Half-year Report

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 £454,872 (2018: £234,307), a 94% increase

•      Sales run rate per month currently in excess of £100,000

•      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 £1.5 million at 30 June 2019 (31 December 2018: £2.6 million)

•      Announced separately today, the Company is seeking to raise a minimum of £0.25 million and up to £0.75 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 and Broker)

 

Tel: +44 (0)20 7408 4090

 

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 £454,872 (2018: £234,307), a 94% increase in revenue compared to H1 2018, and a gross profit of £267,144 (2018: £141,408) 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 £113,536 (2018: £53,922) an increase of 110%. Administrative expenses were £1,437,483 (2018: £1,273,841), 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 £1,049,503 (2018: a loss of £1,046,253). 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 £0.25 million and up to £0.75 million which will be used to continue the growth of Verify and for working capital purposes. Our cash position at the period end was £1.5 million (31 December 2018: £2.6 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 £100,000 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 PERIOD ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

 

Note

Six months
ended
30 June
2019
Unaudited
£

Six months
ended
30 June
2018
Unaudited
£

Year ended
31 December 2018
Audited
£

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

 

Note

30 June
2019
Unaudited
£

30 June
2018
Unaudited
£

31 December
Audited
2018
£

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 PERIOD ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

EQUITY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE PARENT COMPANY

 

Share capital
£

Share premium
£

Merger relief reserve
£

Capital reserve
£

Equity reserve
£

Other reserves
£

Retained earnings
£

Total
£

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 PERIOD ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

 

Note

Six months
ended
30 June
2019
Unaudited
£

Six months
ended
30 June
2018
Unaudited
£

Year ended
31 December
2017
Audited
£

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 PERIOD ENDED 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
ended
30 June
2019
Unaudited
£

Six months
ended
30 June
2018
Unaudited
£

Year ended
31 December
2018
Audited
£

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
ended
30 June
2019
Unaudited
£

Six months
ended
30 June
2018
Unaudited
£

Year ended
31 December
2018
Audited
£

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
ended
30 June
2019
Unaudited
£

Six months
ended
30 June
2018
Unaudited
£

Year ended
31 December
2018
Audited
£

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
ended
30 June
2019
Unaudited
£

Six months
ended
30 June
2018
Unaudited
£

Year ended
31 December
2018
Audited
£

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
ended
30 June
2019
Unaudited
£

Six months
ended
30 June
2018
Unaudited
£

Year ended
31 December
2018
Audited
£

Restructuring expenses

-

(89,334)

(99,801)

                                     

 

6

Share capital

                                     

 

30 June
2019
Unaudited
£

30 June
2018
Unaudited
£

31 December
2018
Audited
£

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/

 

 


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