Tern Plc (AIM: TERN), the investment company specialising in the Internet of Things, is pleased to announce its final results for the year ended 31 December 2018.
Operational highlights
- New investment made in IoT business: FVRVS Limited (“FundamentalVR”)
- Notable commercial success in portfolio including new customer contracts for Device Authority Limited(“DA”) and a development agreement signed by FundamentalVR with the Mayo Clinic, USA. DA, FundamentalVR and InVMA Limited all continued to grow theirrevenues
- Year-on-year turnover of principal portfolio companies from 2017 to 2018 increased by 58% (2016 to 2017: 126%)
- Year-on-year increase in employees within principal portfolio companies from 2017 to 2018 was 52% (2016 to 2017: 55%)
- Placing in July 2018 to raise £2.9 million before expenses, brought total fundraising in 2018 to £6 million before expenses (excluding funds secured through convertible loan note)
- Net asset value increased, overheads kept under control:
*Total assets 2018: £17,009,220 (2017: £11,069,300)
*Net assets 2018: £16,751,773 (2017: £10,580,802)
*Loss 2018: £312,564 (2017: £1,689,555 loss)
Commenting on the results, Tern CEO, Al Sisto said:
“As one of the only dedicated investors in the high-growth IoT sector on AIM, Tern provides investors with an opportunity to capitalise on the rapid growth of the IoT sector. With this in mind, we are pleased to see the NAV of our portfolio increase and our loss for the period decrease. Tern prides itself on its proactive approach to working with its investment companies, and the collaborative environment created through this way of working has delivered benefits for our portfolio during the period and post-period end.”
“Turnover and the number of employees across our principal portfolio companies continues to grow, and we have diversified our portfolio through the addition of FundamentalVR. We are very pleased with the commercial successes delivered by this new investment, as well as our other portfolio companies, and look forward to building our portfolio’s NAV further in the year ahead. Having strengthened our financial position during the year, we are now well-placed to deliver additional diversification. This will be a priority and, having refined our investment strategy to focus on companies who provide commercial solutions to the healthcare industry and industrial use cases where safety and regulatory compliance are important market requirements, we feel we are well placed to invest in companies who operate in high-growth segments of the IoT market.”
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our shareholders for their continued support and enthusiasm, our portfolio employees for their commitment, and our Directors for their dedication to the Company and its ongoing mission.” tern