Tekcapital Reports Strong Financial Results for Half-Year 2021 with Significant Increases in Net Assets, NAV per Share and Revenue

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

Tekcapital plc TEKCFTEK), a U.K. intellectual property investment group focused on transforming university discoveries into valuable products to improve quality of life, has reported strong results for its 2021 half year.

The results for the 6-month period ending May 31, 2021, show the company recording impressive growth in all key areas despite the COVID-19 pandemic slowing revenue and growth of most businesses worldwide.

Tekcapital creates value from investing in new, university-developed discoveries that can enhance people’s lives and provides a range of technology transfer services to help organizations evaluate and commercialize new technologies.

During the half-year, Tekcapital net assets increased by 56% to $51.1 million as against $32.7 million the company reported on November 30, 2020. Tekcapital also saw the value of its NAV per share increase from $0.35 to $0.39 per share.

On the revenue front, Tekcapital’s total revenue jumped from $2.9 million during the 1st half of 2020 to $14.5 million while there was a net increase of $13.8 million in fair value of portfolio companies.

Revenue from services also grew from $557,684 at half-year 2020 to $715,323. Tekcapital recorded a profit before tax of $13 million as against $1.9 million in the same period last year.

Tekcapital also completed a placing of 38,000,000 new ordinary shares at a price of 10 pence each to raise $5.28 million before expenses on March 18, 2021. The company also had a cash position of $2.5 million as of May 31, 2021.

“We are glad to report strong half-year performance for the group. Our key portfolio companies are progressing well and should reach significant additional milestones by the end of 2021,” Dr. Clifford Gross, chairman of Tekcapital, commented. 

He added, “We are also pleased to highlight Belluscura’s successful IPO during the period. We’re excited about what we have achieved in the first half of 2021 and are bullish about our prospects for the remainder of the year.”

See the financial results for half-year 2021 below:

Financial Highlights

• Net assets increased 56% to $51.1 million (November 30, 2020: $32.7 million)
• NAV per share $0.39 (November 30, 2020: $0.35)
• Total revenue of $14.5 million (H1 2020: $2.9 million)
  • Net increase of $13.8 million in fair value of portfolio companies
  • Revenue from services $715,323 (H1 2020: $557,684)
• Profit before tax of $13 million (H1 2020: $1.9 million)
• Completed a placing of 38,000,000 new ordinary shares of 0.4 pence in the Company (“Ordinary Shares”) at a price of 10 pence each to raise $5.28 million before expenses on March, 18, 2021
• Cash position of $2.5 million as of May, 31 2021

Operational Highlights: Portfolio Companies

Belluscura® Plc (“Belluscura”) (15% ownership) 

• On March 8, 2021, Belluscura plc announced the receipt of 510(k) Clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its X-PLO2R™ portable oxygen concentrator.
• In April 2021, Tekcapital converted its warrants and options held in Belluscura for new ordinary shares of 1 pence each in Belluscura, bringing total shares held to 17.1 million.
• On May 28, 2021, Belluscura consummated its IPO and began trading on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange. At the IPO price of 45 pence per Belluscura share, Tekcapital's holding was worth about $10.8 million, compared to the book value of $2 million as at November 30, 2020.

Lucyd® Ltd (“Lucyd”) 

• On January 6, 2021, Lucyd announced the launch of Lucyd® Lyte™, its tech-enhanced, prescription eyewear for active lifestyles. As of the date of this report Lucyd Lytes have received more than 200 total 5-star ratings on Amazon and Lucyd.co websites.
• On March 22, 2021, Lucyd announced it had signed a distribution agreement with D. Landstrom Associates, to build distribution of Lucyd Lyte™ bluetooth e-glasses in big box retail stores in the U.S.
• OnApril 1, 2021, Lucyd announced that its U.S. subsidiary Innovative Eyewear Inc had closed an over-subscribed Regulation Crowdfund, raising approximately $1 million. Following completion of the crowdfund, Lucyd owned 75% of shares of Innovative Eyewear Inc.
• On May 5, 2021, Innovative Eyewear Inc announced the hiring of Frank Rescigna, head of global sales, Ken Strominger, director of sports and electronics marketing, and Alex Rivera, manager of graphics and photography, expanding its go-to-market capabilities following the successful crowdfund.

