Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. I am Maria, your Chorus Call operator. Welcome, and thank you for joining the Qualco Group S.A. conference call and live webcast to present and discuss the first half 2026 financial results. The event provides the opportunity for participation via audio conference and live webcast, where a presentation deck is provided for your convenience. All audio conference participants will be in listen-only mode, and the conference is being recorded.
The presentation will be followed by a question and answer session. Should anyone need assistance during the conference call, you may signal an operator by pressing star and zero on your telephone. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Orestis Tsakalotos, Group Executive Chairman. Mr. Tsakalotos, you may now proceed.
Thank you. Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Qualco Group first half 2026 financial results conference call. This is our second interim results presentation, and we are glad to have you with us. There is a lot to share about where the company stands today and where is it heading. Let me start with a little history, because it explains almost everything that follows.
Qualco was founded in 1998 to build technology for the hardest work financial institutions do, managing credit and receivables and running the complex workflows and algorithms behind them. Today, 20 years later, that same technology, now with artificial intelligence built into it, is carrying the company into markets that were not part of the picture when we started. Three of those markets deserve a mention today.
The first is civil protection and defense, where our technology is dual-use, meaning the same systems and algorithms can serve both civilian and security needs. The second is real estate, where we take properties that have been sitting in legal files and bring them to market. The third is retail credit, where we have applied to the Bank of Greece for a credit institution license.
Once granted, it will allow us to serve our consumers directly at the point of sale with funding provided by our partner banks. Once granted, it will allow us to serve consumers directly at the point of sale with funding provided by our partner banks. What ties these three together is that we are not building something new for each. We are using the technology we already have.
In practical terms, our addressable market is now considerably larger than it was on the day we listed, and we have reached it with the stack we already own. That single stack, built and owned by Qualco, runs every segment we serve. AI is now embedded in our operations, and more than half of our delivery teams use it every day. As a result, we are gaining efficiency and finding synergies across our businesses faster than at any point in our history.
None of this is theoretical. It is already visible in the contracts we have signed. With Skaramangas Shipyards, Qualco will help develop a multipurpose unmanned surface vessel built in Greece. We will supply the software, the AI, and the algorithms behind it. The Ministry of Health has selected our consortium to map, regularize, and value one of the largest real estate portfolios held by the Greek state.
Our international reach is also growing. In the first half, 32% of our group revenue came from outside Greece, up from 29% a year earlier. Of the revenue from contracts already awarded to us, 44% is international. Our target is for more than 40% of revenue to come from international markets by 2028. We are well on our way.
Behind it all are our people. Qualco's edge is its knowledge, and that knowledge lives in more than 1,250 people across 30 countries. With AI as a strategic tool, they are expanding their skills and reaching new potential. One example is our dual-use technology capability, which has gained clearance at the national NATO and EU secret level. For a company that began life writing software for banks, that is quite a milestone. Our commitment also reaches beyond the business.
Throughout, through the Qualco Foundation, more than 35 initiatives support already over 4,000 beneficiaries in the first half of the year. More than 250 colleagues volunteered their time to make it possible. Let me close with a word about the environment, and we are operating. The world is becoming more uncertain and geopolitical tensions are rising. We are watchful, but we are not alarmed. Qualco has operated through severe strain in Greece since 1998, and we run the business for the harder case.
Long-term contracts, a diversified client base, decent leverage, and no balanced risk. At the same time, Europe is investing in security, its resilience, and its autonomy, and we see that as an excellent opportunity for Qualco Group's technology. We see that as an excellent opportunity for Qualco Group's technology. We have delivered on every commitment since listing, and we see no reason financial year 2026 will be different. Thank you. Thank you very much. With that, let us turn into numbers.
Good evening from myself as well. I will keep the introduction short, because most of it is in the pages that follow. A few things that stand out. The first is that what this half was, and it's a continuation of the path that has served us well. We continue building the capacity for accelerating growth, and we go on growing while we build. Neither is at the expense of the other. The second is what we're announcing today, none of which is in the half year numbers.
