Precise Biometrics - Solid Q4, ’21e features continued roll-outs
Q4 EBITDA SEK 1m vs. ABGSCe SEK 4m ‘21e to see continued investments in YOUNiQ Conference call at 10:00 CET Q4’20 details Precise Biometrics reported its Q4’20 figures today, which were below our expectations in terms of profitability mainly due to a slightly lower gross margin than estimated driven by a change in the product mix. Net sales were SEK 23m, -4. 2% vs.
ABGSCe, for y-o-y growth of -42. 0% as Precise faced tough comparables. Sales were driven by solid royalty revenues, attributable to Egis Technology (albeit lower than Q4’19 which were exceptional), but lower license fees, which is in-line with Precise’s explicit strategy of focusing on closer collaborations with fewer customers.
The gross margin in the quarter amounted to 84. 7%, -3. 8pp vs.
ABGSCe. Operational costs were SEK 22m, 8. 6% above our estimate of SEK 20m, attributable to FOU costs for the Digital Identity and Mobile segments.
EBITDA in the quarter amounted to SEK 1m, -80. 7% vs. ABGSCe, and EBIT amounted to SEK -3m.
2021 outlook Management reports that following the COVID-19 pandemic the need for safe and contactless identity solutions have seen an uptick in demand, especially in public environments, which has benefitted the ongoing roll-out of Precise YOUNiQ. Precise will continue investing in YOUNiQ throughout 2021 in order to further the roll-out, with an initial focus on the Swedish market, while developing new sales channels in the U. S.
and preparing for an entry into other Nordic countries. In terms of the mobile segment, a new generation of fingerprint software has been developed, which is both safer and faster, and management expects the roll-out to pick up during 2021. Final thoughts We think that Precise has taken important steps throughout 2020 in terms of the YOUNiQ roll-out, with over 40 installations in Sweden, and now also a first installation in the U.
S. There is a conference call/webcast today at 10:00 CET, dial in SE: +46 850 558 352, UK: +44 333 300 9265, link: https.
