts is the development of SmartDFE™, the first product to be co-developed by all Group companies. SmartDFE™ is a one-provider complete software solution designed drive a fully automated high-speed digital inkjet printing process.

In 2021, despite the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company was able to successfully conclude two major acquisitions, rebrand the Group to reflect its focus on digital printing software, and more than double its revenue from 2020.

Group operating companies are award-winning technology leaders. ColorLogic and Global Graphics Software were awarded 2021 Pinnacle InterTech Awards from US industry body PRINTING United Alliance. The Group has been honored with six such awards in the last five years.

The Company’s acquisition strategy is to acquire companies that are technology leaders in their respective field in order to offer its customers a full line of software and critical technology needed for their industrial digital print manufacturing and production. With each acquisition, the Group strives to continue to add value for its potential customers by offering more of what they need to differentiate the product lines and to tap into new revenue streams.

The Group believes that its 2021 acquisition of HYBRID Software was a critical step in shaping the Company’s objective as it broadened its focus from its traditional OEM sales channel to high-margin enterprise software for both OEMs and end users. The Company believes that synergies between Group companies following strategic acquisitions made in 2021 will accelerate innovation and revenue growth.