TIDMLSAI
RNS Number : 7068N
Location Sciences Group PLC
26 September 2019
26 September 2019
Location Sciences Group PLC
("Location Sciences" or the "Company")
Interim Results for the Six Months Ended 30 June 2019
Location Sciences (AIM: LSAI), the leading location data
verification and analytics company, announces its unaudited interim
results for the six months ended 30 June 2019.
Highlights:
-- Revenue of GBP454,872 (2018: GBP234,307), a 94% increase
-- Sales run rate per month currently in excess of GBP100,000
-- Published "The State of Location Advertising" report
demonstrating the need for transparency within the industry and the
market opportunity for Verify
-- Delivered 550 million verified impressions versus H1 target of 250 million (H1 2018: Nil)
-- Secured 49 new brands for its Verify platform versus 2019's target of 50 new brands
-- Appointed two senior industry leaders as non-executive
directors: Donnie Williams, the Chief Digital Officer for Horizon
Media Inc., and Niall Hogan, former Managing Director at Integral
Ad Science
-- Advisory board boosted with appointments of Michael Iantosca,
previously Chief Revenue Officer of Integral Ad Science, Andy
Roberts, previously Global Head of Trading at Mindshare, and Paul
Thompson, former Chief Revenue Officer of Blis Media
-- New commercial partnerships signed with Blis Media Limited, SITO Mobile Ltd and JCDecaux UK
-- Cash of GBP1.5 million at 30 June 2019 (31 December 2018: GBP2.6 million)
-- Announced separately today, the Company is seeking to raise a
minimum of GBP0.25 million and up to GBP0.75 million via an equity
placing to continue the growth of Verify and for working capital
purposes
Commenting on the results, Mark Slade, Chief Executive of
Location Sciences, said:
"While disappointed that sales cycles are proving to be longer
than previously envisaged, we are confident that the foundations
laid provide a solid platform to grow Verify globally. Our report
on the state of location advertising highlighted the problems with
inaccurate and poor quality data which gained us some great
awareness with brands and agencies. In addition, our recent deal
with Blis also shows the importance of Verify to the digital
advertising industry.
In H2 2019, our focus is on converting more trial participants
into "always-on" contracts, helping brands and agencies to get the
most out of location advertising and delivering value to our
investors."
A copy of this announcement and the Company's interim report are
available on the Company's website,
www.locationsciencesgroup.ai
For further information please contact:
Location Sciences Group PLC via Milk and Honey PR
Mark Slade, Chief Executive
Officer
David Rae, Chief Financial
Officer
Shore Capital (Nominated Adviser Tel: +44 (0)20 7408 4090
and Broker)
Tom Griffiths/David Coaten
Milk & Honey PR Tel: +44 (0)20 3637 7310
Kirsty Leighton
Jessica Ballinger
About Location Sciences Group PLC:
Location Sciences is the pre-eminent global location
verification provider to the $160 billion digital advertising
industry. Working in partnership with brands, media agencies and
suppliers to reduce ad-wastage and improve the effectiveness of
location-based advertising campaigns.
The digital advertising market place remains unregulated and
un-monitored, with an estimated $19 billion wasted on ad-fraud in
2018. Location Sciences has developed Verify, the world's first
independent location verification product. Utilising sophisticated
machine learning and pattern recognition technologies Verify
detects location ad-fraud and shines a light on location data
inaccuracy with the aim of bringing back integrity, transparency
and trust to the market place.
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
Introduction
Location Sciences is the first independent location verification
company for the $160 billion digital advertising industry. Working
in partnership with brands, media agencies and data suppliers,
Location Sciences is improving the performance of location-based
advertising campaigns.
As Location Sciences' shareholders are aware, the Company
launched Verify, the world's first independent location
verification product, in the UK in June 2018 and in the US in
January 2019. Utilising sophisticated machine learning and pattern
recognition technologies, Verify detects location ad-fraud and
shines a light on location data inaccuracy with the aim of bringing
back integrity, transparency and trust to the marketplace.
