Simris interim report January – June 2020

Strong growth in sales, improved operating result

Simris Alg AB (publ) (FNSE:SIMRIS) has published its financial results for January – June 2020.

• Net sales during the second quarter amounted to 0.256 MSEK (0.145) and 0.522 MSEK (1.321) during the first half year. Net sales in the USA amounted during the second quarter to 0.119 MSEK (0.020) and a total of 0.247 MSEK (0.044) during the first half year. Sales were affected by the covid-19 crisis but showed signs of recovery towards the end of the reporting period.

• The operating result improved to -5.099 MSEK (-7.099) during the second quarter and in total -11.957 MSEK (12.105) during the first half year.

Significant events after the reporting period     

• The company closed an oversubscribed rights issue and received 29.1 MSEK before transaction costs, of which 2.2 MSEK was funded through offset of debt. 
• On 20 July, Simris recalled all employees from partial furlough which had applied since March 2020 due to the outbreak of covid-19. The company has also initiated recruitments to strengthen the team within sales and marketing.
• Sales are beginning to show strong growth, with net sales of 0.693 MSEK during the month of July. Own e-commerce in the US showed 322 percent growth during July compared to previous month.                    

Comment from the CEO
Despite the covid-19 pandemic, we are beginning to see strong growth in sales. Own e-commerce in the US shows the strongest growth, as web sales more than quadrupled in July compared to the previous month.

In addition to the corona crisis, the US was shaken by massive protests against the systematic racism and injustice which still prevails in large areas of society. Racism, hate and the dissemination of disinformation from anti-democratic forces are a problem not just in the USA. Large parts of the hate propaganda is proliferated and reinforced by the algorithms that determine the display of content in social media. When we, a little algae company from Sweden, decided in June to stop all paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram, we could not imagine that this was just the beginning of a massive boycott where soon thousands of companies would join. The response and the sales growth we have seen after we diverted our marketing spend to other channels show that our obvious decision also was the commercially right thing to do.

The second major event during the reporting period was our successful rights issue, where we raised the necessary capital to continue our market launch and grow our sales. Our gratitude goes to both existing and new shareholders! The timing couldn’t have been better, as the restrictions due to the corona crisis are easing up and we can ramp up our activity level. First thing on my check list is to recruit new stars for our team, so that we can continue our growth journey.

The full version of the report is available in Swedish from www.simrisalg.se/investerare

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Fredrika Gullfot, CEO Simris
Tel: +46 761 345 474, email: gullfot@simris.com

ABOUT SIMRIS ALG AB (PUBL)
Simris is a multi-awarded pioneer business producing sustainable marine ingredients from farmed algae. The company was founded in 2011 by Fredrika Gullfot, PhD, researcher at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Today, Simris operates a unique state of the art industrial algae farm for omega-3-production in Hammenhög in Österlen, Southern Sweden. The products are sold under the proprietary Simris® Algae Omega-3 brand, targeted to the global lifestyle, beauty and wellness markets. Simris shares are traded on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market with ticker SIMRIS and ISIN SE0008091664. Certified Adviser is Västra Hamnen Corporate Finance, phone +46 (0)40-20 02 50 and email ca@vhcorp.se.