Precise Biometrics strategic shift leads to breakthrough quarter, profit for full-year 2019

Feb 14, 2020, 11:45 am EST | Chris Burt

Precise Biometrics strategic shift leads to breakthrough quarter, profit for full-year 2019

Precise Biometrics is lauding its latest results as evidence that its focus on biometric smart card and digital identity offerings and strategy of moving closer to customers are working. The company’s Q4 2019 net sales were SEK 38.8 million (US$4 million), up drastically from SEK 13.9 million ($1.4 million) in Q4 2018, as the company swung from losses to gains by many financial metrics.

Net operating profit reached SEK 12.5 million ($1.3 million), after Precise Biometrics recorded a net operating loss of SEK 14.3 million ($1.5 million) last year. The company reports profit of SEK 13.4 million ($1.4 million), following a 2018 loss of SEK 15 million ($1.6 million), while earnings per share totalled SEK 0.04, up from negative SEK 0.04, and cash flow from operations jumped from negative SEK 9.1 million ($0.9 million) to a gain of SEK 14.3 million ($1.5 million).

Highlights during the quarter include a new partnership with Infinity Optics to develop a fingerprint hashing product, the integration of passive liveness detection into its access control software, and a cooperation agreement with Innovatrics.

For full-year 2019, Precise Biometrics reports net sales of SEK 91.9 million ($9.5 million), a 36 percent increase from 2018, when it booked SEK 67.6 million ($7 million). The company reports a profit of SEK 1 million ($100,000) after a loss of SEK 22.2 million ($2.3 million) last year, and earnings per share broke even, following a loss of SEK 0.06 last year.

“I am delighted to be able to present a strong quarter for Precise. Our new strategy of working in a more focused way and getting close to the end customer – combined with positive market development – has contributed to a high rate of growth for the company during 2019,” states Precise Biometrics CEO Stefan K Persson. “We are also seeing the result of the cost savings carried out during the year, which have had a positive impact on profits. Despite increased investments within the Digital Identity business area, there was an operating profit for the full year 2019, totalling SEK 0.7 million.”

Persson notes expectations that integrations with Egis Technology will continue in 2020, and while the outbreak of coronavirus in Asia may impact results going forward, optical sensors are gaining ground in mobile devices.