Location Sciences is independent and media-agnostic, meaning we
act as a true benchmark from which performance can be measured. The
Board has high expectations for the product's potential over the
coming years.
During the period, the Company achieved revenue of GBP454,872
(2018: GBP234,307), a 94% increase in revenue compared to H1 2018,
and a gross profit of GBP267,144 (2018: GBP141,408) from continuing
operations. The Directors are pleased with the gross margin of 59
per cent. and expect it to improve in the second half of 2019 as
Verify becomes a larger part of the revenue mix.
Verify revenues were GBP113,536 (2018: GBP53,922) an increase of
110%. Administrative expenses were GBP1,437,483 (2018:
GBP1,273,841), reflecting the beginnings of the investment in
Verify and the Company's expansion into the US, being the largest
digital advertising marketplace.
Overall, the Company delivered a loss of GBP1,049,503 (2018: a
loss of GBP1,046,253). With further investment in product
development, business development and accreditation of Verify, the
Company continues to remain in an investment stage.
As advised in its trading update, the Company expects longer
sales cycles than previously envisaged which will in turn impact
the revenues anticipated in the near term. As such the Company is
announcing a small fundraise today and will seek further investment
in due course. In addition to this, the Directors have taken
measures to reduce the overheads of the business to maximise
shareholder value in the long term. The Company announced
separately today that it it is seeking to raise a minimum of
GBP0.25 million and up to GBP0.75 million which will be used to
continue the growth of Verify and for working capital purposes. Our
cash position at the period end was GBP1.5 million (31 December
2018: GBP2.6 million).
KPI update
1. Impressions - delivered 550 million verified impressions versus
H1 target of 250 million (H1 2018: Nil);
2. Brands - secured 49 new brands for its Verify platform versus
2019's target of 50 new brands. This brings the total number
of brands utilising Verify to 58; and
3. Accreditations - one supplier, SITO, has been accredited to
date versus a target of six for the full year.
This represents great progress for Verify, with a growing number
of brands now utilising our platform to improve the performance of
their advertising campaigns. To assist in raising awareness of the
need for transparency in the industry, Location Sciences published
a report entitled "The State of Location Advertising" in August
2019. The report contained key insights and results from the 550
million impressions verified in H1 2019 and has been widely picked
up by media due to its robust findings, namely:
-- 65% of advertising budgets are being wasted on mistargeted
and poor-quality location data
-- 36% of GPS enabled applications were found to display location
fraud
-- Only 14% of the 550 million impressions verified were high
quality GPS signals
These results illustrate the huge need for transparency in the
location advertising industry and the potential performance
enhancement brands can achieve by implementing Verify. The report
can be downloaded using the following link -
https://www.locationsciences.ai/blog/insights-report-h12019.
Commercial overview
While the Company has delivered some key client wins during the
year to date, the Directors are focused on securing further major
clients in the coming months.
We were delighted to announce long-term contracts with Blis
Media Limited and Vicinity Media in September 2019. Blis Media
Limited is the global leader in advanced location data technology
and Vicinity Media is Africa's first premium location-based ad
network. They selected Verify as their chosen route to increase
transparency and pave the way for substantial improvements in data
accuracy. These are further proof points for the value of Verify to
brands, media agencies and suppliers.
As highlighted in the Company's August trading update, the
Company has evolved its strategy in response to industry
challenges. Due to the first mover nature of Verify, and low
awareness of the need for location verification, sales cycles are
proving to be longer than previously envisaged.
The impact of this is being mitigated by the expansion of the US
team, investment in business development, and expanding the
Company's portfolio of products. These new products- audience,
supply and pre-bid- are extensions of our Verify product and have
been developed to meet demand across an array of industries and
markets. As shareholders are aware, the Board remains focused on
delivering a highly scalable platform business that delivers
long-term recurring revenues.
