Year End Report 2018, Heliospectra AB ( publ)

GOTHENBURG, Sweden / SAN FRANCISCO, CA, February 22, 2019 –

Heliospectra AB (publ) (OTCQB: HLSPY, FIRSTNORTH: HELIO), a world leader in intelligent lighting technology for greenhouse and controlled plant growth environments, are today presenting its Year-End Report for 2018.

Financial Report

October-December:

· Net sales amounted to KSEK 11,083 (16,489)
· Operating profit/loss was KSEK -12,020 (-7,478), involving a negative operating margin (neg)
· Profit/loss after tax was KSEK -12,030 (-7,470) or SEK -0,34 (-0,21) per share
· Operating cash flow was KSEK -4,790 (-3,556). Total cash flow was KSEK -7,025 (-4,543).

January-December:

· Net turnover was KSEK 45,370 (36,039)
· Operating profit/loss was KSEK -33,251 (-33,089) involving a negative operating margin (neg)
· Profit/loss after tax was KSEK -33,303 (-33,171) or SEK -0.95 (-0.94) per share
· Operating cash flow was KSEK –25,588 (-29,511). Total cash flow was KSEK -29,468 (-32,307). 

Important Events

January – March

April - June

July - September

October - December

Events since the end of the period

CEO’s Comments

Dear Shareholders of Heliospectra AB (publ),

2018 was a critical year for Heliospectra as we strengthened the foundation of our company to ensure that we execute against our strategic objectives. In the second half of the year we went through a reorganization which resulted in building a highly efficient, global team focused on generating revenue and working closely with growers and customers to truly understand their needs. The introduction of helioCARETM, our technical services, at the beginning of 2018 is one such example. Besides creating a new revenue stream helioCARE adds value to current and new customers and strengthen our position as thought leaders. We further the commercial advancement of helioCORE™ and Heliospectra’s world-class integrated and connected LED lighting solutions.  

During 2018, we proactively responded to market demand generated from urbanization and population growth as well as food security policies and other public/private initiatives driving economic diversification and resource conservation. Vertical farming has accelerated the need for integrated solutions with food growers worldwide. Based on Heliospectra’s observations and market engagement, we introduced our new SIERA light bar family in Q2. With SIERA product now shipping, we predict the series will be an industry leader based on product performance and results to date. Moreover, our industry-leading technology was selected and specified for several milestone projects during 2018, including installation at one of the world’s top five largest LED horticultural facilities for medicinal crops.

As I reported last quarter, we realized as our company develops that we must focus our work and growth on fewer, but much larger-scale customers and facilities. This required us to partner with suppliers who can deliver higher volumes at far greater efficiency. At the end of Q3.2018, we finalized our transition and are now working with a new global manufacturer with highly scalable capacity in Sweden. As was expected and reported, this achievement and transition presented our company with some interim challenges in order fulfillment and affected our gross margin. This transformation forced us to prioritize orders and our existing customers so that we did have to turn away some new inquiries. With our new capacity and supply chain in place, Heliospectra is well-positioned to offer our products in larger volume with improved delivery time and a more favorable gross margin.

While Heliospectra invested in upgrading our technology platforms and manufacturing capacities in 2018, we managed to improve net sales by 26 percent, order intake by 9 percent compared to 2017 while operating loss remained unchanged. We further improved our working capital in 2018 compared to last year. The fact that we ask customers to pay for orders in advance of delivery also supports our favorable working capital. This has strengthened our capital efficiency by minimizing risks to accounts receivables and significantly reducing the bad debt costs. While our gross margin did drop 4 percentage points due to some strategic pricing decisions and the supply chain transition that phased out raw materials no longer used, Heliospectra is now poised for more efficient and streamlined production and standardized pricing which will positively impact COGS and margins moving forward.  

Today I am confident that we have built a solid foundation to scale our business and respond to the fast-growing market. Looking ahead, I view 2019 with confidence as a year that we will harvest the results of our efforts and persistence. This is supported by our highest-quality product portfolio and our world-class team. We will continue creating customer value and exceeding customer expectations to grow our market presence.

In closing, I appreciate the steadfast support of our stakeholders. Your guidance and contributions along with the hard work of the Heliospectra team in 2018 have positioned our company as the industry leader and value-driven company that will dominate the horticultural lighting and technology markets for years to come.

Ali Ahmadian, CEO

Heliospectra AB (publ) 

To read the full report visit: http://ir.heliospectra.com/en/reports-downloads/

Investor Relations:

Ali Ahmadian, CEO of Heliospectra | +46 (0)72 203 6344 | ir@heliospectra.com

Redeye is Heliospectra Certified Advisor for Nasdaq First North - www.redeye.se
Certifiedadviser@redeye.se | +46 (0)8 121 576 90

http://www.heliospectra.com

Heliospectra AB (publ) (OTCQB: HLS, FIRST NORTH: HELIO) is the global leader in intelligent lighting technology, light control systems and related services for greenhouse and controlled plant growth environments. With the vision to make commercial crop production more connected and resource-efficient, Heliospectra integrates customized LED spectral strategies with real-time response and artificial intelligence to create predictable and reliable business forecasts and harvest results. Founded in 2006, Heliospectra is committed to helping growers and commercial producers across six continents consistently increase yields and produce crops with quality appearance, superior nutritional or medicinal value and longer shelf life, harvest after harvest. Heliospectra is the recipient of multiple international awards and recognitions. For more information, please visit https://www.heliospectra.com.  

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. Such statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control. In addition, such forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions with respect to future business strategies and decisions that are subject to change. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, technical advances in the industry as well as political and economic conditions present within the industry. We do not take any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or developments after a forward-looking statement was made.

This information is information that Heliospectra AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08:00 CEST / 1 AM CDT on February 22nd 2019.


wkr0006.pdf

Heliospectra Year End Report 2018.pdf