GeoJunxion grows the 2020 full year topline by 46%, reduces the net loss by 68% YoY and announces the completion of the sale of the AND.COM domain name for gross value of Euro 175.000 in February.
Covid-19 and the related measures taken in the spring and again during the autumn to prevent the spread of the Corona virus, have proven to be a significant challenge for the global economy. The GeoJunxion team and our underlying business have shown strong resilience: revenue increased by 46% during the full 12 months of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. This is slightly above the lower end of the guidance provided. The solid year over year growth is mainly due to our success in winning and delivering new service projects, supported by the moderate growth of our existing recurring business. The direct impact of the anti-virus measures was felt mostly in the data sales segment, where it has been difficult to connect with key decision makers in the B2B market, thus hampering our ability to win new customers and increase our market share.
OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS AND STRATEGY UPDATE
In the 4th quarter, we focused on releasing new products to the market together with the launch of our new brand GeoJunxion. Building on decades of mapping experience , GeoJunxion is now focusing on high value, dynamic content that enrich environmentally conscious applications and safety in everyday life. With GeoJunxion, we are at the crossroads where fundamental, map related content connects with customized, intelligent information and highly focused innovations – in short: where location meets intelligence.
Introducing the GeoJunxion brand in October highlighted the turnaround and the recent success generating new and sustainable revenue. It also conveys and underlines our commitment to high quality location-aware content ready for tomorrow’s 5G and IoT world.
In November and December, we focused on evaluating applications of our high-alert-zone premium content into several verticals such as leisure, automotive or health. Those assessments received a positive feedback, confirming the foundation of our strategy.
In line with that strategy and by joining forces with the GeoHealthApp team, we developed a unique location-based Health-Alert- Zone API. This API provides aggregated global information about COVID-19 pandemic statistics and a unique health exposure evaluation, down to local level. The health risk exposure is compiled using COVID-19 official statistics with expected exposure in up to 50 different types of locations (from shops, bars and restaurants, parks, beaches etc.…), as well as the weather forecast and footfall traffic which varies on a daily basis. This results in a detailed risk assessment for areas as small as 100m2. Our proprietary algorithm estimates local behavior based on this local and dynamic data and then creates a health alert score for each region and area. This information can be either accessed via an API or displayed on a website using the GeoJunxion MapTiler Technology.
In December, we announced our strategic alliance with NavInfo Europe. NavInfo, has extensive experience in developing robust AI solutions using Machine Learning and Computer Vision. AI Business Solutions is a new offering from NavInfo to provide customers with AI consultancy services over and above NavInfo’s AI Solutions. In conjunction with NavInfo, we are now able to offer AI solutions for Smart City Planning, Smart Maintenance, and other areas. This initiative supports our technological evolution and opens up new opportunities in projects like the TalkingMaps® for example. We expect that alliance to create unparalleled value for both companies in the coming years.
In December, as the Covid-19 pandemic was still progressing, we launched an extension of our Health Alert Zones with a new COVID-19 Measures Polygons product. These polygons provide general, comprehensive travel advice in the featured countries, covering a wide variety of restrictions users may run into daily, such as when taking public transportation to their local stores or travelling across countries to visit family. This way, users are always aware of the latest applicable COVID-19 measures, which they can view in real time in their location or destination, whether it be local or international.
At the end of December, we successfully completed a €825K private placement among existing and new shareholders. The funds generated allow us to accelerate the development of our premium location-aware content and services as well as strengthen our sales activities. These investments will help GeoJunxion to achieve key strategic objectives which, we believe will create value for all stakeholders.
We are looking back to a year that was very different than expected or planned. As a team, we managed to keep operating without interruption during lockdowns and diverse COVID-19 measures in the countries we operate in. The multiple COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions had a direct impact on tourism and mobility in general. Our new products like Eco Alert Zones and Outdoor Venue Plans are targeting mobility applications such as route planners and last mile navigation. Despite the positive response and high interest in our solutions, companies remain prudent to invest in improving their mobility and tourism experience. Those companies have limited visibility as to how and when activities will pick up again. As a result, we have seen slower than expected uptake in our services in Q4. This trend is expected to continue during the first half of 2021. Despite those market dynamics, we managed to grow our topline revenue by almost 50% year on year, while keeping our costs under control. Business growth came from our ability to be very adaptable and responsive to the needs of our long-standing customers as well as new customers.
A big thank you to all our employees, customers, shareholders, and contractors who made this achievement possible!
