On Friday, investment crowdfunding platform Symbid announced its full year 2015 financial results. The company revealed that its revenue increased by 28% over the past 12 months versus 2014.
Korstiaan Zandvliet, co-founder and CEO of Symbid Corp., stated:
“We are pleased to report continued revenue growth in what is a highly competitive global market. These results are a reflection of the increasingly diversified revenue streams available to the Company and our commitment to genuine financial innovation. With the launch of The Funding Network last year we grew from an investment crowdfunding platform into a go-to funding marketplace for small businesses. This ensured significant growth in both the number of businesses funded and entrepreneurs registered.
“Successfully executing upon the funding and business engagements with our strategic partners in 2016 would enable us to consolidate our present activities and accelerate our business expansion in the Netherlands and our European roll-out. As we look ahead to 2016, we intend to again deliver results consistent with our strategic vision of becoming the leading European online funding platform.”
Symbid also unveiled Key Business Highlights of 2015:
- Total revenue of $353,076 for fiscal year 2015, up 28% versus 2014, however a 16% decrease in the value of EUR(EUR) versus USD($) in 2015 compared to 2014 means the actual revenue growth in EUR was higher;
- Company reports continued growth in number of small businesses funded (up 17% versus 2014) and registered investors (up 28% versus 2014);
Company launched The Funding Network™ in March 2015, a data-driven capital market for start-ups and small businesses connecting various types of finance, alternative and traditional;- In 2015 the total funding volume of The Funding Network™ was $520 million with approximately 60 small businesses funded every week;
- The Company expanded its product portfolio with the launch of a loan crowdfunding (or peer-to-business lending) product in Q2 2015, from which the first revenues were recorded in that same quarter;
- In Q4 2015 the Company entered into a media partnership with RTL, a leading European entertainment company, to promote crowdfunding and small business financing on business television. The partnership involved an investment in media value with a view to a future strategic partnership;
- Several funding rounds were realized in 2015 through the issuance of shares and convertible notes;
- Further funding rounds and executions of strategic partnerships are sought for 2016 in order to ensure continuity, further growth and international expansion.
The 2015 results are shown below.
| Fiscal Years Ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 | |||||||||
| Year Ended December 31, |
|||||||||
| 2015 | 2014 | ||||||||
| Net Revenues | |||||||||
| Crowdfunding | $ | 282,155 | $ | 267,358 | |||||
| The Funding Network | 47,975 | – | |||||||
| Other | 22,946 | 8,967 | |||||||
| 353,076 | 276,325 | ||||||||
| Operating expenses | |||||||||
| Selling general and administrative | 1,543,827 | 2,166,028 | |||||||
| Professional fees | 721,963 | 776,243 | |||||||
| Research and development costs | 59,930 | 320,032 | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 145,543 | 70,517 | |||||||
| Bad debt expense (recoveries) | 36,292 | (14,349 | ) | ||||||
| 2,507,555 | 3,318,471 | ||||||||
| Operating loss | (2,154,479 | ) | (3,042,146 | ) | |||||
| Other income (expenses) | |||||||||
| Fair value adjustment derivative liability – warrants | (7,791 | ) | 291,662 | ||||||
| Interest expenses and amortization of debt discount | (148,509 | ) | (31,405 | ) | |||||
| Government subsidy | – | 10,962 | |||||||
| Gain on sale of investment in Gambitious B.V. | 11,504 | ||||||||
| Losses from equity method investments | – | (47,226 | ) | ||||||
| Other income and expense | – | (3,641 | ) | ||||||
| Total other income (expense) | (144,796 | ) | 220,352 | ||||||
| Net loss | (2,299,275 | ) | (2,821,794 | ) | |||||
Symbid also summarized the Full Year 2015 Financial Performance:
Total revenue grew by 28% versus 2014 to $353,076;- Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased by 29% year on year to $1,543,827 primarily due to a one-time issuance in 2014 of 1.5 million shares at the expense of $645,000 in relation to a strategic alliance with Fortion Holding B.V. (Credion);
- Research and development costs decreased by 81% year on year to $59,930 due to the Company’s investment in 2014 in the development of a cloud-based monitoring product, released in early 2015;
- Total operating expenses decreased by 24% year on year to $2,507,555;
- Net losses decreased by 19% year on year to $2,299,275.
In regards to 2016, Symbid is predicting the following:
- A partnership with leading financial advisory firm Credion was incorporated in 2014. The Company intends to intensify this cooperation in 2016;
- The Company intends to further exploit the possibilities of The Funding Network™, connecting traditional and alternative financing options through the integration of the Company’s private deal flow, monitoring and data services in one go-to platform for entrepreneurs and investors;
The ongoing release and integration of new products and services are expected to result in increased transaction-based revenues and new monthly recurring revenues, through the growth of the Company’s loan crowdfunding product and the monetization of its funding volume respectively;- In cooperation with a strategic partner the Company is developing an SME debt fund with a view to strengthening the Company’s loan crowdfunding product offering and anticipates a launch in Q3 of 2016;
- The Company is actively pursuing a capital raise strategy in order to accelerate the horizontal and vertical expansion of its funding platform and balance cash flow. 2015 saw the Company focus on the internal development of technology thereby creating long-term value through successful innovation. The Company intends to introduce more products from this financial technology portfolio to market in 2016.