Bank AlJazira has selected Qualco ProximaPlus, our 13th major client in the Middle East. Qualco has won a place on the European Commission DIGIT- TM III framework. Over EUR 3.9 billion of technology spend to be allocated among the 60 suppliers who won a place, and we are one of them. In PPC, the share of the securitization is renewed and materially broader. More volume through mandate Qualco Intelligent Finance [ready flows ].
The third point is a big thank you to our people, more than 1,250 of them across Europe and the Middle East, and obviously a big thank you to our shareholders for their trust. Which brings me to the seven things I would like you to take from this half, and we'll go through them properly. First, on a 12-month basis, this is a record. EUR 228 million of revenue, up 16% and adjusted EBITDA for EUR 43.6 million, the highest in our history.
The half year on its own understates that, because traditionally, around 6% of our revenue lands after June. Second, and this is one I'd underline, EUR 762 million of revenue is already awarded for the next five years. It's not a pipeline, and it's not a forecast. EUR 335 million of it is international, EUR 338 million sits in Platform as a Service, our highest margin segments.
Third, we've opened three new addressable markets, embedded finance, real estate, and civil protection defense, all of which, all of them on technology we already own. Fourth, and one of the most important points, internationalization accelerated. International revenue is up 24% to EUR 32 million, and it's now 32% of the group against 29% a year ago.
Fifth, AI, five products were launching inside a year, and it's already changing how we run the group. Sixth, cash, -EUR 2.8 million from operations in the half, but that's just timing. The figure will normalize by year-end, and I'll show you exactly why. Seventh, we are exploring a share buyback subject to all the corporate authorizations. The common denominator in the box is at the bottom right. One technology stack, built and owned by us, runs every segment we serve with AI at its core.
That's what turns 25 years of IP into new markets and higher margins. Let me take you through the numbers first. Everything in this page, the top row is the half year, the row underneath is the last 12 months. Revenue in the first half was EUR 101 million, up 14%, up 16% for the last 12 months. International revenue up 24% in the half and 28% over the last 12 months.
That's the line that takes us towards 40% of the group by 2028. EBITDA is EUR 13.4 million for the half and EUR 43.6 over 12 months. That's a figure, the figures are as they were reported. The margin, because that's a number you'll have looked at first, 13.2% in the half against 14.7% last year. Over 12 months, 19.1%. I'd ask you to look at the same 12-month number, and the next slide shows you why.
That's the one that counts. CapEx at 10% of revenue. Part of that is deliberate step-up for AI, and part of it is a ratio. The first half carries a smaller share of the year's revenue, so 10% overstates what the full year earns. By year-end, it's back to 2025 levels. Whereas leverage at 1.3x EBITDA, up from 0.8, will normalize to around one by year-end.
Our guidance is unchanged. Mid-tier revenue growth, EBITDA margin around 20% for the full year. We can reaffirm that because the pattern behind it has not changed. Looking at the next slide, this is the shape of our year, and it's the same every year. About 6% of revenue lands in the second half, and more than 70% of EBITDA is generated then. That's not seasonality, it makes sense.
It's contract delivery milestones, it's year-end implementations in public and private sector billing, all of which concentrate after June. The majority of the cost base, meanwhile, accrues evenly across the 12 months. So first half margin will always understate the full year. Follow the 12-month line on the charts, EUR 194 million, EUR 197 million, EUR 216 million, EUR 228 million.
It keeps climbing, and EBITDA climbs with it. The reason we're comfortable the second half follows the same pattern is the band along the bottom. EUR 762 million already awarded over the next five years. 44% of that is international, and an equal percentage is platforms. So the second half is not just a forecast, most of it is already contracted. What did we do during the first half of the year? Everything on this slide is something dated and specific. I'll give you the highlights.
