presentation, we are joined by CEO Kasper Gjedsted. Second time you are here. Welcome to you. Today's presentation, we will cover your Q1 trading update. It's very short time since we heard from you last in the report, but of course, a little bit has happened and the first indication on how your strategy is working and planning out. So interesting to hear more about that, Kasper. Everybody, you can ask questions in the box down below, do it in Danish, do it in English. I will try and translate the Danish to the best of my ability. But for now, I think I will hand the call over to you, Kasper.
Thank you very much, Michael. Yeah, let me just give a few comments on our Q1 trading statements here. As always, we have an important notice here. For those of you who are not familiar with GreenMobility, I can say that we are an independent green car sharing provider. We seek to expedite this transition away from private car ownership to, in urban areas, by providing the convenience of on-demand mobility and in a wholly sustainable manner, as we are only having EVs in our fleets. For those of you who are familiar with GreenMobility and have seen this map before, you'll see that the map looks different from what you're used to.
The background for that is that we, before Christmas, we announced that we were going to change our strategy. The catalyst for that was that our main competitor in Copenhagen decided to pull out of the Copenhagen market no later than 28th of February 2024. We could see that there was a demand to be filled in the Copenhagen market. Combined with a substantially higher revenue per car in Copenhagen versus our international markets, there was a lot of business logic in discontinuing our services in the international markets. That was for Finland and Holland.
We communicated that before Christmas, and then, right before, some days before we were having our annual report out, we also communicated that we had decided to close down, or sell off our company and operations in, in Belgium. So that leaves us with two dots on the map here. And in the following slides, I'm gonna tell you a little bit about why I believe, strongly believe, that this strategy is working. But for the first quarter of 2024, we have seen more than 250,000 total number of customers that we have here. We have almost 300,000 trips. We have saved a lot of CO2, and we have 1,400 EVs in our fleet.
So let's jump into the average monthly revenue per car in Copenhagen. So in spite of the fact that we are, on a continuous basis, in Q1, have increased our fleet in Copenhagen, we actually see an all-time high average monthly revenue per car in Copenhagen. And if we dive a little bit further into that and compare it to the other quarters from the previous years, you will see that it's a significant increase on the average monthly revenue. A significant increase from just one year ago, DKK 8,300 per car, to DKK 9,500 per car. So a significant increase in the average monthly revenue per car in Copenhagen.
When we look at the average monthly revenue per car in Aarhus, we also see a good increase, a 19% up versus Q1 2023. It's not as high as in Copenhagen. It's not as a big, big of a market as Copenhagen, for obvious reasons, but I'm satisfied with looking at the growth that we see in the average monthly revenue there in Aarhus. And mind you, this is in Q1, which is, from a demand perspective, the lowest quarter that we have in the year. I think I dropped one of these. I just want to go back to the highlights here for the Q1 as well. I think looking... If you're asking if the strategy is working, I would say yes.
I think this is the first signs of the new strategy, and the numbers that are supporting that, change in strategy that we announced early on. We see a 50% increase in revenue in Denmark. This is our continuing market here, a 50% increase in revenue. And from the numbers you've already seen, we have improved our P&L by 11%. But diving a little more into that P&L and comparing it with Q1 2023, if we adjust for the one-off income we had in Q1 2023, which was around DKK 3 million, we are actually seeing a 58% improvement of the result compared to Q1 2023. 58% improvement.
And if we look at the customers, the number that you've already seen is 10% increase versus Q1 2023, but that number is including the discontinued business. If you, you know, focus on the Danish market, we can see a 23% increase in customers in Denmark compared to Q1 2023. And then I would say almost most importantly of all, we see a positive net result on the continuing operations in the month of March. So yes, we are absolutely well on track to bring the group to profitability in 2024. And that's why we can also maintain our financial guidance for 2024. I'm confident about that at this point in time. It's a short presentation.
For those of you who were here at the presentation for 2023, it's not many weeks ago where I was standing here. So I'm gonna round this up by saying that we still have an ambition to become the first European electric vehicle operator to be profitable, and thereby supporting this green transition in mobility in a profitable way. The markets that we operate in, they continue to show a strong growth. But at the same time, as always, there are external uncertainties like, you know, energy costs, electricity costs, in particular for our business, interest rates, car prices, and so on, they remain. Our international strategy and ambitions will, as I already mentioned, they will be postponed to focus on bringing this company to profitability in the short term.
Once we have achieved this, we will present an updated international growth plan. Then I think as always, and for I think all companies, you have to say that the board and management are continuously looking to strengthen the balance sheet and our cash position in order to maintain and grow the business. But it brings me up to, again, to reiterate our expectations for 2024, that we are maintaining them. We are expecting a group revenue of between DKK 115 million-DKK 125 million. That's a growth rate of 52%-66% versus the Danish market in 2023, and we expect a profit before tax of between DKK 0 million-DKK 10 million. And again, is our strategy working? I think we're getting there. I think this first quarter is showing some very good numbers.
50% up on revenue, 58% improvement of our P&L compared to Q1 last year when we adjust for this one-off income. 23% up in customers, and then a positive net result in March, and this is for the first quarter, which is our lowest quarter. So I think it's also worth to look at these numbers in that context that we're looking at it in the, in the, so to speak, the lowest quarter from a demand side historically. So yeah, that's the words from me, Michael.
Perfect. Let's jump to some questions. At this point in time, who do you see as your biggest competitor on the Danish market for car sharing?
We have a lot of competitors. We have the bikes, we have the trains, we have the metros, all the public transportation is basically competitors. We have, you know, sunshine is a competitor because, you know, there are more people driving in our cars on a rainy day. If you look at our model as a car sharing, and you define a competitor from the car sharing perspective, we have what we call a free-floating model. That's a model where you can take the car from point A, and then you can return it in point B within the zone. You just leave the car somewhere within the zone. And right now, we are the only one having that business model. We have competitors which are substantially smaller. We have what we call a fixed-flow model.
A fixed-flow model is where you have to bring back the car to the place where you took it. The free-floating model gives a lot of flexibility for the customers and also adds customer segments that, you know, the fixed-flow model is not, you know, catering to. Give you an example, if you wanna go to work on a, on a rainy day, we are the only one who offer you that one, because otherwise you would have to rent the car for 24 hours with our competitors for more hours. So right now, we're the only one in that. But, you know, we have a lot of competitors, so that's where it is.
There's not a main one. It is actually a very, as you were used to, there is no one growing out there. It's a very fragmented market-
Yeah
... still, and no one is actually sticking out. Is that how I should understand it?
Yeah, not at the moment, but if whatever happens in the future, we'll see. I'm very confident if somebody comes in, I will actually welcome them. I've been used to doing business in a very competitive market and also being used to making a lot of profit in a competitive market. I think if a customer, excuse me, if a competitor comes in, it will just expand the market as well. So, you know, I'm not fearing that in any way. I wish them good luck. They're gonna spend a lot of money on coming in. But then again, I think there's absolutely room for more competitors in the Copenhagen market.
Perfect. Then there's a question here, and it's a little bit charged by opinion making, so maybe you can also say why it's a viable model, the EV model part there. Will you be moving away from the non-viable EV model towards having gasoline-driven cars in your fleet? So maybe some part of your answer should also be why you think it's actually the EV model who is the viable one and not because at the end of the day, it's a business, this one. So it's actually okay to ask, but I guess you have taken some strategic thoughts about that.
Yeah, I think the short answer is no, and the long answer is, I understand where the question comes from. There has been a lot of, you know, what I call EV bashing in the, in the media lately, and you see, you know, on the, you know, Tesla is a good example. They have lost, you know, I think one third of their valuation. And a lot of other bashing on the EVs lately. But I think, but probably some of you also read is that, for example, Hertz in the U.S. have, you know, canceled their 20,000 Teslas that they have in their fleet and selling them before time because there wasn't a demand from the consumers. But I think the situation is very different.
