SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
 
Washington, D.C. 20549
________________________
 
FORM 6-K
 
REPORT OF FOREIGN ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
 
February 29, 2024
 
Commission File Number: 001-32618
 
Ituran Location and Control Ltd.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)
 
________________________
 
3 Hashikma Street, Azour 58001, Israel
(Address of Registrant’s principal executive offices)
 
________________________
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
 
Form 20-F ☒   Form 40-F ☐
 
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101 (b) (1):
 
Yes ☐   No ☒
 
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101 (b) (7):
 
Yes ☐   No ☒
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
 
Yes ☐   No ☒
 
If “Yes” is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): ______
 


On February 29, 2024, Ituran Location and Control Ltd. issued a press release announcing Q4 2023 and full year of 2023 earnings results with revenues for Q4 and full year of 2023 of $77.8 million and $320.0 million, respectively and net income on a GAAP-basis for Q4 2023 of $12.0 million and net income on a GAAP-basis for full year 2023 of $48.1 million.
 
The following document is attached hereto and incorporated by reference herein:
 
Exhibit 99.1 Press release, dated February 29, 2024 titled "Ituran Location & Control Reports Q4 and full year of 2023 Results"
 
SIGNATURE
 
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly authorized.
 
 
ITURAN LOCATION & CONTROL LTD.
 
    (Registrant)  
       

By:
/s/ Eyal Sheratzky  
  Name: Eyal Sheratzky  
  Title: Co-Chief Executive Officer  
 
Date: February 29, 2024



Exhibit 99.1


ITURAN PRESENTS FOURTH QUARTER & FULL YEAR 2023 RESULTS

Dividend Policy increased by 60% to $8 million per quarter;
Company introduces full year 2024 EBITDA guidance of $90-95m and a target to surpass
$100m in EBITDA in 2025

AZOUR, Israel – February 29, 2024 – Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ: ITRN), today announced its consolidated financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023.

Highlights of Full Year 2023
Number of subscribers reached 2,252,000 at year-end adding a record 186,000 in 2023 in line with guidance;
Record financial metrics across the board with revenue at $320.0 million, an increase of 9% year-over-year;
Net income of $48.1 million, an increase of 30% year-over-year;
EBITDA of $87.0 million, an increase of 10% year-over-year;
Generated $77.2 million in full year operating cash flow;
Year-end net cash position and marketable securities of $53.0 million;
Returns to shareholders: declared a total of $19 million in dividends that relates to the results throughout 2023 and bought back shares in the amount of $6.6 million during the year;

Highlights of the Fourth Quarter of 2023

Net subscriber growth of 42,000 with a net increase in aftermarket subscribers of 38,000 and a net increase in OEM subscribers of 4,000;
Revenue reached $77.8 million, a 4% increase year-over-year;
Net income increased to $12.0 million, up by 26% year-over-year;
EBITDA grew to $21.9 million, a 7% increase year-over-year;
Operating cash flow of $21.8 million;
The Board increased the dividend policy by 60% to $8 million, given the ongoing growing profitability and strong operating cash flow.

Guidance for 2024

Overall, looking ahead to 2024, management’s expectations are for continued revenue growth and profitability.

Management expects to add approximately 35,000 to 40,000, net new subscribers per quarter during 2024.

From a financial perspective, Ituran introduces EBITDA guidance. 2024 EBITDA expectations are between $90-95 million, and 2025 EBITDA is targeted to surpass $100 million. It is noted that these targets are based on current exchange rates and assumes that the current global macro-economic situation and political situation in Israel does not significantly worsen.

Furthermore, the Board of Directors announced a significant increase in the dividend policy, as detailed below.


Management Comment

Eyal Sheratzky, Co-CEO of Ituran said, “We are very pleased with our record results for 2023 across the board, capping the year with a strong fourth quarter which demonstrates Ituran’s resilience and strength. This is especially true against the background of significant global macro challenges in recent quarters and in Israel in particular, since October.”