96% of bookings in the half. More than EUR 67 million out of it, 70% is international. We have eight major new technology clients, three European and five in the Middle East. Four new quant portfolios plus the sale and leaseback mandate. Three acquisitions, five products launched or launching. I'll focus on a few. The Ministry of Health mandate, as Orestis said, EUR 10 million over 24 months with a EUR 5 million option.
The PPC securitization, which I mentioned, this was renewed in September and extended to the entire low and medium voltage portfolio, gas, and large corporates. That increases our relationship, and the activity of Qualco Intelligent Finance. Thames Water, where onboarding is complete, in less than seven months, and the full service of the Thames Water receivables portfolio began this month. Last but not least, QQuant, with more than EUR 30 million booked with the Brussels hub open for delivery.
On the corporate sides, we renewed Euronext Tech Leaders in February, FTSE Emerging Europe in March, two acquisitions, Lever Development Consultants and Multiverse over the summer, and very importantly, the Skaramangas Shipyards MoU in August and the credit institution application again filed in August with the Bank of Greece. So that was a busy year. We haven't finished. We'll continue in the second half. This isn't just a list.
There's a clear logic and a structure underneath it. This is how we'd like you to look at the business. One balance sheet and three multipliers sitting on top of it. The foundation, as Orestis mentioned, is 25 years of proprietary IP. Credit, receivables, workflow orchestration, real estate, applied AI. It's built, it's paid for, and it's in production with blue-chip institutions across Europe and the Middle East. The first multiplier is the core, and it's compounded. Platforms as a Service grew 18%.
It is now 53% of the group at a margin historically above 20%. Software and technology grew 16%, mainly from international customers. QQuant assets under management are twice, double what they were in 2024, EUR 21.4 billion. The second equally important, internationalization. I will never stop stressing that out. The backlog of EUR 335 million of awarded revenue is international, and in new bookings in the first half of the year, almost 70% of that is international.
The trending is clear, and the intent is strategic. Third is what sits beyond the core. Real estate, dynamic discounting, embedded finance, new value systems. Four new markets, each larger than the one we serve today, all on technology already built. AI is not just a fourth layer. It makes all three of those multipliers more profitable. Let us take them in order, starting with the core. Growth comes from the segments that matter.
As I mentioned, software and technology is up to EUR 30 million, 16% growth, and all of it is from external customers. Platforms up to EUR 56 million, 18% growth, more than half of the group revenue now. QQuant assets, as I said, doubles in 2024. A few things around those numbers. The PPC securitization renewed and expanded.
This expands the activity of Qualco Intelligent Finance in its largest customer. Still, that largest customer is a smaller percentage of revenue than it ever was, so a smaller concentration. Two are new QQuant portfolios, Iris at EUR 3 billion, Etalia, Virgo, and Palmyra. Portfolio management is not growing as fast as the other segments. Still, we do expect its margins to increase materially in the future. I also like to make a mention around dynamic discounting, and I am flagging that for different reasons.
It runs on QUALCO ProximaPlus, our own tech finance IP, and it is a new revenue line from an asset we already owned, not built from scratch. The SAP capability we acquired with D.D. SYNERGY integrates our dynamic discounting platform into its clients' existing installations and opens their user base to us. The panel on the right is the point of the slide.
Better revenue and less of it tied to a single economy. Which takes us to the second multiplier, which is internationalization. This is not a target we are working towards. The revenue behind it is already awarded. The EUR 762 million over the next five years, 44% of that, EUR 335 million international, 70% of new bookings from international clients. That last number is the direction of travel. Our client base is already international.
What is changing is the revenue mix, and it is changing quickly and in the right direction. ICT is the clearest example. New bookings over EUR 30 million, active in 11 countries. A Benelux hub now open in Brussels, an Italian presence before year-end. Around EUR 100 million of awarded revenue there, about 80% of it international. Thames Water, as I said before, went live this month. That is a full receivables management service and customer engagement.
