21 May 2020 07:00
21 May 2020
Kape Technologies plc
("Kape," or the "Company")
AGM Statement
Kape (AIM: KAPE), the digital security and privacy software business, provides an update ahead of its Annual General Meeting ("AGM") at 12.00 p.m. today. As noted in the Company's Notice of AGM announcement, the meeting is being convened with the minimum quorum of only one Director and one other shareholder in attendance. Shareholders must not attend the meeting in person.
At the meeting, Ido Erlichman, Chief Executive Officer of Kape, will make the following statement:
"I'm pleased to report that Kape has made a strong start to 2020, despite the global macroeconomic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As announced on 31 March 2020, Kape has experienced increased demand for its products as working remotely has become commonplace across the globe in response to COVID-19. Within the Digital Privacy segment, new monthly sign-ups in April 2020 increased by 19% to the comparable period in 2019 on a proforma basis. The Company remains on track to deliver revenues of $120-123 million and Adjusted EBITDA1 of $35-38 million in 2020.
The integration of PIA continues to progress to plan and management are confident in delivering at least the $3.5-4.5 million in cost synergies, as outlined at the time of the acquisition, in the current financial year. Kape's server infrastructure is now fully integrated into PIA, and a technology revamp has been completed enabling a faster and broader service to PIA's customers with the number of PIA's server locations increased from 29 to 46. In addition, we are already seeing an uplift in the growth of new users from the implementation of Kape's user acquisition knowhow and technology.
In March 2020, we announced a new debt facility which significantly improved financial flexibility by providing the Company with additional growth capital. I am pleased to confirm that the temporary bridging loan from Unikmind, which was put in place in order to facilitate the timely acquisition of PIA, has now been fully repaid.
The Company has continued to make significant strides in its product development roadmap. A new encrypted WireGuard protocol has been introduced across our Digital Privacy division, which is an industry-first and has improved the speed of our solutions by c. 30%. A number of solutions are also currently in beta testing and are already receiving positive feedback from users. This includes the addition of cross-platform privacy features and tools to Kape's Digital Privacy suite, to further optimise Kape's recurring revenue stream by increasing user engagement and retention.
Further progress has also been made in Kape's Digital Security offering, with the expansion of its endpoint protection capabilities through the addition of the upcoming solution for MS Windows. It is expected to be launched during Q2 2020 and will join the Company's current MacOS endpoint solution, increasing Kape's capabilities to protect a wider range of customers. We look forward to updating the market once these solutions are formally launched.
From an operational perspective, as social distancing measures begin to ease in certain locations, the Company has reopened a number of regional offices in accordance with local guidance, with the remainder of the Company continuing to successfully work remotely.
Management continues to monitor COVID-19 closely and despite its impact on the global economy, remains confident in the future growth prospects of the Company."
Enquiries:
Kape Technologies plc Ido Erlichman, Chief Executive Officer Moran Laufer, Chief Financial Officer
| via Vigo Communications |
Shore Capital (Nominated Adviser & Broker) Mark Percy / Toby Gibbs / James Thomas
| +44 (0)20 7408 4090 |
N+1 Singer (Joint Broker) Harry Gooden / George Tzimas
| +44 (0)20 7496 3000 |
Vigo Communications (Financial Public Relations) Jeremy Garcia / Antonia Pollock kape@vigocomms.com | +44 (0)20 7390 0237 |
About Kape
Kape is a leading 'privacy-first' digital security software provider to consumers. Through its range of privacy and security products, Kape focusses on protecting consumers and their personal data as they go about their daily digital lives.
To date, Kape has over 2 million paying subscribers, supported by a team of over 350 people across eight locations worldwide. Kape has a proven track record of revenue and EBITDA growth, underpinned by a strong business model which leverages our digital marketing expertise.
Through our subscription-based platform, Kape has fast established a highly scalable SaaS-based operating model, geared towards capitalising on the vast global consumer digital privacy market.
www.kape.com
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1 Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure and a company specific measure which excludes other operating income and expenses which are considered to be one off and non-recurring in nature.