AGM statement

RNS Number : 2729J

Location Sciences Group PLC

09 April 2020

 

Location Sciences Group PLC
("Location Sciences" or the "Company")

AGM Statement

Location Sciences (AIM: LSAI), the leading location data verification company, is holding its Annual General Meeting ("AGM") at 9.00am today at 20 Eastbourne Terrace, Paddington London W2 6LG. Ahead of the formal business of the AGM, Kelvin Harrison, Non-Executive Chairman of Location Sciences, will make the following statement:.

"The COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on businesses across the world and Location Sciences, while being a software company, is not immune to these effects. While half of our revenues are fixed monthly fees, and therefore relatively secure, the other half are based on the volume of location advertising.

"Location Sciences' existing customer base is largely within the QSR (quick service restaurants), retail and leisure sectors, which have all been significantly impacted by the UK Government's restrictions. Consequently, while Q1 performance was in-line with the Board's expectations, the Directors anticipate Q2 revenues to be lower than previously expected. However, the Company's annual revenues are typically heavily weighted towards Q4, therefore the Directors expect to recover some of those Q2 lost revenues as brands seek to make up lost ground in the latter part of 2020.

"Shareholders should take comfort that, as a cloud-based software business, Location Sciences, which operates in four locations globally, has not seen a material impact on its core operations or services. It is well placed to act on the opportunities it sees in the marketplace.

"One such opportunity is to use the Company's location technology and considerable knowhow to assist the UK Government in understanding the effects of its policies, as well as to be part of any track and trace COVID-19 solution. The Directors are actively working with the Company's partners, and reaching out directly to the UK Government, to inform its decision making. The ultimate aim is to be part of a technology solution to supress the spread of COVID-19 while allowing some form of normality to return to the economy and to everyday lives. The Directors will keep shareholders updated on any material developments in this regard.

"With Q2 revenues likely to be lower than previously expected, the Company has also undertaken certain cost cutting measures. These include putting the Company's marketing and business development budgets on hold until there is greater visibility on when revenues are expected to return to normal levels. There is also considerable effort going into product development, which runs alongside our MRC accreditation process. Consequently, our engineering teams have never been busier. Since the year end, the Company has moved some of its engineering and data science team to the Ukraine, which gives us access to high calibre talent at competitive rates, as well as a degree of flexibility when demand increases for customer deliverables. In combination with the rationalisation programme undertaken in H2 2019, there are now only 16 full time staff serving four global locations. The Directors will monitor the need for more cost cutting depending on how long it takes for revenues to return to previous levels.

"Lastly, and on a personal note, while the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt by businesses globally, the personal impact of those affected is by far the most significant. It is with great sadness that I report that one of our longstanding shareholders passed away from the virus on Monday. All our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time. Please take care and heed the Government's advice; by all pulling in the same direction we will get through this together."

For further information please contact: 

Location Sciences Group PLC	via Milk and Honey PR
Mark Slade, Chief Executive Officer
David Rae, Chief Financial Officer
Shore Capital (Nomad and Joint Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Tom Griffiths
David Coaten
Peterhouse Capital (Joint Broker) Charles Goodfellow Eran Zucker	Tel: [phone]
Milk & Honey PR	Tel: [phone]
Kirsty Leighton
Jessica Ballinger

The person making this notification on behalf of the Company is David Rae, Chief Financial Officer of the Company.

About Location Sciences

Location Sciences is the pre-eminent global location verification provider to the $190 billion digital advertising industry, working in partnership with brands, media agencies and suppliers to reduce ad wastage and improve the effectiveness of location-based advertising campaigns.

The digital advertising marketplace remains unregulated and unmonitored, with an estimated $19 billion wasted on ad fraud in 2018. Location Sciences has developed Verify, the world's first independent location verification product. Utilising sophisticated machine learning and pattern recognition technologies, Verify detects location ad fraud and shines a light on location data inaccuracy with the aim of bringing back integrity, transparency and trust to the market place.

 

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