We hope to replicate that with PPC Romania soon, which is in negotiation, and we have signed the Municipality of Nicosia. Two things sit underneath that. Two acquisitions, Lever Development Consultants and Multiverse, which are profitable distribution businesses. Lever Development Consultants in Greece, Multiverse across Europe. They were acquired with valuations that are accretive to the group, and they give us access to a very wide range of new clients.
The people on the ground in Luxembourg, Belgium, Romania, and Italy are QQuant's built up over time rather than bought in. That is capacity for business already won. It is not discretionary spending. The third multiplier, the markets beyond the core, and I will pass to Theo Mathikolonis on the first theme, real estate.
Thank you, Miltiadis. Real estate is the most mature among the three and is already realizing proceeds. We do three things with property, and we own the technology for all three. We mature it. Qualco Real Estate and QIF together handle over 8,500 assets worth more than EUR 1 billion, with more than 1,600 assets already mature, worth over EUR 200 million. We commercialize it. Uniko, our joint venture with National Bank of Greece, plus QIF and Qualco Real Estate.
More than 6,000 assets under management worth over EUR 2 billion. More than 900 assets sold for over EUR 75 million already realized. From 2027 onwards, we originate. ODS, together with Piraeus Bank, that is agenting mortgage origination. The public sector is where this is getting interesting. The Ministry of Health contract is EUR 10 million over 24 months with a EUR 5 million additional option, mapping, legalizing, and valuing around 4,000 properties.
The Greek state is amongst the largest property owner in the country, and almost none of that portfolio has ever been mapped or valued. At its core, one technology stack, QUALCO One, Rezolve, Uniko, ODS, all built by us. Orestis will take us on the second of the three markets.
Thank you, Theo. Dual use, four years built, one anchor partner signed. I want to be precise about dual use because it would be easy to assume we are reacting to the news. We are not. Look at the timeline. Between 2022 and 2024, we built computer vision, LiDAR sending systems, 3D mapping systems, sensor fusion, edge autonomy, and simulation.
In-house, from scratch, complete IPs owned by us. Then we set up QART, Qualco Centre for Applied Research & Technology unit , as the group's deep tech center and won AEGEUS, a EUR 12 million national program running through to 2027. This year, two products are complete and deployable. In August, we signed the MoU with Skaramangas Shipyards for an unmanned surface vessel. They built the platform, we delivered the entire software layer and all the algorithms. The two products are the common operational picture.
One real-time picture fusing drone, satellites, radar, AIS, and legacy sea floor feeds, serving civil protection and armed forces from the same back end. The autonomy stack, the software brain for unmanned platforms validated at the sea and in the air on our own test beds. The line along the bottom matters as much as the products. Facility security clearance at national, NATO, and EU secret level with certified personnel and active in EDF, EDA, and Horizon Europe programs. That door very few companies in Greece have through. Thank you, and let me pass you to Miltiadis.
Thank you, Orestis. A few words about embedded finance, which is the newest of the three new activities we have, and it is the one that probably needs more from me. I will start with the license, because the license makes a difference. A credit institution owns the customer relationship and the data that comes with it. Combine that with retailer's data, and you can build proprietary per-customer credit models nobody else can. A technology company can not do that.
A bank can, but a bank only sees its own customers. Now follow the flow across the middle of the page. The retailer gets the sales they lose today, finance at the moment of intent, paid instantly at the till instead of waiting 30-90 days. The funding partner gets origination without building anything. We sit in the middle as counterparty on every loan.
Owner of the contract, the customer, the data. Running the full life cycle on technology that is already ours and market-tested. To be clear, no balance sheet exposure for our shareholders. Funding comes from partners, not from us.
Now, where we are today, the license application was filed in August with the Bank of Greece. The build is underway for H1 2027 launch. We are in advanced talk with leading retailers, banks, and credit funds. We will start from Greece, but our ambition lies in Europe. Now, all three of those new markets which we are entering depend on one thing, and that is AI. I will ask Michalis Nikoletos to take it from here.
