GEREGLEMENTEERDE INFORMATIE EN VOORWETENSCHAP
Crescent halfjaarresultaten 2019
Leuven, België – 30 september 2019 – 7u30 - Crescent (EURONEXT: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY)
H1 Highlights
De omzet van de groep stijgt met 14% naar 8,9 miljoen EUR in vergelijking met 7,8 miljoen EUR in het eerste halfjaar van 2018
- De EBITDA bedraagt 0,5 miljoen EUR in het eerste semester in vergelijking met 0,3 miljoen EUR in het eerste halfjaar van 2018
- Begin juli heeft Crescent UEST NV overgenomen, (www.zembro.com)
- De groep handhaaft haar vooruitzichten van een omzetgroei met dubbele cijfers voor 2019 met een positieve EBITDA
Resultaten van het eerste halfjaar
De omzet van de groep kwam uit op 8.903 k€, in vergelijking met 7.838 k€ in het eerste halfjaar van 2018 en een EBITDA van 525 k€, in vergelijking met 300 k€ in het eerste halfjaar van vorig jaar. De pro-forma omzet in het eerste halfjaar 2018 kwam uit op 9.966 k€ met een EBITDA van -508 k€. De pro-forma resultaten van de groep van 2018 worden voorgesteld alsof alle vennootschappen die op 30 juni 2019 in de consolidatiekring zijn opgenomen, een volledig halfjaar hebben bijgedragen tot de resultaten.
(De gerapporteerde omzet van 7.838 k€, zou dan in de pro-forma cijfers worden aangevuld met 1.335 k€ (de omzet van Crescent over de eerste vijf maanden), en de omzet van het eerste kwartaal van NE-IT van 793 k€ om in totaal uit te komen op 9.966 k€.)
Het netto-resultaat van de groep kwam uit op -452 k€, in vergelijking met -20.044 k€ in het eerste halfjaar van 2018, wat toen voornamelijk het gevolg was van de goodwill impairment van Crescent NV ten gevolge van de omgekeerde overname van 22 mei 2018.
De omzetten en EBITDA van de drie divisies waren in het eerste semester :
In de Solutions divisie droeg Crescent NV (het voormalige Option NV) 1,8 miljoen EUR bij tot de omzetstijging, evenwel bedroeg de pro-forma omzetstijging over de volledige zes maanden 0,5 miljoen EUR; de omzet van SAIT BV verminderde met 0,7 miljoen EUR. Wat de EBITDA betreft verslechterde deze van SAIT BV met 0,2 miljoen EUR tot -0,3 miljoen EUR, maar was er een verbetering met 0,3 miljoen EUR naar 0,4 miljoen EUR voor het semester bij Crescent NV, Het dient gezegd dat hierin een netto niet-recurrente opbrengst van 0.3 miljoen EUR is opgenomen. De pro-forma semesteriële EBITDA van Crescent NV verbeterde met 1,2 miljoen EUR.
De impact van de introductie van de nieuwe Cloudgate productfamilie op het eind van het tweede kwartaal wordt verwacht vanaf het vierde kwartaal de omzet verder in positieve zin te laten evolueren.
Voor SAIT BV werd het plan voor het tweede semester herschreven en een breakeven als objectief aangehouden.
De omzet in de divisie Services verbeterde voornamelijk doordat de activiteiten van Ne-IT Hosting en Automatisering BV voor het volledige semester werden opgenomen. Door de integratie van de IT services activiteiten van Any-IT, en 2 Invision Managed Services, inclusief de Belgische, kon de EBITDA met 0,2 miljoen EUR worden verbeterd.
De omzet van de Lighting divisie in het eerste halfjaar reflecteerde de algemene terughoudendheid in de Nederlandse thuismarkt. Verwacht wordt dat in de tweede helft van het jaar de vraag weer zal aantrekken, en dat ook de commerciële inspanningen in Zuid-Afrika tot orders zullen leiden.
Balans
Kapitaal
Bij besluit van de bijzondere Algemene vergadering van 20 juni jl. werd het kapitaal van Crescent NV
verminderd van 32.446.419 EUR tot 3.857.902 EUR, ter aanzuivering voor eenzelfde bedrag van een deel van de overgedragen verliezen en werd eveneens besloten de uitgiftepremie zoals geplaatst op de onbeschikbare rekening "Uitgiftepremies", te verminderen met 17.608.896 EUR, om deze tot 0 EUR te herleiden, ter aanzuivering van een deel van de overgedragen verliezen.
Door deze balansherschikking wordt de Vennootschap Crescent NV niet langer als een onderneming in moeilijkheden beschouwd.
Op 30 juni 2019 waren de belangrijkste aandeelhouders:
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(A) Eric Van Zele/Van Zele Holding
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37,50%
|
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(B) Jan Callewaert
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10,59%
|
|
(C) Alychlo/Marc Coucke/Mylecke
|
10,29%
|
|
(D) Danlaw
|
7,59%
|
|
(E) Nanninga Beheer
|
3,43%
|
Na 30 juni ontving de Vennootschap een transparantieverklaring van de Heer Callewaert dat zijn aandelenbezit in Crescent 9,64% bedraagt op 6 augustus; Alychlo meldde verwerving van 20 miljoen bijkomende aandelen sinds 30 juni.