The second half of 2019 will see the strengthened US team
maximise Location Sciences' first mover advantage in the $160
billion digital advertising market, set to reach $250 billion by
2021 (Source: Statista July 2019 - Mobile advertising spending
worldwide from 2007 to 2021). This includes driving growth in
sectors where location transparency is a "must have", for example
those impacted by regulation, politics and hyper-local commercial
imperatives such as franchisees.
Significant experience added to the senior team
The strength and depth of the Location Sciences senior team has
been significantly bolstered in the year to date. Notable new hires
are:
Donnie Williams, NED
Donnie is the Chief Digital Officer for Horizon Media, Inc.
("Horizon") responsible for business development, operations,
capability establishment and implementation, as well as marketing.
He has been instrumental in expanding Horizon's digital
capabilities. This includes its performance media services division
and its digital experiences practice, providing Horizon clients
with comprehensive solutions. He manages an expanding team of more
than 300 digital experts with established capabilities in both the
New York and Los Angeles offices.
Donnie has served in several advisory roles in the past and was
named an OMMA Online All-Star. Prior to Horizon, Donnie worked at
Ignited USA and Carat Global.
Niall Hogan, NED
Niall has over 18 years' experience in nurturing digital and
technology businesses in the UK, European and Asian markets. Most
recently, Niall was a managing director at Integral Ad Science
("IAS") Southeast Asia. He joined IAS in 2013 to lead the UK and
European team which he grew from a single employee to more than 65.
Since the beginning of 2017, he has been based in Singapore where
he was responsible for IAS Southeast Asia and was focused on new
business, employee recruitment and ongoing client engagement. Prior
to IAS, Niall was the UK Sales Director at Tribal Fusion (now
Exponential), where he helped establish the company as a key player
in the UK network space. Prior to Tribal Fusion, he held Digital
Sales Director roles at Hearst Digital and EMAP Interactive (now
Bauer Advertising).
Jason Smith, US Chief Business Officer
Jason joined the Company with over 16 years' experience in the
out-of-home and digital advertising space. He was a former senior
partner and MD of global media agency, Mindshare, where he led the
business and performance strategy for notable clients such as GEICO
and Capital One. Prior to Mindshare, Jason spent 10 years at
Horizon Media Inc. In his most recent role as VP of Digital
Investments, he headed up trading and partnership developments.
At Location Sciences, Jason is working to establish and build
relationships with key customers in the US and develop robust
marketing strategies to raise awareness of inaccurate location
fraud and its impact on campaign performance. In addition, Jason
will be further expanding Location Sciences' US team, ensuring that
Verify brings transparency and trust to the location data
marketplace.
Outlook
The Company's sales run rate in each of July and August was
above GBP100,000 and is set to grow with the addition of new
contracts, such as the recently announced Blis partnership. A
further uplift of sales is also expected from existing customers
during Q4, which encompasses the busy Christmas season for
advertisers.
The addition of senior hires with large US media agency and
verification experience joining the Board, gives us great
confidence in our product offering and market strategy. While some
of our clients have taken longer to adopt Verify than anticipated,
the underlying value proposition is clear and demonstrable. As
awareness of the benefits of location verification grows, so too
should sales.
The Board looks forward to the remainder of 2019 with
confidence. We would like to thank all shareholders for their
continued support during these early stages of our lifecycle.