Thank you, Miltiadis. As you probably all know, this has been a pretty busy week for AI. A few things have come out in the media, but the question lying around for a year now is whether AI is a threat to software companies. Well, if you are selling one tool, yes, AI can replace it, but Qualco does not do that. Qualco builds systems. It runs unregulated systems that banks, retailers, and services depend on every day. We hold the data. We run the workflows.
Today, we have a list of products and initiatives that are currently running in the company. ML Studio went live in May, and Agentic Studio follows in December. Together, they let our teams and our clients build models and hand entire workflows to AI agents.
Agenly launches next month. Receivables management, where the credit workflow runs itself and people step in only where judgment is needed. Cenobe, an AI security analyst, launched this month. It is a cyber analyst that never sleeps and works 24/7 responding to threats. ODS goes live in December with Piraeus Bank, a mortgage origination and application handled by AI agent from start to decision.
Last but not least, Qward is a defense-grade AI already in production. Orestis spoke about it earlier. We will be developing the software and the brain inside unmanned platforms, which are cleared to national security and the unmanned vessels we are developing with Skaramangas Shipyards. These are five products in one year, all on the technology we currently own.
Having said all this and saying that this has been a very big CapEx for us, we raised our CapEx last year from 7% to 8.5% as we spoke about in the full-year results. If you look at the next page, you will see that our CapEx for the first half was 10%. Obviously, our CapEx is higher, but because of our cost base, which is evenly distributed through the year, it looks inflated.
However, more than 60% of our revenue and more than 70% of our EBITDA comes in the second half, so we expect it to normalize to lower levels. In the next year, to come back closer to the 7% we had in the previous years. What is all this CapEx for? All this CapEx is to improve our efficiency, to improve our productivity. Our cost to serve falls hardest where the gap is widest. Our portfolio management system and our BPO will benefit immensely from that.
Our group operational efficiency program, we are developing a shared cost base for the entire group, so our EBITDA margin will improve dramatically from that part. Our platforms, which run at a 20%+ margin, and our ICT business, which is growing very fast, are going to benefit massively from our AI internal development.
All this happening together is the reason why we are very optimistic, and we think that we can get to 22% EBITDA margin for 2027. The CapEx has happened, and the operational efficiency is kicking in now. In the next, let us say, 15 months, we believe that we will be seeing this in the EBITDA margins. Now I will take you to George Angelides, our Deputy Group CFO, who can dive a bit deeper on the financials and give you better visibility on how we operated the first six months. Thank you.
Thank you, Michalis, and good afternoon to all. Moving to slide 17 to provide a bit more color on the first half's financial performance. As already mentioned, revenue stands at EUR 101 million, up 14% compared to the previous year, with the software and technology segment up by 16% on the back of international expansion of 24%, mostly from the ICT business.
Platform as a Service also up by 18%. In addition to that, we have the first contribution from acquisitions completed in the second half of the year, which now show up in the P&L. Our gross margin, slightly down at 40% compared to 41.7% in the previous year as cost of sales rose by 17%, while revenue only by 14%. This gap reflects the delivery capacity we've built internationally. We bear the cost of building the teams before we book the revenue that these teams will deliver.
This is the cause of the fall movement. We see this reversing in the second half and beyond as the contracts we have worked on materialize. Further down on administrative expenses are up by 19% to EUR 23.8 million. Almost entirely, this difference, this increase comes from amortization and not operating costs.
This amortization relates to purchase price allocation of last year's acquisitions, as we said, Empedus and Cenobe, plus the heavy capital expenditure in the previous and current year that we have already talked about. Across that whole P&L, all the lines, depreciation, amortization has risen by 34%, coming from the AI and product and acquisition investments. Sales and marketing, up by 17% to EUR 12.6 million. This was a deliberate investment and very worthwhile considering the EUR 96 million of new bookings in the first half.
