Wallix in strong growth thanks to self-financed investments

As part of the Oddo BHF Forum, we spoke with Jean-Noël de Galzain, CEO of the cybersecurity software publisher Wallix. He explained to us that ” cybercrime causes more than 16 billion dollars of damage per day in the world, a figure which will double by 2025. It has become a considerable scourge, a latent digital pandemic “. The development of the cloud and teleworking has reinforced the need to secure the increasingly numerous remote accesses to protect sensitive data and IT systems. Suffice to say that the market is very buoyant. The company, the only global player in Europe, employs 200 people and has 1,600 customers, a figure that has tripled since 2018, in 90 countries. These customers include, for example, more than 150 hospitals and manufacturers such as Jaguar Land Rover.

In the WFP market (privileged access management), Wallix is ​​targeting average annual growth of 30% (excluding acquisitions), as from 2018 to 2021, to reach 100 million euros in revenue, i.e. 10% market share (excluding integration services ), at the end of its new Unicorn 2025 strategic plan. Some customers are investing to buy a license, but, in the first half of 2021, “ the share of recurring income linked to the subscription has become the majority », Indicates the leader.

The objective is also to obtain a current operating margin of more than 15% in 2025. By then, this implies 10 million euros of investments, of which 40 to 50% in 2022, but ” they will be self-financed, without appeal to the market », Specifies Jean-Noël de Galzain, with a free cash flow positive over the entire period. As a reminder, the last capital increase dates back to 2018, at 24 euros per share. It is about consolidating positions in Europe, developing new products, but also giving ” a boost in North America », Which currently contributes less than 10% of turnover. Wallix is ​​present in Boston and Montreal. The essential American market represents more than half of the world market. In the United States, Wallix scored a point by recruiting a top manager, whose name has not yet been released. And a partnership has been established with the company Arrow, a certified distributor-integrator to deploy Wallix solutions.