Stockholm, Sweden – iZafe Group AB (publ.) (NASDAQ First North: IZAFE B) – today November 29, releases its Q3 Interim Report.
Summary of financial performance
• Net sales for the quarter totaled SEK 38 thousand (701). Sales for the quarter comprised revenue related to Dosell sales.
• Operating income for the quarter totaled SEK -5,342 thousand (7,255). The comparative period included the non-recurring effect from the sale of iZafe AB. Excluding the sale of iZafe, operating profit for the comparative period amounted to SEK -6,745 thousand.
• Income after financial items for the quarter was SEK -6,183 thousand (7,103). Excluding the sale of iZafe, income after financial items for the comparative period amounted to SEK -6,897 thousand.
• Cash flow for the period was SEK -6,475 thousand (8,818). The positive cash flow for the comparative period was due to the proceeds received from the divestment of iZafe AB.
• Earnings per share for the quarter, basic and diluted, were SEK -0.2 (0.2).
• Equity per share at the end of the period was SEK 1.5 (1.1).
• The equity ratio at the end of the period was 62.3 percent (87.4).
Important events in the quarter
• iZafe decided to carry out a fully guaranteed rights issue of units amounting to approximately SEK 53 million. The rights issue is fully guaranteed.
• iZafe Group held a general meeting of the shareholders, resulting in a supplementary general meeting at which a majority of shareholders requested an alternative Board of Directors, which was voted through.
The consumer pilot project has been successfully completed, with the consumer version of the Dosell medication-dispensing robot found to be safe and easy to use. Following the development of the consumer version of Dosell in Sweden, this version will also be launched in Italy in 2021.
• iZafe Group has signed an agreement with Apoteket AB to introduce Dosell on the Swedish consumer market, exclusively through Apoteket AB’s channels. The agreement with Apoteket, and its unique market position as one of the leading suppliers of medication sachets on the Swedish market, creates a direct market of the more than 200,000 people who currently take medication using medication sachets from suppliers such as Apoteket.
Important events since the end of the quarter
• The consumer version of Dosell is being launched in Sweden on apoteket.se. Dosell is now available for everyone who regularly takes medication and wants to avoid medication errors through better medication management and treatment compliance to prevent harm.
• The final outcome of the rights issue of units, consisting of shares and series TO10 B share warrants, has been published. The rights issue has been fully subscribed, with approximately 43.6 percent subscribed for using unit rights, around 4.1 percent without the use of unit rights and approximately 52.3 percent subscribed for by issue guarantors.
• Deputy Chairman Göran Hermansson and CEO Anders Segerström together subscribed for a further 458,000 units in the ongoing rights issue of units, in addition to the initial subscription.
• iZafe Group has finalized most of its PCT patent application for the Dosell medication-dispensing robot in order to prepare for the international expansion, planned to be carried out after the ongoing rights issue. Patent applications have been made in those key markets where iZafe has identified significant demand for Dosell.
• Hepro AS has last issued a final approval of the new version of Dosell and has officially approved the pharmaceutical robot in its entirety for the Norwegian market.
Comment by the CEO
With several milestones achieved, we are now letting the medical dispenser Dosell capitalize through several different sales channels, on the established market potential that the digitalization of healthcare and the increased drug consumption costs.
The rights issue that we have now carried out has given us resources to enable the upscaling and globalization of iZafe Group AB. It will also enable future acquisitions and broadening of the service and product portfolio. With a strong liquidity, we can now also work more strategically and long-term in all our decisions.
During the third quarter, we focused on completing Dosell for the consumer market, which resulted in us being approved by Apoteket AB to jointly launch Europe's first medical dispenser for the consumer market in mid-October. It also became clear that we are joining Dutch Adyen with its reliable payment solutions in the Dosell app. We see this as an obvious seal of quality, and we are happy for the collaboration. Their customers include companies such as H&M, Spotify and Telia.
During the quarter, we also worked to ensure the software and Dosell's quality in more markets. The continuous work to comply with MDR (Medical Device Regulation) continues according to plan, which is a requirement to have the classification Dosell has in the form of medical device product class 1.
The consumer product platform is secured in several countries, where we now see great potential. We have begun to approach solutions to the challenges we have had, including the complexity of the sales process and the dependence on other players in product development. Dosell is a unique product that is the first of its kind on a completely new market. This means that we need to raise the awareness towards our target groups, which is one of our highest priorities during the last quarter of the year. In November, we decided to accelerate our marketing efforts with the guidance of our new CMO and expect that this will have a major effect on sales figures during the last quarter of this year, but especially during the first quarter of 2022.
On the B2B side, several of our partners have chosen to test and secure Dosell 2.0 to ensure quality for their customers, which we view positively. However, this has led to longer lead times than we initially expected, which also had consequences for sales, which we can now begin. The tests have led to good response, results and market demand. The tests have also given us extremely important insights about our users, which further helped us to optimize the customer experience. In connection with Hepro now giving its approval for the new Dosellen, sales will also begin properly in the large Norwegian procurement that we won together last year. The collection of that data, both historically and in the future, will be important for us to provide the best and simplest support to ensure that the right medicine is taken at the right time. It is of the utmost importance that we have achieved approval and then "proof of concept" in our domestic market in order to be able to scale up in other markets in large volumes.
We focus on the future and are constantly exploring new expansion opportunities, both geographical and product-related, and see good potential in both areas.
We have also begun work on initiating several different future acquisitions, both on the product and company side, and we will focus on selected areas where we see a clear business potential with favorable synergy effects. We continue to work towards becoming the obvious choice when it comes to safe intake of the right medicine at the right time. Dosell that delivers medicine via sachet will be part of the customer offering where we will in future be able to supplement so we can ensure that the right medicine is taken at the right time also to users who take their medicine in other ways. In this sense, we believe that there are companies which can complement iZafe Group's portfolio in an advantageous way.
Basis for further growth
iZafe Group is a well-capitalized company operating in a rapidly growing market. Through the rights issue, we have created opportunities we have not had before. This is a crucial point to enable sales and the obvious choice in ensuring the right medicine at the right time.
We continue to work purposefully to strengthen our team, also at management level. Our latest addition is Carl-Fredrik Bothén, who has held senior positions in the market at several international companies. As marketing manager, Carl-Fredrik will be responsible for IR (Investor Relations) and for improving communication and driving and developing our marketing with a special focus initially on the Scandinavian market.
iZafe Group is well equipped to advance its positions during 2022. We are leaving behind an important quarter where many milestones have been achieved and with a market that shows great confidence in our product. I look forward to a strong end to 2021 and an even stronger 2022.