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WISeKey Reports its 2015 Financial Results and Provides Business Update

2015 a transitional year for WISeKey, laying the foundation for substantial growth in its three business verticals Cybersecurity Services, Mobile Security and Internet of Things / Digital Brand Management WISeKey expects revenues between USD 50m and USD 60m in 2016
Zug, Switzerland, 30 April 2016
WISeKey International Holding Ltd (“WIHN”, “WISeKey” or the “Company”) announced today its full year financial results for the period ending December 31, 2015. Investors may download the 2015 Annual Report from https://www.wisekey.com/investors/reports/annual-reports/

  • The financial year 2015 was a transitional year for the WISeKey Group as expected. Despite the distraction due the reorganization of the Group, including the establishment of the Group’s new holding company, WISeKey International Holding AG, in December last year and the strategic repositioning of the Group towards a listing on the Swiss Market in Q1 2016, WISeKey’s  2015 revenues of USD 2.3 million compared to 2014 revenues of USD 3.5 million. It is important to note that, although small, this revenue is mainly generated by cybersecurity IoT sales which is an entirely new revenue model introduced by the Group in 2014/15, and we believe we are currently the only cybersecurity company in the market knowing how to monetize this type of technology. Further the operating loss was substantially reduced from USD 32.6 million in 2014 to USD 6.8 million in 2015.
  • Being cognizant of the considerable growth opportunities and in anticipation of the listing of WISeKey at the SIX Swiss Exchange at the end of March this year, the Company raised another USD 7.7 million in equity. In addition, as announced in January 2016, the Company has secured a CHF 60 million (USD 53 million) equity financing facility from institutional investor Global Emerging Markets GEM. The Company thus feels financially well positioned to take advantage of the substantial opportunities based on organic and acquisition-driven growth.
  • In 2015 and in the first months of 2016 WISeKey achieved major milestones in its three core verticals Cybersecurity Services, Mobile Security and Internet of Things (IoT) / Digital Brand Management. Based on the signing of material contracts and co-operation agreements with global customers and strategic partners, WISeKey has secured a significant portion of projected revenues with accounts such as MasterCard, Microsoft, The Bancorp, CenturyLink, Hublot, Bulgari, and Samsung, corresponding to an expected turnover in 2016 of CHF 50 – 60 million.
  • As part of its Internet of Things and Digital Brand Management push, in 2015 WISeKey announced co-operations with Bulgari to implement its WISeKey’s IoT© technology which is used to identify watches electronically and continued its cooperation with Hublot on the protection against counterfeiting. Today, more than 1 million watches are digitally “tagged” by WISeKey and this trend will accelerate in 2016 with the announcement with MasterCard to bring payments to luxury brand watches and wearables providing more options to consumers to securely using connected fashionable and functional accessories. In 2015 WISeKey and Bulgari launched the first ever intelligent mechanical watch using WISeKey’s IoT© technology which allows the watch to execute payments and other transactions without using a mobile phone or other devices connected to the internet. This first ever connected device using a mechanical watch with no batteries is a breakthrough which allows WISeKey technologies to be embedded in all wearables with a market amounting to an estimated USD 1.7 trillion. The Internet of Things (IoT) security market is expected to grow from $6.89 billion in 2015 to nearly $29 billion by 2020, according to a report published by Markets and Markets. Research and advisory firm Technavio’s analysts forecast the global IoT security market to grow at a CAGR of nearly 55​% over the period 2014-2019.
  • The IoT will increasingly rely on secure cloud computing, and IoT smart devices with sensors built in, along with the millions of related applications to support them. The problem is that the truly integrated cybersecurity environments needed to support this connected devices do not exist, and cloud computing is in need of serious improvement, especially in terms of security. WISeKey’s cryptographic Root of Trust and its NFCTrusted© technology enable these wearable devices to connect safely and make secure payments and other transactions. The announced partnership with MasterCard will enable contactless payments of luxury brand watches and wearables, and is exemplary of how payments functionality can deliver transformative more value for a variety of device manufacturers, and create safe and convenient shopping experiences for their consumers. MasterCard will integrate its payments technology with WISeKey’s cryptographic Root of Trust for IoT and NFCTrusted© technology solutions, providing consumers with the freedom to securely shop using their favorite watch or wearable, opening the door to additional e-commerce and marketing opportunities.
  • In September of 2015, WISeKey established its presence with an office in Silicon Valley in order to be closer to its US customers and establish strategic relationships with major partners. This initiative has led to the signing of an agreement in April 2016 with CenturyLink, Inc., a global communications, hosting, cloud and IT services company. CenturyLink will resell WISeKey’s portfolio of cybersecurity solutions, including its Managed Public Key Infrastructure technology and services, in order to better serve and support the growing number of enterprise and IoT customers in the US and globally. WISeKey expects this collaboration with a Fortune 150 US company to significantly expand its reach and ignite substantial revenue growth in the major US market.


Carlos Moreira, Founder, Chairman and CEO of WIHN stated: “The year 2015 was a transitional year for WISeKey as expected. Several important initiatives designed to take advantage of the vast amount of opportunities on a global scale have been completed, feel comfortable to monetize on the strong underlying cybersecurity and cybersecurity/IoT trends in 2016 and beyond. For this we have expanded and enhanced our position in Switzerland as a global cybersecurity hub, setting the path for substantial top and bottom line growth in 2016. Furthermore, global in early 2016, we secured a CHF 60 million equity financing facility from a consortium of international institutional investors led by Global Emerging Markets GEM, which was followed by the listing on the SIX Swiss Exchange on March 31, 2016.  We thus feel financially well positioned to take advantage of the substantial opportunities based on organic and acquisition-driven growth, thereby creating shareholder value. We look forward to reporting on our progress in the coming months.”
About WISeKey
WISeKey is a worldwide leading cybersecurity company. Since its foundation in 1999, WISeKey has provided specialized technologies for data protection and effective identification and authentication of people and objects to ensure secured communications and transactions without compromising trust. WISeKey runs its own Root of Trust cybersecurity platform and identity-based data security solutions for international organizations, governments, enterprises, and consumers spanning 102 countries. In 2015 its Root of Trust based security was embedded in over 2.6 billion browsers, sensors and wearables. WISeKey also offers the industry’s trusted suite of IoT security products using the fact that authentication is becoming an increasingly important cybersecurity IoT consideration. WISeKey, listed at the SIX Swiss Exchange, is headquartered in Geneva (Switzerland) and has a second operational hub in the U.S. In 2015 WISeKey has been selected as a Global Growth Company Partner of the World Economic Forum.
For further information, please contact:
WISeKey International Holding Ltd:
Carlos Moreira
Chairman & CEO
Tel: +41 22 594 3000
cmoreira@wisekey.com
Disclaimer:
This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey.