Growth continues with strong operational performance as Trust Stamp moves into a weighted fourth quarter with a matured sales pipeline and capital resource generation
ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / September 28, 2021 / Trust Stamp (OTCQX:IDAI, Euronext Growth:AIID ID), a global provider of AI-powered identity services for use across multiple sectors, today announces its audited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2021 ("H1 2021").
Gareth Genner, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director to the Board, said: "Trust Stamp is pleased to report another half-year set of financial results indicative of the Company's sustained position for growth towards our strategic goals and global mission in the coming months and years.
Trust Stamp's core product offerings stand strong by design during times of market volatility, unpredictable regulatory environments, and increased competition seen across the digital identity space. With client activity recovering and new market opportunities becoming vastly available, Trust Stamp has delivered material new business wins in the year's first half. We look forward to the resulting accelerated revenue momentum in the remaining months of 2021 and beyond.
We are notably pleased to continue progressing our application to uplist from the OTCQX Best Market to the Nasdaq Capital Market, which includes conducting an ongoing public round of funding following a successful private raise earlier in the year. The capital resources gained during H1 2021 and from our current fundraising activities present the opportunity for Trust Stamp to drive deeper market penetration in key verticals, diversify our target markets, and continue growing a strong IP portfolio of transformative identity solutions.
These results reflect the dedication of Trust Stamp's team, the confidence of our investors, and the strength of our unique value proposition in positioning the Company as a trusted leader in the identity space. I would like to thank all of those who have supported the headway we have made towards our mission of delivering equitable, privacy-preserving identity solutions that empower access and protect data for individuals and organizations around the world. We look forward to sharing this journey of growth with our expanding base of Shareholders, employees, customers, partners, and advisors alike."
Financial Performance Overview
Trust Stamp continued the diversification of our customer network with the addition of three significant revenue-generating clients in H1 2021 while maintaining and growing our service agreements with our two largest clients. Having executed two additional contracts for specialized services with one of these long-standing clients, we anticipate generating increased volume-based revenue in Q4 of 2021 and beyond from our long-standing client relationships as well as substantial revenue growth from our new clients.
For reasons that will become clear later in this communication, 2021 revenue will be heavily rear-end loaded in Q4 in addition to a 29% increase in Gross Sales (non-GAAP) for H1 2021 when compared to H1 2020*. The increase in sales is partly the result of an expanded business relationship with one of the three additional revenue-generating clients, which is anticipated to result in long-term recurring revenue from pay-per-use and other usage-based engagements.
Our work to develop and deliver a technology platform as part of this engagement contributed to a 56% Cost of Sales increase for H1 2021 when compared to H1 2020 as the entire cost of building the new technology platform was expensed. In addition, the increased investment in business development as a factor in higher Cost of Sales reflects our commitment to growing and nurturing a healthy pipeline of sales prospects for future revenue generating contracts in our key markets while also expanding sales capabilities to address growing interest across verticals.
The 56% increase in Cost of Sales was offset by a 61% reduction in booked R&D expenses between H1 2021 and H1 2020, as several early-stage projects progressed into commercial technology offerings with client-specific product implementations moving the expense allocation from capitalized R&D to Cost of Sales.
In H1 2021, Trust Stamp scaled its R&D campus in Malta and opened a new campus in Rwanda, incurring substantial upfront establishment and personnel expenses. The capability of these campuses continues to develop rapidly, enabling us to reduce the use of costly sub-contracted development resources, thereby improving future overall margins. By increasing internal development capabilities, we estimate a circa 60% reduction in per-hour development costs compared to those of contracted services that historically comprise one of Trust Stamp's largest expenses.
Operational and Strategic Developments
On 15 March 2021, Trust Stamp established a transatlantic capital markets presence by joining the OTCQX Best Market, the premium segment of the OTC Markets Group, reflecting our commitment to increasing Shareholder value by boosting visibility, building trust, and maintaining transparency. Thereafter, Trust Stamp applied to the Nasdaq Capital Market in April 2021 with the goal of uplisting for greater liquidity and expanded opportunities to fund organic and M&A growth on the leading global exchange for innovative technology companies.
Trust Stamp acquired PixelPin, a cybersecurity company specializing in image-based account access technology in March of 2021, further enhancing our innovative portfolio of technology solutions that improve customer experience and reputation while broadening the scope of internal risk-management strategies with enhanced capabilities for secure multi-factor authentication. This advancement in intellectual property accompanies four patent applications filed during H1 2021, strengthening our competitive position in the identity verification and authentication space.