Tekcapital owns 100% of shares of Lucyd. Lucyd owns approximately 80% of shares in Innovative Eyewear, its U.S. operating subsidiary.

Guident Ltd (“Guident”) 

• On May 5, 2021, Guident demonstrated its low-latency vehicle control software to power its Remote Monitoring and Control Center (RMCC). This is expected to be used in its first RMCC for Autonomous Vehicles (AVs), to be launched later this year in Boca Raton, Florida. The RMCC will be able to monitor multiple vehicles from a remote, secure monitoring center, akin to air traffic control for ground-based vehicles.
• During H1 2021, the company defined its go-to-market strategy and engaged advisors with relevant industry experience.
• During H1 2021, the company has also progressed the engineering development of its prototype regenerative shock absorbers.

Tekcapital owns 100% of shares of Guident. Guident owns approximately 91% of shares in Guident Corp, its U.S. operating subsidiary.

Salarius® Ltd (“Salarius”) 

• On December 2, 2020, Salarius successfully launched its innovative SaltMe!® snack line on Amazon in North America, with demonstrable sales growth since the launch.
• On February 5, 2021, MicroSalt, Inc, a U.S. subsidiary of Salarius, began its Regulation Crowdfunding program on the MicroVentures platform, where it is seeking to raise approximately $750,000 at a $5 million pre-money valuation (with approximately $600,000 raised to date).
• On March 10, 2021, Salarius announced it had appointed Eduardo Souchon as vice president of business development and Jay Shah, M.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist as a medical advisor.
• During the period, the company progressed its B2B sales pipeline for MicroSalt®, including advancement to pricing discussions and successful development of different flavor mixes using MicroSalt® for a number of snack manufacturers.

Tekcapital owns 97.2% ownership of Salarius. Salarius owns approximately 80% of shares in MicroSalt Inc, its U.S. operating subsidiary.

Operational Highlights: Corporate

As part of our continuing efforts to develop our team and expand our services:

• Tekcapital participated as sponsor and exhibitor at the virtual 2021 Canadian Region Meeting by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), where hundreds of tech transfer professionals and industry experts met. 
• Tekcapital participated as sponsor and exhibitor at the virtual 2021 Central Region Meeting held by AUTM. 
• Tekcapital delivered a successful webinar series, "The Impact of Nanotechnology," to more than 60 participants from the technology and innovations ecosystem in Latin America (LATAM).
• Tekcapital has delivered more than 100 Invention Evaluator reports to assess the market potential of new university technologies in 2021.

Post Period End Highlights:

On July 5, 2021, Lucyd’s U.S. operating company, Innovative Eyewear, signed an exclusive purchase and distribution agreement with 8 Points Inc, a subsidiary of Marca Eyewear Group Inc., a leading Canadian eyewear distributor that provides high-end eyewear for optical stores and eyecare professionals. This agreement sets out a minimum purchase requirement of $4.6 million worth of Lucyd® Lyte® e-glasses over 30 months, to maintain retail distribution exclusivity in Canada.

Post period end, Innovative Eyewear launched its 2nd crowdfund with StartEngine LLC at a $20 million pre-money valuation, raising over $100,000 as of the date of this report.

A detailed report of the Financial Results for Half-Year 2021 can be found here.

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and Skyline Corporate Communications Group, LLC, a financial partner of Benzinga. This article/video is a paid sponsorship by investor relations agency Skyline Corporate Communications Group, LLC, which is paid by Tekcapital plc TEKCF for providing investor relations and corporate communications services relating to the Company’s securities.

Please see Skyline's 17(b) Disclaimer and Disclosure Statement here: https://skylineccg.com/disclosures/.

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