Kelvin Harrison
Chairman
CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT FOR THE PERIODED 30 JUNE
2019
Six months Six months
ended ended Year ended
30 June 30 June 31 December
2019 2018 2018
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
Note GBP GBP GBP
Revenue 4 454,872 234,307 751,853
Cost of sales (187,728) (92,899) (382,273)
----------- ----------- ------------
Gross profit 267,144 141,408 369,580
Grant income 28,000 90,251 157,927
Other income 250 2,743 -
Administrative expenses (1,437,483) (1,273,841) (2,160,468)
Administrative expenses
- non-recurring items 5 - (89,334) (99,801)
----------- ----------- ------------
Operating loss 4 (1,142,089) (1,128,773) (1,732,762)
Finance income 112 142 246
----------- ----------- ------------
Loss before tax (1,141,977) (1,128,631) (1,732,516)
Taxation 92,474 82,378 244,982
----------- ----------- ------------
Loss for the financial year (1,049,503) (1,046,253) (1,487,534)
=========== =========== ============
Loss attributable to:
Owners of the company (1,049,503) (1,046,253) (1,487,534)
=========== =========== ============
Earning per share
Loss per share - basic and diluted (0.31p) (0.01p) (0.98p)
The above results were derived from continuing operations.
The group has no other comprehensive income for the period.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET AS AT 30 JUNE 2019
30 June 30 June 31 December
2019 2018 Audited
Unaudited Unaudited 2018
Note GBP GBP GBP
Non-current assets
Intangible assets 1,251,119 1,345,385 1,332,915
Property, plant and equipment 17,422 18,282 14,899
------------ ------------ ------------
1,268,541 1,363,667 1,347,814
------------ ------------ ------------
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 436,746 165,862 359,264
Current tax asset 328,197 99,812 235,723
Cash and cash equivalents 1,493,904 720,461 2,615,455
------------ ------------ ------------
2,258,847 986,135 3,210,442
------------ ------------ ------------
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables (297,250) (412,621) (370,374)
Current portion of borrowings (152) (2,290) (152)
------------ ------------ ------------
(297,402) (414,911) (370,526)
------------ ------------ ------------
Net current assets 1,961,445 571,224 2,839,916
------------ ------------ ------------
Net assets 3,229,986 1,934,891 4,187,730
============ ============ ============
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital 6 13,735,564 11,815,085 13,713,498
Share premium reserve 18,214,502 15,434,696 18,168,965
Merger relief reserve 11,605,556 11,605,556 11,605,556
Capital reserve 209,791 209,791 209,791
Equity reserve - 1,934,797 -
Other reserves (9,225,108) (9,225,108) (9,225,108)
Retained earnings (31,310,319) (29,839,926) (30,284,972)
------------ ------------ ------------
Total equity 3,229,986 1,934,891 4,187,730
============ ============ ============
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY FOR THE PERIODED 30
JUNE 2019
EQUITY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE PARENT COMPANY
Merger
Share Share relief Capital Equity Other Retained
capital premium reserve reserve reserve reserves earnings Total
GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP
At 1 January
2018 11,677,628 15,189,919 11,605,556 209,791 1,934,797 (9,225,108) (28,840,852) 2,551,731
Loss for the
year - - - - - - (1,046,253) (1,046,253)
Issues of
shares 137,457 274,915 - - - - 47,179 459,551
Share issue
costs - (30,138) - - - - - (30,138)
----------- ----------- ------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ------------ -----------
At 30 June
2018 11,815,085 15,434,696 11,605,556 209,791 1,934,797 (9,225,108) (29,839,926) 1,934,891
=========== =========== ============ =========== =========== =========== ============ ===========
At 1 January 2018 11,677,628 15,189,919 11,605,556 209,791 1,934,797 (9,225,108) (28,840,852) 2,551,731
Loss in year - - - - - - (1,487,534) (1,487,534)
Issues of shares 2,035,870 2,979,046 - - (1,934,797) - - 3,080,119
Share based payments - - - - - - 43,414 43,414
---------- ---------- ---------- ------- ----------- ----------- ------------ -----------
At 31 December 2018 13,713,498 18,168,965 11,605,556 209,791 - (9,225,108) (30,284,972) 4,187,730
========== ========== ========== ======= =========== =========== ============ ===========
