MuM’s prelim results for 2019 show organic revenue up 25%

Mensch und Maschine, Autodesk’s largest European reseller and a software company in its own right, announced preliminary results for 2019 today. MuM said that it saw 25% organic revenue growth; add that to the revenue it recognized from SOFiSTiK, and we get to total revenue of €245 million, up 32%. Revenue from MuM’s Software brands (including OPEN MIND) was up 35% to €75 million; the VAR business had revenue up 31% to €170 million.

Not much detail, but the disclosure did say that “Main growth drivers were CAM, BIM and Digitalization solutions, as well as good demand in Autodesk business”.

MuM’s CEO, Adi Drotleff, set a target for 2020 and 2021 that’s far more modest than the 2019 result: ‘For 2020/21 we expect +10-12% annual sales increase … “

MuM’s results typically come out before Autodesk reports, and are usually a solid barometer on what to expect. “Good demand” for its products is … good. We’ll have to wait for MuM’s fully audited results release on 16 March to learn more about that and to understand why 2020/2021 is expected to be slower than 2019. Remember that sometimes it’s a game that companies play with investors, looking to get a bump when they beat the lowered expectations. But oftentimes it’s real, based on what they see in the markets they serve. If we hadn’t just seen the 25% growth, we would think 10% growth is a very good forecast — and it is.