Continued Mr. Sheratzky, “We are very pleased with Ituran’s solid and growing profitability as well as the record cash generation in our business throughout 2023. We are therefore very happy to share these continuing fruits of our success and reward our loyal shareholders for their long-term support of our company. We announced a very significant increase in our regular quarterly dividend payout to shareholders, totaling $8 million per quarter going forward. This is more than double the regular quarterly dividend we paid since Q3 2021 and up 60% compared with the updated dividend policy that we issued last quarter. This is a testimony to the Board’s confidence in our abilities to continue our growth and profitability path for the foreseeable future.”

Fourth quarter 2023 Results

Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $77.8 million, a 4% increase compared with revenues of $74.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. Fourth quarter revenue was somewhat impacted by the outbreak of war in Israel on October 7. Furthermore, the revenue as denominated in US dollar terms, was impacted by the significant devaluation of the Argentinean Peso as well as the temporary weakness in the Israeli shekel against the US Dollar during the quarter. In local currency terms, fourth quarter revenues grew by 6% compared with that of the fourth quarter of last year.

76% of revenues were from location-based service subscription fees and 24% were from product revenues.

Revenues from subscription fees were $59.4 million, an increase of 10% over the fourth quarter 2022 revenues. In local currency terms, fourth quarter subscription fee revenue grew by 12% compared with that of the fourth quarter of last year.

The subscriber base expanded to 2,252,000 by the end of December 2023, marking an increase of 42,000 from the previous quarter and 186,000 year-over-year. During the quarter, there was an increase of 38,000 net in the aftermarket subscriber base and an increase of 4,000 net in the OEM subscriber base.

Product revenues were $18.4 million, a decrease of 13% year-over-year and in local currency terms, product revenues decreased by 9% year-over-year. Hardware installations and therefore product revenues, were paused for a number of weeks following the outbreak of war in Israel on October 7, which was the main reason for the decline in product revenues versus the fourth quarter of last year.


Gross profit for the quarter was $38.4 million (49.4% of revenues), a 7% increase compared with gross profit of $35.9 million (47.8% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of last year.

The gross margin in the quarter on subscription revenues was 57.8%, compared with 57.9% in the fourth quarter of last year. The gross margin on products was 22.1% in the quarter, compared with 22.0% in the fourth quarter of last year.

Operating income for the quarter was $16.5 million (21.2% of revenues), representing an 8% increase compared $15.3 million (20.4% of revenue) in the fourth quarter of last year. In local currency terms, fourth quarter operating income grew by 10% year-over-year.

EBITDA for the quarter was $21.9 million (28.2% of revenues), an increase of 7% compared with EBITDA of $20.6 million (27.4% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of last year. In local currency terms, fourth quarter EBITDA grew by 8% compared with that of the fourth quarter of last year.

Financial expenses for the quarter were $1.7 million, compared with financial expenses of $1.3 million in the fourth quarter of last year. Financial expenses were impacted by the devaluation of the Argentinian Peso as well as the temporary weakness of the shekel in the quarter, as previously mentioned.

Net income for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $12.0 million (15.4% of revenues) or diluted earnings per share of $0.60, an increase of 26% compared to $9.6 million (12.8% of revenues) or diluted earnings per share of $0.47 in the fourth quarter of last year. In local currency terms, fourth quarter net income grew by 28% year-over-year.

Cash flow from operations for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $21.8 million.

Full Year 2023 Results

Revenues for 2023 were a record $320.0 million, a 9% increase over the $293.1 million reported in 2022.  73% of revenues were from location-based service subscription fees and 27% were from product revenues.

Revenues from subscription fees were $234.5 million, representing an increase of 12% over 2022. Product revenues were $85.4 million, representing an increase of 2% compared with 2022.

Gross profit for the year was $153.2 million (47.9% of revenues). This represents an increase of 11% compared with gross profit of $137.6 million (46.9% of revenues) in 2022. The gross margin in the year on subscription revenues was 57.9%, compared with 57.0% in 2022. The gross margin on products was 20.3%, compared with 21.7% in 2022.

Operating profit for 2023 was $66.0 million (20.6% of revenues) an increase of 12% compared with operating profit of $58.8 million (20.1% of revenues) in 2022.


EBITDA for 2023 was $87.0 million (27.2% of revenues), an increase of 10% compared to $78.9 million (26.9% of revenues) in 2022.