At 1 January 2019 13,713,498 18,168,965 11,605,556 209,791 -(9,225,108) (30,284,972) 4,187,730
Loss for the year - - - - - - (1,049,503) (1,049,503)
Issue of shares 22,066 45,537 - - - - - 67,603
Share based payments - - - - - - 24,156 24,156
---------- ---------- ---------- ------- ----------- ------------ -----------
At 30 June 2019 13,735,564 18,214,502 11,605,556 209,791 -(9,225,108) (31,310,319) 3,229,986
========== ========== ========== ======= =========== ============ ===========
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE PERIODED 30 JUNE
2019
Six months Six months
ended ended Year ended
30 June 30 June 31 December
2019 2018 2017
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
Note GBP GBP GBP
Cash flows from operating activities
Loss for the year (1,049,503) (1,046,253) (1,487,534)
Adjustments to cash flows
from non-cash items
Depreciation and amortisation 232,895 216,350 454,385
Foreign exchange (gains)
/ losses (7,056) - 7,739
Finance income (112) (142) (246)
Share based payment transactions 91,759 47,179 43,414
Income tax expense (92,474) (82,377) (244,982)
----------- ----------- ------------
(824,491) (865,243) (1,227,224)
Working capital adjustments
(Increase)/decrease in trade
debtors (70,426) 67,525 (133,615)
Decrease in trade creditors (73,124) (70,288) (36,217)
----------- ----------- ------------
Cash used in operations (968,041) (868,006) (1,397,056)
Income taxes received - 251,995 202,372
----------- ----------- ------------
Net cash used in operating
activities (968,041) (616,011) (1,194,684)
----------- ----------- ------------
Cash flows from investing
activities
Interest received 112 142 246
Acquisitions of tangible
assets (8,371) (10,137) (12,421)
Acquisition of intangible
assets (145,251) (173,541) (393,440)
----------- ----------- ------------
Net cash used in investing
activities (153,510) (183,536) (405,615)
----------- ----------- ------------
Cash flows from financing
activities
Proceeds from issue of ordinary
shares, net of issue costs - 382,234 3,080,119
Payments to finance lease
creditors - (2,465) (4,604)
----------- ----------- ------------
Net cash used in financing
activities - 379,769 3,075,515
----------- ----------- ------------
Net (decrease)/increase
in cash and cash equivalents (1,121,551) (419,778) 1,475,216
Cash and cash equivalents
at beginning of period 2,615,455 1,140,239 1,140,239
----------- ----------- ------------
Cash and cash equivalents
at end of period 1,493,904 720,461 2,615,455
=========== =========== ============
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIODED 30 JUNE
2019
1 General information
Location Sciences Group PLC and its subsidiary Location Sciences
AI Limited (together the "Group") specialise in providing two core
platform products to its customers, namely: 1) location data and
insights - this is a SaaS where customers query Location Sciences'
UK data lake for, inter alia, advertising, location planning,
attribution, competitor analysis and forward looking financial
metrics; and 2) location verification - utilising sophisticated
machine learning and pattern recognition technologies Verify
detects location ad-fraud and checks the accuracy and quality of
location signals used to improve the performance of digital
advertising.
The Company is a public limited company which is quoted on the
AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and is incorporated and
domiciled in the United Kingdom.
2 Basis of preparation
The financial information has been prepared in accordance with
International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as adopted by
the European Union, IFRIC interpretations and with those parts of
the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under
IFRS. The accounting policies adopted are consistent with those of
the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2018, as
described in those financial statements.
The figures for the six-month periods ended 30 June 2019 and 30
June 2018 have not been audited. The figures for the year ended 31
December 2018 have been extracted from, but do not constitute, the
consolidated financial statements of Location Sciences Group PLC
for that year. Those financial statements have been delivered to
the Registrar of Companies and included an auditors' report, which
was unqualified and did not contain a statement under Section
498(2) or Section 498(3) Companies Act 2006.