First of all, first and foremost, you know, compared to Hertz, they're a fully fledged, you know, old-fashioned car rental company. Their customers drives a lot of miles whenever they rent a, you know, they land somewhere in Missouri and they have to, you know, go to the next -
Yeah
... next door. It doesn't work like that, you know, for car rental customers. For us, it's different. We are a city-based car-sharing business, and you don't drive far. You know, most of our trips are shorter than 10 km . So the range anxiety that you have with, you know, EVs that Hertz has experienced, for example, is not something that we experience with our customers. I also think that, you know, a growth of 50% in one quarter compared to the same quarter last year also shows that this is something that, you know, a lot of people are using and don't have a problem with using. From an operational perspective, EVs are also much easier to maintain than the traditional internal combustion engine cars.
You know, there's not a lot of movable things on an EV that needs to be changed along the way when it's used. It's mostly, you know, we barely see any mechanical errors on our EVs. I've been in the car rental business, and we saw a lot of mechanical errors on, you know, even on the premium cars that we had in our fleet. So from an operational point of view, it makes a lot of sense because they don't go to the repair shop as often as with mechanical errors as often as ICE cars are doing.
And then I think just to take the very final, but also I think the very strongest argument is that, the authorities, let's say Copenhagen Municipality, for example, they're simply not allowing ICE cars by 2025. You cannot get a parking permit for an ICE car, when you want to do a sharing car business. So no matter if you like EVs or not, you've got to have EVs if you want to have a sharing car company, because it's just gonna be extremely expensive to park, you know, an ICE car on the street, or in a parking house compared to our costs. So that was both the long and the-
Sure
... and the short answer.
I guess also from a capital point of view, you know, the Danish market especially. I know that you also have to look at used prices and so on, depreciations. But I guess the way we are structured, EVs must be actually a pretty cost good alternative to gasoline-driven cars, right, in your capital because we have this the taxes going on. Am I wrong there?
No, I mean, EVs have, you know, so especially larger models of EVs, they have an advantage based on the tax system that we have in Denmark compared to ICE cars. And that's, I think that's one of the main reasons why we see so many EVs are being sold in Denmark compared to the rest of Europe. But in terms of, you know, in terms of residual values and so on, as I also said during the last meeting, we have a new strategy in terms of residual values, so someone else is taking the risk on-
Mm
... the residual values on all new cars. So that's actually not a point where I'm necessarily nervous on that part of it. You know, having an ICE car versus an EV, that would be the same for us in terms of risk.
Yeah. Perfect. Then there's, "Please share your target geographical market with profitability and cash burn rate in mind.
Yeah, that's a good question, but I think the only thing I can say about that is, you know, right now, the first thing I think about when I get up in the morning and the last thing I think about before I go to bed at night, is how to bring this company into profitability. It's a razor-sharp focus that we have on that. It's something that we will achieve, but until we have achieved it, we don't focus on anything else than that.
So-
So-
... the short answer is the market you are in right now, Aarhus, Copenhagen.
That's the short answer, and as soon as we're ready with our new strategy on any international expansion, we will communicate it to the market.
Perfect. "How far are you with the movement of cars into the Danish market?
So we are almost at 1,000 cars in Copenhagen, as promised. We are moving cars on a weekly basis ever since we told you about these changes. We have moved cars every week throughout it, and we are continuing to do that. So but I think the most important thing about that is that we want to do it in a structured and controlled way, so that it goes in line with the demand. And that's the most important thing about, say, moving up the cars. It has to be in a controlled way, so we just don't, you know, overflow the market with cars all at once. And from an operational point of view, it also makes a lot of sense because there are certain processes ...
Lengthy processes that you have to go through with a car. You know, it has to be transported, it has to be in, you know, go through the authorities for inspection. You know, we have to have new number plates on it. We have to go through the repair shop. It has to have new, you know, registrations and insurance, and a lot of things have to, you know, go through a lot of these operational things. But a lot of the activities we have actually already done in Q1 in terms of moving the cars. But there's still some to go, and that is being done in a timely and coordinated way.
Then there's a question regarding the discontinued operation. When will you have more clarity on the size of those costs on the discontinued, the closing down of the mines and so on? I know you can't give a precise timeframe, because then you probably are guided on it, but some thoughts about when you will have a bigger clarity on the cost, on that side?