Net income in 2023 was $48.1 million (15.0% of revenues) or fully diluted earnings per share of $2.40, an increase of 30% compared with net income of $37.1 million (12.7% of revenues) or fully diluted earnings per share of $1.82 in 2022.

Cash flow from operations for the year was $77.2 million.

On the balance sheet, as of December 31, 2023, the Company had cash, including marketable securities, of $53.6 million and debt of $0.6 million, amounting to a net cash position of $53.0 million. This is compared with cash, including marketable securities, of $28.2 million and debt of $12.2 million, amounting to a net cash position of $16.0 million, as of the end of 2022.

Dividend

The Board of Directors announced an increase in the dividend policy starting from the fourth quarter of 2023. This follows the Company’s continuing strong profitability, ongoing positive cash flow and strong balance sheet.

The Company increased the quarterly dividend to $8 million from $5 million in the prior quarter and from $3 million in the eight quarters prior to that. This represents a 60% increase in the ongoing quarterly dividend payment compared with that of the prior quarter and a 167% increase over the dividend paid in the quarters prior to that.

Buy Back

On August 23, 2022, Ituran announced that its Board of Directors made the decision to continue executing on the $25 million share buy-back program that was originally announced in 2019 and on February 23, 2023, the Board of Directors made the decision to increase the buy-back program by a further $10 million.

As of December 31, 2023, there is remaining under the buy-back program $6.7 million. During 2023, a total of $6.6 million in Ituran’s shares were repurchased by the Company. Share repurchases are funded by available cash and repurchases of Ituran's ordinary shares under SEC Rule10b-18 terms.


Conference Call Information

The Company will also be hosting a conference call later today, Thursday, February 29, 2024 at 9am Eastern Time.

On the call, management will review and discuss the results, and will be available to answer investor questions.

To participate, please call one of the following teleconferencing numbers. Please begin placing your calls a few minutes before the conference call commences. If you are unable to connect using the toll-free numbers, please try the international dial-in number.

US Dial-in Number: 1 866 860 9642
ISRAEL Dial-in Number: 03 918 0609
INTERNATIONAL Dial-in Number:  +972 3 918 0609
at:
9:00am Eastern Time, 6:00am Pacific Time, 4:00pm Israel Time

For those unable to listen to the live call, a replay of the call will be available from the day after the call in the investor relations section of Ituran’s website.

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.  These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements contained in this report that are not historical facts as well as statements identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates" or words of similar meaning. These statements are based on our current beliefs or expectations and are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and changes in circumstances, many of which are beyond our control. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in global political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory factors, as well as factors related to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

About Ituran

Ituran is a leader in the emerging mobility technology field, providing value-added location-based services, including a full suite of services for the connected-car. Ituran offers Stolen Vehicle Recovery, fleet management as well as mobile asset location, management & control services for vehicles, cargo and personal security for the retail, insurance, financing industries and car manufacturers. Ituran is the largest OEM telematics provider in Latin America. Its products and applications are used by customers in over 20 countries. Ituran is also the founder of the Tel-Aviv based DRIVE startup incubator to promote the development of smart mobility technology.

Ituran's subscriber base has been growing significantly since the Company's inception to over 2.2 million subscribers using its location-based services with a market leading position in Israel and Latin America. Established in 1995, Ituran has approximately 2,800 employees worldwide, with offices in Israel, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Columbia, India, Canada and the United States.

For more information, please visit Ituran’s website, at: www.ituran.com

Company Contact  
International Investor Relations
Udi Mizrahi
udi_m@ituran.com
Deputy CEO & VP Finance, Ituran
(Israel) +972 3 557 1348
 
Ehud Helft
ituran@ekgir.com
EK Global  Investor Relations
(US) +1 212 378 8040
 


  ITURAN LOCATION AND CONTROL LTD.
 
Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
as of December 31, 2023


ITURAN LOCATION AND CONTROL LTD.
 
Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
as of December 31, 2023
Table of Contents
 
 
Page
   
Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements:
 
2-3
4
5
 
=======================
=============


ITURAN LOCATION AND CONTROL LTD.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

   
US dollars
 
   
December 31,
 
(In thousands)
 
2023
   
2022
 
             
Current assets
     
       
Cash and cash equivalents
   
53,434
     
27,850
 
Investments in marketable securities
   
119
     
316
 
Accounts receivable (net of allowance for doubtful accounts)
   
45,390
     
45,821
 
Other current assets
   
52,724
     
48,156
 
Inventories
   
26,872
     
28,509
 
     
178,539
     
150,652
 
                 
Long-term investments and other assets
               
Investments in affiliated companies
   
714
     
1,188
 
Investments in other companies
   
2,213
     
1,779
 
Other non-current assets
   
3,989
     
3,129
 
Deferred income taxes
   
14,452
     
11,400
 
Funds in respect of employee rights upon retirement
   
18,525
     
15,146
 
     
39,893
     
32,642
 
                 
Property and equipment, net
   
41,955
     
45,598
 
                 
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net    
8,071
     
9,905
 
                 
Intangible assets, net
   
10,830
     
12,620
 
                 
Goodwill
   
39,400
     
39,510
 
                 
Total assets
   
318,688
     
290,927
 

- 2 -

ITURAN LOCATION AND CONTROL LTD.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (cont.)

   
US dollars
 
   
December 31,
 
(In thousands)
 
2023
   
2022
 
             
Current liabilities
           
Credit from banking institutions
   
355
     
11,845
 
Accounts payable
   
20,842
     
21,937
 
Deferred revenues
   
27,117
     
21,783
 
Other current liabilities
   
44,150
     
37,407
 
     
92,464
     
92,972
 
                 
Long-term liabilities
               
Long term loan
   
237
     
345
 
Liability for employee rights upon retirement
   
24,562
     
21,224
 
Deferred income taxes
   
1,116
     
1,534
 
Deferred revenues
   
13,259
     
13,036
 
Operating lease liabilities, non-current
   
4,774
     
6,886
 
Others non-current liabilities
   
2,027
     
2,071
 
     
45,975
     
45,096
 
                 
Stockholders’ equity
   
174,454
     
145,797
 
Non-controlling interests
   
5,795
     
7,062
 
Total equity
   
180,249
     
152,859
 
                 
Total liabilities and equity
   
318,688
     
290,927
 

- 3 -

ITURAN LOCATION AND CONTROL LTD.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

   
US dollars
   
US dollars
 
(in thousands
 
Year ended
December 31,
   
Three months period
ended December 31,
 
except per share data)
 
2023
   
2022
   
2023
   
2022
 
                         
Revenues:
                       
Telematics services
   
234,541
     
209,558
     
59,426
     
53,887
 
Telematics products
   
85,437
     
83,514
     
18,382
     
21,061
 
     
319,978
     
293,072
     
77,808
     
74,948
 
                                 
Cost of revenues:
                               
Telematics services
   
98,707
     
90,129
     
25,080
     
22,674
 
Telematics products
   
68,110
     
65,381
     
14,328
     
16,421
 
     
166,817
     
155,510
     
39,408
     
39,095
 
                                 
Gross profit
   
153,161
     
137,562
     
38,400
     
35,853
 
Research and development expenses
   
16,986
     
16,848
     
4,240
     
4,616
 
Selling and marketing expenses
   
13,643
     
13,327
     
3,535
     
3,302
 
General and administrative expenses
   
56,635
     
48,705
     
14,305
     
12,574
 
Other expenses (income), net
   
(58
)
   
(92
)
   
(185
)
   
57
 
Operating income
   
65,955
     
58,774
     
16,505
     
15,304
 
Other income, net
   
2
     
-
     
5
     
-
 
Financing expenses, net
   
(1,552
)
   
(5,944
)
   
(1,653
)
   
(1,292
)
Income before income tax
   
64,405
     
52,830
     
14,857
     
14,012
 
Income tax expenses
   
(13,355
)
   
(12,745
)
   
(2,534
)
   
(3,747
)
Share in profit (losses) of affiliated companies, net
   
(706
)
   
(585
)
   
116
     
(173
)
Net income for the period
   
50,344
     
39,500
     
12,439
     
10,092
 
Less: Net income attributable to non-controlling interest
   
(2,207
)
   
(2,397
)
   
(420
)
   
