DWF reorganized its management team – a couple of new appointments with the fancy “Chief Growth Officer” title, and a few were dropped.
Growth is exactly what DWF, which profiled itself as a growth company during its IPO, needs. For this year, revenue should reach 50 MEUR (2025: ~29 MEUR). The growth target has been clearly lowered, but it remains overoptimistic without a substantial acquisition – from Inderes’ comprehensive report:
The target is now 50 MEUR in revenue by the end of 2026 (at the IPO, the target was 100 MEUR in 2026 and at the end of 2022, 50 MEUR by 2025). The target is still split into 40 MEUR organically and 10 MEUR through acquisitions. The organic growth target is ambitious and, in our view, nearly impossible.
Share buybacks are underway, but management’s wallets remain tightly shut. The lack of buying could be due to various reasons, including insider information, but as the share price continues its trend-like slide closer to the two-euro mark (rather than three), one would have thought there were buying opportunities. If the company’s own shares are intended to be used as currency in an acquisition, a falling share price is poison as dilution increases. (Large payments cannot be made with already acquired treasury shares.)
DWF has not, however, squandered its money on forced growth, so unlike many “growth rockets” from the same IPO cycle, DWF does not need to conduct directed share issues hat-in-hand just to keep the lights on. Let alone for growth. That would be a good foundation to build growth on…
Preparation for new strategy work will begin during the current year, and the management shake-up is likely related to that. The central question is the aforementioned growth dilemma. Is DWF at risk of remaining a laggard at a time when, technologically speaking, the moon and stars should be aligned in its favor?
You can always play the Trump or Russia card, but there is something wrong with your own execution if organic growth grinds almost to a halt for several years.
