Precise Biometrics new CEO comments on strategic shift as earnings improve in third quarter
Precise Biometrics reports increased net sales and decreased losses in Q3 2018 for its remaining business, compared to the same quarter a year earlier, as the company embarks on a strategic shift.
The company earned SEK 16.8 million (approximately US$1.85 million) in the last quarter on its remaining business, up from SEK 10.1 million ($1.11 million) in Q3 2017, and trimmed its overall loss from SEK 7.5 million ($0.83 million) a year ago to SEK 0.7 million ($77,000).
In his first earnings statement in his new position, CEO Stefan K Persson says that Precise plans to continue its shift to serve a growing market for biometrics driven by the proliferation of a wide range of smart devices.
“By studying the market and technical developments, we have identified opportunities to expand our existing business into new areas, and I am convinced that we are well positioned to take the next step in our development,” Persson states. “Having previously delivered high-quality biometric solutions for fingerprints, we now have an opportunity to enter into a broader system of solutions, in which we intend to combine different biometric modalities for sectors such as finance, gaming, medicine and security. The ability to read data through a fingerprint, iris, face, behavior and geodata enables the kind of user experience and security that the market is demanding.”
The strategic shift towards multi-modal solutions was announced in October.
The company will continue restructuring, and Persson reviewed the recent announcement that Precise will open an office in Shanghai to address growing demand in Asia, while consolidating its Swedish team. While the company will continue to focus on optical and ultrasound fingerprint sensors, Persson admits “competition is tough in this area and there is a high level of uncertainty about which technical solutions will be used.”
He is more optimistic about biometric payment cards, saying Precise expects small volumes to be in use in the second half of 2019, with higher volumes following in 2020.
Precise Biometrics CFO buys shares
Precise Biometrics announced that Ulrik Nilsson, Precise Biometrics CFO, purchased 200.000 shares in Precise Biometrics on Novemnber 14, 2018. Nilsson became CFO and member of the management team on September 27, 2018.
This article was updated at 09:08 EST November 14, 2017 with a statement from Precise Biometrics about the CFO buying shares.
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