(520
)
Net income attributable to the Company
   
48,137
     
37,103
     
12,019
     
9,572
 
                                 
Basic and diluted earnings per share attributable to Company’s stockholders
   
2.40
     
1.82
     
0.60
     
0.47
 
                                 
Basic and diluted weighted average number of shares outstanding (in thousands)
   
20,061
     
20,418
     
19,959
     
20,242
 

- 4 -

ITURAN LOCATION AND CONTROL LTD.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

   
US dollars
   
US dollars
 
   
Year ended
December 31,
   
Three months period
ended December 31,
 
(in thousands)
 
2023
   
2022
   
2023
   
2022
 
Cash flows from operating activities
                       
Net income for the period
   
50,344
     
39,500
     
12,439
     
10,092
 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash from operating activities:
                               
Depreciation and amortization
   
21,068
     
20,134
     
5,407
     
5,263
 
Loss in respect of marketable securities and other investments
   
89
     
3,860
     
32
     
20
 
Increase (decrease) in liability for employee rights upon retirement
   
2,507
     
1,243
     
226
     
(58
)
Share in losses (profit) of affiliated company, net
   
706
     
585
     
(116
)
   
173
 
Deferred income taxes
   
(3,125
)
   
(737
)
   
(1,430
)
   
(622
)
Capital losses (gain) on sale of property and equipment, net
   
89
     
(224
)
   
54
     
80
 
Decrease (increase) in accounts receivable
   
(26
)
   
(5,104
)
   
1,769
     
(812
)
Decrease (increase) in other current and non-current assets
   
(3,169
)
   
(11,055
)
   
940
     
(832
)
Decrease (increase) in inventories
   
1,102
     
(5,835
)
   
201
     
2,975
 
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable
   
(1,863
)
   
1,419
     
1,090
     
(1,157
)
Increase in deferred revenues
   
5,703
     
2,169
     
935
     
1,162
 
Increase (decrease) in other current and non-current liabilities
   
3,793
     
(837
)
   
232
     
(370
)
                                 
Net cash provided by operating activities
   
77,218
     
45,118
     
21,779
     
15,914
 
                                 
Cash flows from investment activities
                               
Increase in funds in respect of employee rights upon
                               
retirement, net of withdrawals
   
(2,384
)
   
(868
)
   
(451
)
   
(320
)
Capital expenditures
   
(14,243
)
   
(26,505
)
   
(4,050
)
   
(7,747
)
Investments in affiliated and other companies, net
   
(800
)
   
(1,076
)
   
(244
)
   
(386
)
Proceed from (repayment of) long term deposit
   
(100
)
   
147
     
40
     
60
 
Sale of (Investment in) marketable securities
   
99
     
(103
)
   
-
     
-
 
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment
   
199
     
1,051
     
55
     
203
 
                                 
Net cash used in investment activities
   
(17,229
)
   
(27,354
)
   
(4,650
)
   
(8,190
)
                                 
Cash flows from financing activities
                               
Repayment of long-term credit
   
(11,732
)
   
(16,450
)
   
(244
)
   
(4,009
)
Short term credit from banking institutions, net
   
299
     
-
     
(1,187
)
   
-
 
Dividend paid
   
(11,561
)
   
(11,465
)
   
(2,943
)
   
(2,844
)
Dividend paid to non-controlling interests
   
(3,327
)
   
-
     
-
     
-
 
Acquisition of company shares
   
(6,613
)
   
(8,445
)
   
-
     
(2,999
)
                                 
Net cash used in financing activities
   
(32,934
)
   
(36,360
)
   
(4,374
)
   
(9,852
)
                                 
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
   
(1,471
)
   
(3,860
)
   
800
     
(90
)
                                 
Net change in cash and cash equivalents
   
25,584
     
(22,456
)
   
13,555
     
(2,218
)
                                 
Balance of cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period
   
27,850
     
50,306
     
39,879
     
30,068
 
                                 
Balance of cash and cash equivalents at end of period
   
53,434
     
27,850
     
53,434
     
27,850
 

Supplementary information on financing and investing activities not involving cash flows:

In November 2023, the Company declared a dividend in an amount of approximately US$ 5 million. The dividend was paid in January 2024.

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