Interim report Jan - Jun 2020

Press release 22 July, 2020

Interim report January – March 2020

MSAB – Increase in sales and profit

January - June

• Net sales increased 15.1 percent to SEK 150.1 (130.4) million (13.4 percent in local currencies).
• EBIT amounted to SEK 3.3 (-17.1) million.
• The EBIT margin was 2.2 (-13.1) percent.
• Profit after tax amounted to SEK 1.9 (-15.3) million.
• Earnings per share amounted to SEK 0.10 (-0.82).
• Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 7.8 (3.9) million.
• Cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments at the end of the period amounted to SEK 64.8 (52.5) million.

Second quarter

• Net sales increased 30 percent to SEK 83.9 (64.1) million (30.3 percent in local currencies).
• EBIT amounted to SEK 12.1 (-11.4) million.
• The EBIT margin was 14.4 (-17.8) percent.
• Profit after tax amounted to SEK 10.4 (-10.8) million.
• Earnings per share amounted to SEK 0.56 (-0.58).
• Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK -1.6 (0.7) million.

CEO 

In early April, the situation for Sweden and the world was more uncertain than ever, and the global community had shut down in a way that has never before been witnessed. Covid-19 was spreading from country to country, region by region.  Our customers stopped receiving visitors and we were unable to travel at all. The uncertainty surrounding this second quarter is greater than anything I have ever experienced as MSAB’s CEO.

My message to the organisation was crystal clear: we are facing one of the greatest challenges of our time and we have two choices. Either we tighten our belts and survive on hope, or we accept the challenge and adapt to the new conditions with a view to the possibilities. My choice was to accept the challenge and see the possibilities in the current situation.

MSAB has been operating for 36 years – through good times and bad – taking on challenges as they appear and adapting. And this time is no different.

One of the most important decisions we took was to not cancel a single meeting or activity, but rather to adapt. We transformed all planned customer interactions and exhibitions to their digital equivalents. We have had a record-breaking number of customer interactions during the second quarter and we have done so successfully.

The current situation has hastened our and our customers’ digital transformation. This has provided us with new insights which will impact our own and our customers’ ways of working forever.

Considering the prevailing conditions at the beginning of the second quarter, it is with considerable pride that I report that we grew 30 percent, with all-time highs for the second quarter for both sales and profit.

Growth for the period January – June was broad. New sales and license renewal sales both increased compared to last year. The increasing number of license renewals demonstrates once again how much users value the benefits our products provide, not just for our customers, but for the greater legal security of society in general. Furthermore, it also clearly demonstrates the strength of our business model.

Once again, XRY Office represents the lion’s share of new sales. We have been developing the product for 18 years and now – because of the continual improvements – it is better than ever. XRY Office supports the most relevant phones and apps that our customers deal with. Today, XRY Office supports over 32,000 different device profiles!

Training was one area that demonstrated somewhat negative growth during the period. This is a direct consequence of not being able to travel to meet our customers. We have rapidly increased the pace at which we are digitalising an ever-increasing number of our courses for on-line study. There are several reasons why this takes time, and some training is difficult to execute completely in digital format.

It is difficult to assess with any certainty how the global pandemic will affect us and our customers in the future. But one thing is certain: the future will look different for both MSAB and our customers.

The need to secure evidence retrieved from digital devices will continue to be a high priority for our customers. We will continue to deliver the most effective solutions on the market. Exactly how we do this in the best possible manner will depend on our own strategy and how the world at large looks.

One thing is certain, MSAB is committed to its ambition to be the best in the world at providing value for customers – no matter what conditions arise.

Enjoy your summer! 

Stockholm, July 2020

Joel Bollö

Chief Executive Officer

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 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.

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