Moving below operating profit, finance expense has risen by EUR 0.9 million to EUR 2.3 million on the higher average debt balance and the unwinding of acquisition earn-outs. Associates reduced the high loss by EUR 0.5 million, coming from Uniko and startup losses at ODS S.A. We expect this to reverse next year as Uniko significantly produces higher revenue and ODS S.A. begins commercial operations. Which brings us to the bottom line.
Net result attributable to shareholders for the first half of 2026 is a loss of EUR 4.6 million. This is EUR 1.9 million worse than the last year, which is clearly the impact of depreciation, finance costs of associates that we mentioned earlier. On an as-report basis, not an adjusted basis, we are up EUR 4.8 million better than the previous year because last year carried EUR 6.7 million of after-tax reorganizational expenses.
Closing on the P&L discussion, I think the key message is what we say in the title, Qualco Group demonstrates strong top-line growth with impression on margin reflecting intentional investment in delivery capacity as well as AI and product development. On this investment, we build for the second half and beyond.
Moving to the balance sheet and how that investment was funded on the next page. Our balance sheet remains healthy, and it funded the build comfortably. The ratios we see on this page reflect half year seasonality, since, as already discussed, the majority of earnings and cash land in the second half. The full year trend will revert to normal. Despite that, all ratios continue to portray a strong capital position.
Net debt to last 12 months adjusted EBITDA at 1.3 x against 0.8x at the year-end as net debt increased to EUR 56 million from EUR 34 million at the year-end, following use of cash to fund the expansion. Cash, excluding the IPO proceeds, down to EUR 11 million from EUR 39 million at the year-end. More to follow on this, but we expect to be back at around one times by the year-end.
Similarly, net debt to equity at 0.6 x against 0.4x a t the year-end, and current ratio at 1.2x against 1.4 x. Total debt actually fell during the first half from EUR 73 million to EUR 67 million. Although since June 30, we have drawn a further EUR 13 million to fund repayment of existing facilities, working capital, and expansionary CapEx.
Average cost of debt we see on the top right at 4.15% against 3.9% last year, reflecting ECB's 25 basis points increase in June. Our exposure to rate volatility, important to note, is low, which makes us believe that the recent increase by ECB by another 25 basis points last week will not have a material impact on our P&L. Where was the cash used? As we see at the bottom left box, cash decreased by EUR 34.1 million to EUR 21 million.
Here, we include the IPO proceeds to have the total amount. EUR 15.7 million were used into capitalized development acquisitions and to fund our associates. EUR 16.6 million went to financing, debt repayment, leases, interest, and dividends to minorities of EUR 4.4 million. Lastly, EUR 2.8 million was the operating outflow mentioned also earlier, and we will discuss more on this on the next page.
So putting it all together, we have leverage inside our range, rate exposure low, and facilities extended, providing the capacity to keep investing. On the back of the second half that we normally deliver higher revenue and EBITDA, every one of these KPIs strengthens by the year-end. With the leverage back to around 1x and cash is building as contracted revenue converts. Turning on to the next page to discuss the operating cash flow.
Operating cash flow at -EUR 2.8 million in the first half, driven by significant working capital needed for work we have already won and are already delivering. Four forces at play here. Upfront investment to build delivery capacity for large multi-year framework contracts, mainly at rental, ahead of European delivery in the second half. Investment in QART, which we already discussed as well, including the work behind the Skaramangas gas vessel that we talked about.
Expansion in the Middle East, one of our highest margin regions where clients pay slowly. Lastly, slow Greek public sector receipts, which is well understood and planned for. So all in all, it is not a change in the business or the operating model. It is a temporary investment that will start paying off from the second half of 2026 on the back of revenue already contracted, EUR 96 million of bookings in the first half, 70% of that international, and a total of EUR 762 million awarded revenue for the next five years.