3 Loss per share
Six months Six months
ended ended Year ended
30 June 30 June 31 December
2019 2018 2018
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
GBP GBP GBP
Loss attributable to shareholders (1,049,503) (1,046,253) (1,487,534)
----------- ----------- ------------
Loss attributable to shareholders
excluding exceptional items (1,049,503) (956,919) (1,387,733)
=========== =========== ============
No. No. No.
Weighted average number of shares
(basic) 341,546,384 13,829,284,758 151,100,816
=========== ============== ===========
The calculation of basic loss per share is based on loss after
taxation and the weighted average number of ordinary shares of
0.31p each in issue during the period.
4 Segmental analysis
Operating segments are based on internal reports about
components of the Company, which are regularly reviewed and used by
the Board of Directors being the Chief Operating Decision Maker
("CODM") for strategic decision making and resource allocation, in
order to allocate resources to the segment and to assess its
performance.
During the first half of 2019 the Group has operated through its
sole trading company, Location Sciences AI Limited. The business is
purely focused on its location data and insights business model,
where it sells its products to brands, media agencies and other
location data users in the UK.
It should be noted that a segmental analysis of the Consolidated
Statement of Financial Position is not part of routine management
reporting and, consequently, no segmental analysis of assets is
shown here.
An analysis of operating revenue is as follows:
Six months Six months
ended ended Year ended
30 June 30 June 31 December
2019 2018 2018
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
GBP GBP GBP
Location data and insights 341,336 234,307 697,931
Verify 113,536 - 53,922
---------- ---------- ------------
454,872 234,307 751,853
========== ========== ============
An analysis of EBITDA is as follows:
Six months Six months
ended ended Year ended
30 June 30 June 31 December
2019 2018 2018
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
GBP GBP GBP
Location data and insights (682,091) (912,423) (1,186,464)
Verify (226,879) - (91,666)
---------- ---------- ------------
(908,970) (912,423) (1,278,130)
========== ========== ============
An analysis of loss before tax is as follows:
Six months Six months
ended ended Year ended
30 June 30 June 31 December
2019 2018 2018
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
GBP GBP GBP
Location data and insights (856,483) (1,128,631) (1,608,262)
Verify (285,494) - (124,254)
----------- ----------- ------------
(1,141,977) (1,128,631) (1,732,516)
=========== =========== ============
5 Exceptional items
Six months Six months
ended ended Year ended
30 June 30 June 31 December
2019 2018 2018
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
GBP GBP GBP
Restructuring expenses - (89,334) (99,801)
============ ========== ============
6 Share capital
30 June 30 June 31 December
2019 2018 2018
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
GBP GBP GBP
343,250,994 ordinary shares
of 1p each 3,432,511 1,512,032 3,410,444
1,040,712,398 deferred shares
of 0.99p each 10,303,053 10,303,053 10,303,053
------------ ---------- -----------
13,735,564 11,815,085 13,713,497
============ ========== ===========
Share issue
On 8 May 2019, 1,263,158 ordinary shares of 1p each were issued
at 2.85p per share to Niall Hogan a Non-Executive Director of the
Company. On 7 June 2019, 943,397 ordinary shares of 1p each were
issued at 3.35p per share to Donnie Williams a Non-Executive
Director of the Company.
Share rights
Ordinary shares have attached to them full voting, dividend and
capital distribution (including on winding up) rights; they do not
confer any rights of redemption.
Deferred shares have attached to them no voting, dividend or
capital distribution (including on winding up) rights; they do not
confer any rights of redemption.
Warrants in Issue
Mike Staten (formerly held by Darwin Capital Limited) holds
5,583,522 share warrants at an exercise price of 16.92 pence per
share. For comparison the closing share price on 23 September 2019
was 2.80 pence per share.
7 Availability of half-year
report
Copies of the half-year report are available on request from the
Company's registered office at 20 Eastbourne Terrace, Paddington,
London, W2 6LG and can also be viewed at:
https://www.locationsciencesgroup.ai/investor-relations/reports-presentations/
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
IR SEFEFIFUSEFU
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