Full focus on future growth

January - December

• Net sales increased 1.2 percent to SEK 307.6 (303.9) million (-4 percent in local currencies).
• EBIT was SEK 6.2 (32.7) million.
• The EBIT margin was 2.0 (10.8) percent.
• Profit after tax amounted to SEK 4.9 (27.8) million.
• Earnings per share amounted to SEK 0.28 (1.50).
• Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 17.7 (5.2) million.
• Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period amounted to SEK 63.9 (98.8) million.
• The Board of Directors proposes that the AGM approves the distribution of dividends in the amount of SEK 0.1 (2.2) per share.

Fourth quarter

• Net sales declined 2.5 percent to SEK 84.0 (86.2) million (-8 percent in local currencies).
• EBIT was SEK 3.7 (8.8) million.
• The EBIT margin was 4.4 (10.2) percent.
• Profit after tax amounted to SEK 1.3 (7.5) million.
• Earnings per share amounted to SEK 0.07 (0.40).
• Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 10.5 (28.9) million.

Comments from the CEO

Ten years ago, Nokia and Sony Ericsson were leading suppliers of mobile phones. Smart phones were starting to become established, and the market was in a state of rapid change. At that time, XRY was MSAB’s only product offering. It came in three different configurations and from 2009, XRY could also be used to recreate deleted information in mobiles. Today, the situation is different. Smart phones based on Apple’s or Google’s operating systems dominate the market. MSAB now has a comprehensive product offering for law enforcement agencies all over the world. This product offering consists of 16 different products for extraction, analysis and system management. Several of the products come in different configurations in order to meet our customers’ varying needs.

These developments could not have taken place without significant investments in research and development, as well as in products and the organisation. Since 2009, MSAB has grown from 37 employees to today’s approximately 200 employees, and turnover has grown from the 2009 level of SEK 81 million to the current figure of SEK 307 million. Growth in sales and profit has not been linear. We have stressed that our primary objective is to profitably offer law enforcement agencies tools that enable them to become more efficient in their work. This means that we must remain on the cutting edge of technical developments. It also means that profitability will fluctuate over time.

Throughout the 1900s, the ability of the police to solve crimes dropped steadily. Today in Sweden, less than one in ten crimes is solved. It remains true that our original product, XRY Office, accounts for the lion’s share of not just our revenues, but also for the majority of our license renewals, and thus growth. License renewals grew in 2019 in all regions, and this underlines the importance of MSAB’s comprehensive product development efforts. We are building customer confidence and quality. At the same time, the gap between what the police are able to do and what is possible must close, and this can be accomplished through increased use of all our products. But it’s a long process. Organisations governed by budget control are seldom as quick to implement change as result-oriented organisations.

Over the last years, we have made comprehensive investments within our product area Frontline. We have done this because we see how demand to utilise information from mobile phones is growing, and that the need can no longer be met by existing IT-labs or criminal investigators. Capacity must increase and this can only take place through ordinary police officers. Frontline aims to create advanced products that police officers can use with minimal instruction. Thus, investigations and preliminary examinations can become decentralised and more efficient.

For Frontline and our analysis products, we are convinced that there is enormous, unexploited potential. Our investments within these areas are deliberate and purposeful – and will therefore continue.

The digital revolution that has impacted all of our lives is challenging law enforcement agencies in an unprecedented manner. MSAB knows what is required to make our customers more efficient and to help them improve and reverse negative trends – and that is to have a robust strategy in place for managing digital investigation and the chain of custody.

The market where MSAB is active is still seriously underinvested. Our customers have a great need to invest if they are to successfully perform their tasks in the digital revolution that is underway.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to say that I am proud over the contribution that MSAB and our products provide to law enforcement agencies world-wide. Our products make a difference every day.

Stockholm, January 2020

Joel Bollö 
Chief Executive Officer  

The information in this report is such that MSAB, Corporate ID number 556244-3050, is required to disclose in accordance with the EU’s Market Abuse Regulation. The information in this report was submitted for publication on 29 January, 2020 at 08:00 CEST.
  

Questions should be addressed to:
Chief Executive Officer Joel Bollö
Tel. +46 8 739 0270
Email: joel.bollo@msab.com

MSAB in brief

MSAB is a world leader in mobile forensics technology with the aim of extracting and analysing data from confiscated mobile devices, mainly from mobile phones. The Company has its own sales offices and sales representatives in Europe, North America, South America, China, Australia, Singapore, Japan, India and Russia, and together with a number of distributors, covers most of the world. The proprietary products have become a de facto standard in the field and are used for securing evidence in more than 100 countries. These products are complemented by a wide range of training courses with the possibility of becoming certified in a forensically sound methodology. Customers are primarily law enforcement agencies, such as police, military and customs. MSAB is listed on NASDAQ Stockholm under the ticker symbol: MSAB B.