To further accelerate productization of Trust Stamp's IP and strengthen our sales and marketing capabilities to meet the growth in addressable needs resulting from changing consumer expectations around secure digital operations, we successfully conducted a private $4M round of funding in H1 2021, with participation largely from existing Shareholders. Building upon the success of this fundraise and driven by investor interest, Trust Stamp launched a subsequent and currently ongoing public round of funding in August 2021.
Review and Outlook
Trust Stamp's shift in expense allocation between H1 2020 and H1 2021 reflects ongoing progress in accelerating our product roadmap with commercial solutions. Management believes that the Company's purchase orders, advancement of multiple clients currently in the technology implementation stages of the sales cycle, and robust commercial client pipeline will result in additional usage revenues and revenue-generating contracts, contributing to a heavy weighting of annual revenue to Q4 of 2021 with further substantial revenue effects materializing in 2022.
Effective 23 September 2021, Trust Stamp has entered into a significant biometric services contract with the United States Federal Government, which had required focused investment in productization, business development, and due diligence in prior quarters of this year. The contract is for a fixed price of $3,920,764.00.
While the contract has a performance period of six-months commencing on 27 September 2021, it is anticipated that the performance will be substantially complete in financial year 2021. Alongside the revenue implications of this specific contract, it is believed that successful execution will lead to extended and additional contracts of the same nature in addition to increasing Trust Stamp's corporate visibility, reputation, and trust in associated markets.
Trust Stamp's ongoing work with flagship customer Mastercard gained additional commercial significance as a result of a partnership between Mastercard and Paycode, which was publicly announced in September 2021, with a goal of servicing 30 million underserved and unbanked individuals across Africa over the next three years. With Trust Stamp's IT2TM and Facial Recognition technologies implemented and utilized in the Mastercard Community PassTM platform on a pay-per-use basis, we anticipate growth in usage revenue as a result of this expanded user base.
Our commitment to progressing Trust Stamp's H1 2021 application to list on the Nasdaq Capital Market is marked by strategic corporate actions in the second half of the year that intend to assist in meeting requirements for our chosen Nasdaq listing criteria, including the execution of a share split and the launch of a public round of funding in August 2021. While a Nasdaq listing cannot be assured, Management continues to actively work through the application process with Nasdaq staff and its advisors.
In addition to driving an uplisting from OTCQX to Nasdaq, Trust Stamp's ongoing public US $5M round of funding aims to support our continued trajectory of growth. With a proven record of leveraging innovative identity and trust solutions to address cross-industry needs for increased security, privacy, and inclusive accessibility, the growth capital sought in this round will enable Trust Stamp to further our market penetration as we capitalize on global development opportunities.
The Company advises that its financial statements for the period ending 30 June 2021 have been sent to Shareholders and have been made available on the Company's website (https://truststamp.ai/Investors.html), accessible by clicking this link: 2021 Half-Year Financial Results
Enquiries |
|
Trust Stamp | Email: Shareholders@truststamp.ai |
Gareth Genner, Chief Executive Officer | |
Nisha Naik, Executive VP of Communications | |
Davy (Euronext Growth Advisor) | Tel: +353 1 679 6363 |
Barry Murphy | |
Powerscourt (Financial Public Relations) | Tel: +353 87 236 5973 |
Eavan Gannon | Email: Truststamp@powerscourt-group.com |
About Trust Stamp
Trust Stampis a global provider of AI-powered identity services for use in multiple sectors including banking and finance, regulatory compliance, government, real estate, communications, and humanitarian services. Its technology empowers organizations with advanced biometric identity solutions that reduce fraud, protect personal data privacy, increase operational efficiency, and reach a broader base of users worldwide through its unique data transformation and comparison capabilities.
Located in seven countries across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, Trust Stamp trades on the OTCQX Best Market (OTCQX: IDAI) and Euronext Growth in Dublin (Euronext Growth: AIID ID). Founded in 2016 by Gareth Genner and Andrew Gowasack, the Company now employs over 80 people with flagship customers including Mastercard International and the United States Government.
*This discussion includes information about Gross Sales that is not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and is not necessarily comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. A reconciliation of this non-GAAP measure is included in the financial statements linked above.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER
The information in this press release may contain forward-looking statements and information related to, among other things, the company, its business plan and strategy, and its industry. These statements reflect Management's current views with respect to future events-based information currently available and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially. In making an investment decision, investors must rely on their own examination of the issuer and the terms of the offering, including the merits and risks involved. All investors should read the offering memorandums provided in conjunction with these offerings. Investments in Regulation CF offerings are speculative, illiquid, and involve a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. Trust Stamp has filed Form C that forms the Regulation CF Offering Statement with the SEC, a copy of which may be obtained from https://www.investintruststamp.ai.
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