- INEO recorded over three million visitors across its INEO Welcoming Network in Western Canada equipped with the INEO Customer Welcoming System during the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2020
SURREY, BC, Oct. 20, 2020 /CNW/ - INEO Tech Corp. (TSXV: INEO) (the "Company" or "INEO"), an innovative provider of location-based digital advertising and analytics and operator of the patented INEO Welcoming Network, is pleased to announce it has filed its Annual Audited Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis on SEDAR.com for the Company's fiscal year and fourth quarter ended June 30, 2020.
"We made tremendous progress in commercializing and bringing our patented INEO Welcoming Network to market in Fiscal 2020," said Greg Watkin, Chairman and Founder of INEO. "We are extremely proud of our achievements over the past year including listing on the TSX Venture Exchange and completing a $2.8M RTO financing. We also persevered through the government mandated COVID-19 shutdown and emerged with a healthy balance sheet and a strong pipeline of retailers to add to our INEO Welcoming Network. INEO's focus on essential retail locations has positioned the Company to be one of the few location-based Digital-Out-of-Home advertising options available which allows brands to display their messaging in an impactful way."
Fiscal 2020 Financial Highlights:
- INEO generated $526,954 of revenue for the year ended June 30, 2020, representing an increase of 24.2% as compared revenue of $424,312 for the year ended June 30, 2019. The increase in revenue is primarily attributable to an increase in the Company's online sales of loss prevention products and product sales from the new cashier protection barrier products.
- INEO achieved gross margin for the year ended June 30, 2020 of 54.1%, as compared to gross margin of 64.5% for the year ended June 30, 2019. The reduction in the Company's gross margin is attributable to a change in the sales mix of the Company's loss prevention products as a result of the social distancing restrictions implemented by retailers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Net loss for the year ended June 30, 2020 was $5,763,004 or $0.25 per share compared to net loss of $170,853 or $0.01 per share for the year ended June 30, 2019. The Company's losses increased in 2020 due to a non-cash loss of $4,804,407 attributable to the Reverse Takeover (RTO) transaction.
- INEO had $1,252,638 in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2020, compared to $72,836 as of June 30, 2019. The increase in the Company's cash position is attributed to the proceeds from the RTO offering.
- As of June 30, 2020, the Company had 40,680,740 shares issued and outstanding.
Fiscal 2020 Business Highlights:
- On August 26, 2019, INEO announced its name change from Flashgate Technology Inc. to INEO Solutions Inc. and the rebranding of its flagship product to the INEO Welcoming Network.
- On January 24, 2020, INEO completed its RTO transaction with Metron Capital Corp. (renamed INEO Tech Corp.), and on January 29, 2020, INEO's common shares commenced trading on the TSX-V under the new ticker symbol "INEO".
- As part of the RTO Transaction INEO completed a private placement offering resulting in the issuance of 8,048,498 subscription receipts of the Company at a price of CDN $0.35 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $2,816,974.
- On February 3, 2020, INEO announced the appointment of Steve Matyas to the Company's Board of Directors. Matyas has vast retail management, operations and executive leadership experience including 27 years at STAPLES, where he held several senior leadership roles including the CEO of STAPLES Retail.
- On April 23, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") granted Patent no. US 10,614,691 to INEO, entitled "COMBINATION MEDIA DISPLAY AND ELECTRONIC ARTICLE SURVEILLANCE PEDESTAL".
- On May 5, 2020, the Company completed its acquisition of Newman Loss Prevention ("Newman"), an independent reseller of loss prevention products and services in Calgary, Alberta for total consideration of 200,000 common shares in the Company with a future earn-out consideration of another 200,000 INEO common shares. Newman serves over 200 retail locations giving INEO a total inventory of over 600 legacy retail locations which are potential locations to expand the INEO Welcoming Network.
- INEO recorded a peak of 1.1 million visitors across its network of independent liquor retailers in the month of March 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 shut-down as it's liquor retail customers' businesses saw a surge in traffic. During the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2020, the Company recorded over three million foot-traffic visitors across the INEO Welcoming Network.
Subsequent Events to June 30, 2020
- On July 15, 2020, INEO announced the launch and commercial availability of the industry's first wireless version of the INEO Welcoming Network, which significantly simplifies the installation process, reducing in-store installation time from over four hours down to less than one hour.
- On August 19, 2020, INEO announced the appointment of Serge Gattesco to the Company's Board of Directors. Gattesco has immense audit, strategy, profitability and operations experience as the former Canadian Managing Partner of Strategy and Operations for PwC Canada and as the Canadian Managing Partner for PwC Canada's Audit and Assurance Group.
- On September 29, 2020, INEO announced a partnership with Consumer Media Solutions Inc. ("CMS"), a Toronto-based media sales organization. CMS will take over the day to day activities of selling the advertising inventory on the INEO Welcoming Network placed at the entrance of retail stores.
Outlook
Since the re-opening of the retail sector after the initial COVID-19 shutdown, INEO has expanded its INEO Welcoming Network installations and doubled the size of its network from 30 to 60 retail locations. INEO expects to continue on this rapid pace until the end of the calendar year as the Company has a backlog of 40 more retail locations ready to upgrade from traditional Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) scanners to INEO's industry leading INEO Welcoming Network. The recently announced advertising partnership with CMS will increase INEO's advertising revenue and provide scale without having to add sales and marketing payroll headcount. Meanwhile INEO continues to seek out additional loss prevention resellers for future acquisition targets.
Kyle Hall, CEO of INEO commented, "We are working quickly to expand our retail network and product offering. At the same time, we are landing customers, advertisers and deploying systems. We have developed a solid network of independent liquor stores which has given us a large, consistent base for proving our business model while at the same time capturing valuable data, improving our artificial intelligence (AI) technology and enhancing our operational capabilities. Our objective is to turn this base of liquor stores into larger national and international retailers in many retail verticals in the coming years."
About INEO Tech Corp.
INEO Tech Corp., through its wholly owned subsidiary, INEO Solutions Inc., provides retailers with the INEO Welcoming Network, a patented in-store and online location-based advertising network that enhances the customer experience, monetizes the entrances of retail stores and protects against retail theft. The INEO Welcoming Network is a revolutionary cloud-based digital advertising and data analytics system, which sends customized advertising to digital screens integrated with theft detection sensor gates at the entrance of retail stores. INEO is headquartered in Surrey, Canada and publicly traded on the TSX-Venture Exchange under the symbol "INEO". For more information please visit www.ineosolutionsinc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the disclosure document, any information released or received with respect to the Company may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative.
This news release contains forward-looking information, which involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectations. Important factors – including the availability of funds, acceptance of the Company's products, competition, and general market conditions – that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in the Company's documents filed on SEDAR, including the Company's Filing Statement dated January 20, 2020 (see www.sedar.com). Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE INEO Tech Corp.
Pardeep Sangha, Investor Relations, INEO Tech Corp., [email protected], (604) 572-6392
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