Yeah. So we haven't discontinued, I mean, from a technical financial point of view, it is discontinued business now that we have published, also that we will discontinue in Belgium, but we're still running an operation down there. As we have mentioned, and communicated, we are either gonna sell the company or we are gonna wind it down. And, that's a process, and we, as soon as we have any news about that, we will communicate that in due time.
And then there's a question: How many cars has GreenMobility still abroad, and what is the cost of getting them to Denmark?
So the cost of getting them to Denmark is varying depending on which market we are coming from, and I think that would be to go a little bit too far into details in terms of our, you know, cost of getting them into Denmark. But what we have seen so far is that it's in line with our budget for it and our predicted plans for it, for moving it. And as I mentioned before, we are on a continuous basis bringing in cars or inserting cars into the Copenhagen and Denmark market on a weekly basis. So it goes in a very structured way. I don't wanna take too many cars in at once.
It wouldn't make sense from an operation, but also from a demand point of view. There's a certain lead time in demand where, you know, between putting in a car in to the fleet and before the market picks it up, so to speak, and makes a good revenue per month. So it is done in a timely and controlled and structured manner, and we are keeping an eye closely on the uptake of the cars. But right now, and even since we communicated that we're gonna move cars, all weeks have seen cars being moved into the market.
Then there's a question that you haven't released, and I, I'm not sure you are allowed to share, but I will ask you: How is liquidity and cash burn?
I think like any company, you know, we are continuously looking at to strengthen the balance sheet and the cash position to maintain and grow the business, and that's the standard answer I can give you on that one.
Yeah. You haven't released any.
No
... numbers on that in the, in your reports, no. Have you done any thoughts about the long-term possibilities or maybe threats of robot taxis? I know, we all read a lot about it now because Elon Musk now says, he will announce something in August. And in some way, maybe you already have done, yeah, some thoughts about that on your business model.
Yes. I think we're sitting on a pile of gold here when the robot taxis comes in, and I think it's one of the unleashed potential of this company is actually is regarding these robot taxis. Because remember, we have millions and millions and millions of miles and kilometers driven in our cars, and in order for a robot taxi to start in any city, they need this data that we are sitting on. They need the data, and it's costing them a lot of data, and it takes a lot of time to get that data because they have to run the streets themselves with all sorts of taxis, and it takes forever to do that. That's what we can see from, you know, from California and from those Chinese cities that have that, as a test.
But we are already sitting on this pile, what I call it, a pile of gold, of data, where they can actually fast-forward the entry into any market that we have been into. So I think from my perspective, looking at it from that point of view, I'm really looking forward to working together with these guys. I'm also looking together with them because we have all of the operational expertise. We can run the fleet. We can run a fleet like that. We know how to run it. We are already set up for that. So that, I think there's a lot of opportunity in that, a lot of opportunity in that.
Yeah, but that was a very clear answer. So to sit on the customer is probably not bad in that... Have you increased prices after SHARE NOW announced its exit of the Danish market, or do you consider raising prices?
Let me, let me say it in a different word, with some different words. Well, actually, we actually increased our prices, not that long before, SHARE NOW exited the market. But it's not about increasing the prices per se, it's about working more intelligently with our prices through, you know, yield management systems, through AI, all of these new technology that can really optimize our prices.
And that's also something that we are working with already and that we are working with in a much more efficient way with the use of AI, for example, where we can really set the prices depending on the, you know, where you're located, what time of day it is, you know, looking into the weather forecast, just, you know, pulling in all of these different data that we can do in order to to optimize the prices. So yes, we are always looking at having the right price so that we in total can get a, you know, a better average revenue, but we will also see prices that are going down. But in total, we will see, you know, prices going up, but it will depend more than it has been doing, than we have been doing previously.
It will depend more on the demand throughout the day, and all sorts of other factors that we can use technology to help us with.
Perfect. That was the last question. Thank you, Kasper, for taking us through your first quarter results and how the achievements are going, and especially thank you for answering all the questions. Looking forward to seeing you again when you report your half-year results.
Thank you very much. Thanks for being here.