He may be the “boss” of a multinational company specializing in cutting-edge technologies such as information-data management, payment-identification solutions and digitalization, employing more than 2,400 employees worldwide, but Nikos Lykos still sees Austriacard’s value remaining stagnant.
Today, the capitalization of the listed company, which is traded in both Vienna and Athens, barely exceeds 200 million euros, having been left out of this year’s… buying party (-3.8% since the beginning of 2025).
The negative surprise of the first quarter’s financial results, with revenues falling by -10% and net profits “sinking” by -50%, is one aspect of the problem.
The other one is that there was no information to the investment community about the lower performance, even though a few days before the release of the figures, the listed company’s Investor Day had preceded it, in which the atmosphere was… celebratory regarding the financial targets.
This, as was reasonable, created a climate of distrust towards Nikos Lykos, who only a few years ago completed a demanding and difficult transformation (the Austrian subsidiary Austriacard absorbed the Greek parent Inform Lykos).
In a few days, the shareholder leader of Austriacard (controlling 71.5% of the share capital) is going to publish the financial data for the first half of the year, which may show a repeat of the weak first quarter.
However, Nikos Lykos, together with the CEO Manolis Kontos, expect a generally positive course in 2025, despite the weakness in the first half.
At the same time, optimism prevails in the medium term, with the average annual growth of organic revenues forecast at +6% or +7% and the target for the annual dividend set at 20%-25% of net profitability.
However, the most important thing for Nikos Lykos is the restoration of trust between the company and the investment community.
This is the only path that the entrepreneur is called upon to take in order to see his company finally acquire a notable stock market status, creating added value for both himself and the other shareholders.
