BIO-key revenues double, African biometrics projects and partner program boost outlook

BIO-key has announced major revenue gains in its results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, doubling its earnings from the same quarter a year ago, from $535,000 to $1,064,000, largely due to a boost from deployments of PortalGuard, the acquisition of which closed in mid-2020, both with and without BIO-key’s core biometric technology.

Overall, 2020 revenues for BIO-key grew by 25 percent to $2.8 million, with gross margins of 72 percent. Net loss for the quarter was $1.4 million, or $0.18 per share, compared to a loss of $9.5 million, or $5.29 per share, in Q4 2019. The net loss for full-year 2020 was just higher than the Q4 loss in 2019, at $9.8 million, or $2.08 per share. Net loss in 2019 was $14.6 million, or $8.21 per share.

Highlights since the company’s 2020 fiscal year ended include the deployment of BIO-key’s biometric authentication solution to secure a West Coast state’s voter database.

BIO-key CEO Michael DePasquale calls 2020 a transformational year for the company, with milestones achieved despite the disruption caused by COVID-19. He also noted the opportunity for BIO-key to help businesses and institutions address security challenges related to the shift to cloud solutions and remote working and learning.

“BIO-key is ideally suited to help enterprises meet these challenges with our attractively priced authentication and IAM solutions that support a wide array of multi-factor authentication options, including our core, patented biometric capabilities,” DePasquale says.

“Following a growing number of significant security breaches including SolarWinds, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recommended using multi-factor authentication strategies everywhere, and the FBI has specifically highlighted the benefits of biometrics for authentication,” he continues. “Our core strength and unique biometric capabilities set BIO-key apart from the competition, particularly as our technology is scalable to any size ID platform. Though we offer a very comprehensive suite of solutions, we continue to identify and evaluate other biometric forms and other FIDO factors that could further enhance our product suite.”

The company expects to book revenue of around $500,000 in Q1 from its operations in Nigeria, and DePasquale expects the newly-expanded BIO-key Channel Alliance Partner Program (CAP) to be a long-term growth driver. About 10 percent of BIO-key’s recurring revenue currently comes through the program, and the company hopes to increase that amount to 30 percent in the near future.

In fiscal 2021, BIO-key’s guidance is for revenues of between $8 million and $12 million, with upside depending on the pace of African contract fulfillment. That would mean gains over 2020 revenue of 250 percent, at the middle of the range.

The company had $17 million in cash reserves to fuel its growth plans as of the beginning of 2021.

BIO-key has also engaged Matter Communications as its public relations and marketing communications partner. Matter will support BIO-key with a range of brand awareness initiatives, according to the announcement.

Fingerprint companies announce share transactions

Elsewhere among publicly-traded fingerprint technology providers, Idex Biometrics has announced a share capital increase to NOK 137,508,072.75 (roughly US$15.9 million), divided among 916,720,485 shares valued at NOK 0.15 each, as part of its employee share purchase and incentive plan. Zwipe has published a notice of an insider share transaction, with Energetic AS, which is owned by CEO André Løvestam, acquiring 416,000 shares on Oslo and Stockholm exchanges.

Article Topics

access management  |  authentication  |  BIO-key  |  biometric software  |  biometrics  |  financial results  |  fingerprint recognition  |  identity management  |  stocks