- Net sales in the period amounted to MSEK 141 (144) and Net sales for the quarter amounted to MSEK 46 (33).
- The Gross margin for the period was 67% (68) and Gross margin for the quarter was 66% (61). Gross profit for the period was MSEK 94 (97) and Gross profit for the quarter amounted to MSEK 30 (20).
- Earnings before depreciations and amortizations (EBITDA) for the period was MSEK -49 (-79) and EBITDA for the quarter was MSEK -4 (-16).
- The Result after tax for the period was MSEK -63 (-168) and Result after tax for the quarter was MSEK -6 (-93).
- Earnings per share before and after dilution for the period was SEK -0.13 (-1.03) and for the quarter SEK -0.01 (-0.42).
- Cash flow during the period was MSEK -3 (2) and Cash flow for the quarter was MSEK 2 (3). Cash flow from operating activities before changes in working capital in the period was MSEK -56 (-83) and for the quarter MSEK -6 (-19). Cash flow from financing activities during the period was MSEK 114 (95) and for the quarter MSEK 55 (44).
Comments from the CEO
GAINING MOMENTUM
Revenues in the fourth quarter was MSEK 46.0 compared to MSEK 27.1 for the third quarter. Gross margin was 66% compared to 65% in the third quarter. Operating expenses were MSEK 34.0 in the fourth quarter compared to MSEK 34.7 in the third quarter. EBITDA was MSEK –3.7 compared to MSEK -20.2 in the third quarter. Cash flow for the quarter was MSEK 2.0, including net proceeds of MSEK 52 from the rights issue in November. Included in cash flow was also the repayment of debt to previous contract manufacturing partner Zastron of MSEK 11.2, repayment of the bridge loan of 7.4 and an increase in working capital of MSEK 39.9.
Revenues increased 70% from Q3 to Q4 due to a larger sale to T Systems in Germany and more revenues from new business areas within education, voting and interactive displays.
T-Systems signed a contract to migrate the Group’s 800 Telekom Shops to Anoto’s recently released Live™ Pen 2 and Anoto Live™ software solutions as part of a program to move to a Virtual Desktop environment and 5,000 pens was delivered.
Smartmatic purchased 10,000 licenses as part of their exclusivity commitment within voting and is currently bidding for several projects in Africa, Middle-East and Latin America. Sales to Smartmatic is booked against the prepayment from 2012 and did not have any cash flow effect in the quarter.
TStudy purchased 15,000 pens and 40,000 licenses for business in China and Steelcase purchased 5,000 pens for their interactive whiteboard business in the 4th quarter.
We-inspire is signing up resellers in the US and is looking to expand the reseller network in Europe. Bene is currently the largest We-inspire partner in Europe and is increasing their sales efforts. Among customers who installed We-inspire systems in Q4 was BMW and energy company OMV Group.
A major project with one of the world’s largest IT companies is progressing well. The objective is to launch a range of interactive displays with embedded digital writing functionality from the second half of this year. Initial target customers are designers within automotive, entertainment and creative industries. The activity level related to this customer increased significantly during Q4 and we had to add more resources to the project. A significant part of the development cost is covered by Non Refundable Engineering revenues.
We also initiated contact with a select number of manufacturers of large touch displays. Based on the same concept as for smaller displays we intend to combine the Anoto Live SurfaceTM dot film with touch technologies to address a fast growing market for large wall mounted interactive displays for corporate meeting rooms. As soon as more 4K and 5K large (42”-85”) size displays become available in the market Anoto’s technology can be combined with the most common touch technologies, P-Cap or I/R-optical frames, to enhance pen performance. Display manufacturers can achieve better price performance if they combine a “good enough” touch (for the size of a finger) with the ultra-high precision Anoto Live SurfaceTM from Anoto. These large displays can also be used as touch tables and one can foresee several people sitting around the table making sketches, annotations and mark-up of content. The displays can also be pen only input at a significantly lower cost than touch and pen combined similar to the We-inspire interactive wall solution. We foresee a rapidly increasing market for pen centric applications with the availability of Microsoft Windows 10 later this year.
The ongoing development of a back-end infra-structure, Anoto Live ServicesTM, is high priority. The objective is to support partners and users with system management, configuration of pens, download of software components and open up for 3rd party application developers. Anoto is the only company today that can deliver a digital writing platform to partners who want to combine smaller displays and devices with ultra-large interactive walls or large interactive displays and at the same time include real-time capture of writing or sketching on paper as well as have their custom made pallets or touch pads for pen control and short cuts. Together with partners our goal is to take collaboration solutions to the next level.
Anoto Sweden signed a new lease and will move to the new office at Mobile Heights Center in Lund from September 1st. The change in office will, besides from bringing Anoto closer to the Lund University and other expansive IT- and consulting companies, also lead to annual savings of more than MSEK 4.
90 per cent of the rights issue was subscribed for, resulting in net proceeds of MSEK 52 in the quarter.
OUTLOOK
The activity level is high and the business momentum is increasing in all areas. Anoto Enterprise Solutions is preparing for two large tenders within healthcare and insurance. We-inspire is setting up distributors and re-sellers in the US and Europe. Final contract negotiations with the large OEM partner for interactive displays has started and Anoto is also pursuing additional opportunities for large interactive displays. Operating expenses will increase somewhat in Q1 due to the tight deadlines and plans for product release with the new OEM partner later this year including costs related to materials, testing and a few additional external consultants. We expect that the outstanding convertible loan will be fully converted without any negative cash flow effect other than interest rates paid in January.
Stein Revelsby
CEO, Anoto Group
Anoto Group AB may be required to disclose the information provided herein pursuant to the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication at 08.30 on February 6, 2015.
A webcast of the Q4 report will be available from 09.00 on February 6, and a Q&A session via audiocast will be held at 11.00 the same day.
For more information, see www.anoto.com/investors.
Calendar 2015
Annual report 14th April
Q1 report 8th May
AGM 13th May
For more information Please contact:
Stein Revelsby, CEO
Phone: +46 (0)733 45 12 05
or
Dan Wahrenberg, CFO
Phone: +46 (0)733 45 12 00
Anoto Group AB (publ.), Corp. Id. No. 556532-3929
Box 4106,
SE-227 22 Lund, Sweden
Phone: +46 46 540 12 00
www.anoto.com
About Anoto Group
Anoto Group AB is a global leader in digital writing solutions, which enables fast and reliable transmission of handwriting into a digital format. Anoto operates worldwide through a global partner network that delivers user-friendly digital writing solutions for efficient capture, transmission, distribution and storage of data. Anoto is currently in use across multiple business segments, e.g. healthcare, pharmaceutical, bank and financial services, transportation and logistics, government and education. The Anoto Group has over 100 employees and is headquartered in Lund (Sweden), with offices in Basingstoke, Guildford and Wetherby (UK), Amsterdam (NL), Boston (US) and Tokyo (Japan). The Anoto share is traded on the Small Cap list of NASDAQ OMX Stockholm under the ticker ANOT.
For more information, please visit: www.anoto.com.
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