European ICT clients pay normally on 60-day terms, and that revenue begins converting in the second half as their contribution rises. All in all, we expect cash flow from operations to be positive by the year-end, working capital outflow to normalize on a full year 2026 basis, and to be back on the historic trend from 2027 onwards.
Finally, a brief update on the use of the IPO proceeds on the next page. As of June 30, 2026, we have utilized approximately 80% of the IPO proceeds. As committed in the IPO and the prospectus, we have three buckets. The mergers and acquisitions activity. In the first half, the main contributions were to Cenobe and Middle Office, where we made additional investments.
In the platform segment, further investments in Uniko, our U.K. subsidiary EPFS Panel Manager platform, and ODS, our agent and mortgage origination venture with Piraeus Bank. Working capital, we have utilized the entirety of the pool allocated to this budget. With that, back to Miltiadis to close.
Thank you, George. We listed 16 months ago, and we put five commitments in front of you. Growth, as promised, we are above 15%, 17% in 2025. In 2025, 14.5%, 16% over the last 12 months. Margin, we committed to 20% for the first 18-20 months of listing. It is 13.2% in this half and 19.1% over the previous 12 months, and we expect it to be back to about 20% by the year-end. This is the one change on the page from the full year 2027.
We are raising our target to 22%. Leverage, 1.3 against 0.8 by the previous year, elevated by new investment builds, but we expect that to come back to around 1 by year-end on the back of a traditionally strong second half. CapEx, as we said, 10%, stepped up deliberately for AI, reversing to 2024 sank levels from the next year. IPO proceeds, 8% deployed by June 30, slightly ahead of the 18-month deployment plan we set at the listing.
There are three data points that do not reduce to a ratio, and those are the ones I would like you to take away. One, internationalization is accelerating. 32% of revenue this half, 44% of the totally awarded revenue, 70% of new bookings, and up to EUR 32 million in the first half alone. This is by design, and it is backed by a significant EUR 335 million international backing. Second, the addressable market is becoming materially large.
Retail credit, the B2B economy, dynamic discounting, civil protection and defense, embedded finance, financial modeling software. Each one of these is adding to the addressable market we listed into. That is the foundation for accelerated growth in the years to come. Last but not least, AI is having a real impact. Five products shipped, 16 initiatives running across the group, and is the reason the margin will go to 22% next year.
One more thing, which I mentioned in my introduction, we are exploring a share buyback, subject to obtaining the requisite corporate authorizations and within the framework that EU and Greek legislation already provides. One objective, that is one we focus on, maximizing value for our shareholders. We strongly believe that the combination of growth, margin expansion, and CapEx normalization will give us ample room to execute a share buyback.
Finally, a record 12 months, a huge backlog of more than EUR 750 million, three new addressable markets by leveraging our deep know-how in the technology wide IO. None of that was built in the first half. It means leveraging 25 years of IP, four years of dual use, two years of investment in AI, which you can see the accounts. What this half added is the capacity to leverage. Thank you for your time this afternoon and for the confidence you continue to place in Qualco on behalf of everybody in the company. I am happy to take any questions now.
Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, we will begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star followed by one on their telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, then you may press star and two. For those participating via the webcast, you may use the audio conference option provided on your invitation or submit your question in writing using the text box located at the bottom right of the webcast page.
Please note that any written questions will be addressed by Qualco Group's Investor Relations Department after the conclusion of today's event. Please use your handset when asking your question for better quality. Anyone who has a question may press star and one at this time. One moment for the first question, please.
As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star and one on your telephone. Once again, to register for a question, please press star and one on your telephone. Ladies and gentlemen, there are no questions at this time. I will now turn the conference over to Mr. Miltiadis Georgantzis for any closing comments. Thank you.
Thank you all for your participation and attention and for your continued trust in Qualco Group. Should you have any questions, please contact our investor relations team. Have a very nice evening. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, everybody.
Ladies and gentlemen, the conference is now concluded and you may disconnect your telephone. Thank you for calling and have a good evening.