FINANCIAL SUMMARY FULL YEAR 2020 RESULTS VERSUS 2019
- Revenue for the full year 2020 is up by 46% to €1.555 K;
- Operating result improved by 72% to a loss of €1.361 K, compared to a loss of €4.873 K in 2019;
- Net result after tax improved by 68% to a net loss of €1.251 K versus €3.954 K in 2019;
- Net cash-flow from operating and investing activities equals an outflow of €1.384 K Euro, an improvement of €288 K versus 2019;
- Consolidated year end cash-position equals €1.113 K (2019: €522 K).
KEY FIGURES
OUTLOOK FOR THE FULL CALENDER YEAR 2021
The increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the last quarter of 2020 in many countries within Europe has induced government actions such as school and business closures, curfews, and requirements for staff to work from home. These measures have been carried forward into 2021 and in many cases have even become more stringent. These ongoing measures in many of our target markets such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the US, are reducing the short to medium term visibility on the growth potential of our newly introduced products. However, with vaccination campaigns progressing throughout the first half of 2021, a pick-up in economic activities can be expected in many sectors during the second half of the year.
Despite uncertainty related to the Covid-19 impact, we expect to generate a revenue growth for the calendar year 2021 to be in the range of 40 to 50% compared to 2020.
FINANCIAL POSITION
GeoJunxion is making significant progress in turning its business around from an automotive map supplier focused on one-off large deals, to a premium location content and location intelligent service provider with a subscription based, recurring “Data As A Service” revenue model. This transition requires investment in product development, in sales and marketing. The private placement completed in December 2020 is expected to provide the funding needed to enable GeoJunxion to grow with its new business model towards a cash generating and profitable organization.
REPLACEMENT OF EXTERNAL AUDITOR
We continue to explore all possible options to replace our previous OOB-licensed auditor, Grant Thornton. To allow time in resolving this issue and move outside of the auditing peak season, GeoJunxion has decided to extend the current accounting year to 30 June 2021. The Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of 29 December 2020 approved this proposal and the Articles of Association have been updated accordingly by notary deed on 30 December 2020. We are now reconnecting with all the OOB licensed auditing companies to ensure that the annual accounts for the accounting year ending per 30 June 2021 will be accompanied by the legally required audit opinion. There is however no guarantee that these efforts will be successful.
RISK MANAGEMENT
Risk management is an integral managerial task. Our risk management and control procedures take into consideration the size of the company and the character of the business in order to identify the most significant risks which the company is exposed to. The risks identified are discussed on a periodical basis and mitigated where possible. Such a system cannot provide absolute certainty that objectives will be realized. Neither can it guarantee prevention of potential cases of material mistakes, damage, fraud or breaches of statutory laws.
The 2019 annual report describes the principal strategic, operational and financial risks. The risks and uncertainties described in the annual report are still relevant and are deemed incorporated and repeated by reference in this report. There were no cases of material damage, fraud or breaches of law detected in 2020. However, the Covid-19 outbreak and the associated and prolonged pandemic control measures have had a disruptive effect on the economy and an adverse effect on our business, most noticeably in our data sales business and associated revenues. Although we have taken mitigating actions and the expectation that lockdown measures will be gradually lifted with the progress in the vaccination campaigns, there is no guarantee that the pandemic and its associated control measures will not have a further negative impact in 2021 on our business, financial position, and results.
BOARD OF MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
The Board of Management hereby declares that, to the best of its knowledge, the summarized consolidated December 2020 YTD financial statements, drawn up in accordance with IAS 34 “Interim financial reporting”, represents a faithful rendering of the assets, liabilities, financial position, profit and cash flow of GeoJunxion NV and its subsidiaries as stated in the consolidated financial report, and that the Board report as included in this December 2020 YTD report represents a faithful rendering of the information required in relation to item 5:25d subs 8 and 9 of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act.
GROUP STRUCTURE SIMPLIFICATION
During Q3 2020 the dissolution of AND International Publishers PLC (UK) and AND North America LLC (USA) was completed. The voluntary liquidation of AND Data India Pvt, LTD, continues to progress well: Early January 2021, we completed the repatriation of approximately 50% of the funds available in the company. Expectation is that the remaining funds will be repatriated before the end of March 2021. Soon after that, we target to complete the liquidation of the Indian legal entity.
EVENT AFTER THE REPORING PERIOD: Sale of AND.COM
Per 12 February 2021, the company has completed the sale of its domain name AND.COM, for a gross price of approx. Euro 175.000 (212.000 USD). The domain name was acquired over a decade ago and did not have a remaining book value. As a result of this transaction, the company will recognize an extraordinary income in Q1 2021, of approx. Euro 166.500. This equates to the gross proceeds minus the commission of the broker. In the second half of February 2021, a down payment is due, followed by 11 equal monthly payments.