De bijgewerkte aandeelhoudersinformatie is te raadplegen op onze website.
Financiële schulden
Op 30 juni 2019 had de groep uitstaande financiële schulden van in totaal 6.100 k€. De stijging ten overstaan van de positie per eind december van 4.814 k€ wordt voornamelijk verklaard door de opname van de lease-verplichtingen door de eerste toepassing van IFRS 16, wat de financiële schuld met 1.899 k€ verhoogd heeft. Hiertegenover werden voor 1.877 k€ gebruiksrechten op activa toegevoegd in de vaste activa.
Werkkapitaal
Het netto werkkapitaal daalde verder met 1,3 miljoen EUR, wat volledig wordt verklaard door de toegenomen schuld voor de verwerving van Any-IT en 2 Invision Managed Services BV. Dit bedrag is verschuldigd aan de Heer Van Zele.
Raad van Bestuur
In de Algemene Aandeelhoudersvergadering van 20 juni jl. werden volgende onafhankelijke bestuurders aangesteld voor een periode van zes jaar: Mevrouw Prof. dr. Liesbet VAN DER PERRE, S&S BVBA vast vertegenwoordigd Mevrouw Prof. dr. Sarah STEENHAUT en Mevrouw Lieve DECLERCQ. Verder werd ook MICHIELS INVEST & MANAGEMENT BVBA vast vertegenwoordigd door de Heer Johan MICHIELS benoemd.
Van Zele Holding NV, vast vertegenwoordigd door de Heer Eric VAN ZELE, CRESCEMUS BVBA vast
vertegenwoordigd door de heer Pieter BOURGEOIS EN DE Heer Raju DANDU werden herbenoemd voor een periode van zes jaar.
Overname Uest nv
De Groep heeft op 5 juli 2019 100% van de aandelen verworven in Uest NV. De overname kadert in de strategie van de Crescent groep om te groeien via geïntegreerde IoT oplossingen en een uitbreiding van het activiteitenportfolio. Uest NV produceert, verkoopt en ondersteunt persoonlijke alarmsystemen voor senioren onder de merknaam Zembro. Zembro heeft een software-serviceplatform ontwikkeld dat gekoppeld aan de knowhow van Crescent in andere markten zal ingezet worden. UEST NV zal vanaf het tweede semester bijdragen tot de omzet en EBITDA van de groep.
De overnames van Livereach Media Europe Bvba en Crescent Smart lighting BV werden nog niet formeel afgerond; verwacht wordt dat dit voor jaareinde zal gebeuren.
Risico’s en onzekerheden
De meeste van de risico’s en onzekerheden worden bepaald door de specifieke evolutie van de markten waarin Crescent actief is.
Door de omgekeerde overname in 2018 is de facto het risicoprofiel van de Vennootschap veranderd en gemiddeld afgenomen doordat zij nu in drie verschillende markten actief is met elk hun eigen specifieke risico’s. Uiteraard zal voor de drie segmenten de gebeurlijke verslechtering van de macro-economische toestand een mogelijke negatieve rol spelen die niet zou toelaten dat het ene segment de mindere resultaten van de andere volledig kan opvangen. Verder heeft de nieuwe samenstelling van de Groep ook gevolgen voor de continuïteit, ondanks de immer beperkte kaspositie, hebben de segmenten Service en Lighting aangetoond dat zij inherent kaspositief werken, en daardoor in staat zijn de negatieve resultaten van het segment Solutions op te vangen.
In de Services- activiteiten is er de voortdurende uitdaging tot aanwerving van voldoende en competente ICT-profielen, naast het voortdurend beheersen van de cyber-risico’s zowel in de interne ICT-infrastructuur als in deze van de klanten.
In het solutions segment en vooraleer in te gaan op de specifieke risico’s voor de sector waarin Crescent NV (voormalig Option NV) actief is, wenst de Vennootschap te wijzen op de cycliciteit van de telecommarkt waarin Aardingen Maro haar belangrijkste omzet vandaan haalt, en op de inherente risico’s eigen aan de projectbusiness van SAIT BV door haar eindverantwoordelijkheid als integrator van verkochte oplossingen.
De markt waarin Crescent NV actief is, wordt gekenmerkt door de snelle en opeenvolgende introducties van nieuwe technologieën. Deze brengen inherent een aantal uitdagingen mee, zoals het tijdig intern terbeschikking hebben van de nodige competenties om de aanpassingen te kunnen doen om de produkten prijs/kwalitatief concurrentieel te houden, en de externe inkoop waar nodig om toegang te houden tot technologielicenties binnen de uitgestippelde product-roadmap. Bovendien moet elke nieuw product dat in de markt wordt geïntroduceerd gecertificeeerd worden inzake straling, veiligheid en compatibiliteit met de gangbare operatornetwerken. Nonconformititeit in dit certificatieproces verhoogt het risico op bijkomende kosten, en gemiste inkomsten. Ondanks de wereldwijde groei van 18% in gateway verkopen in 2018, is de adoptie van IoT verschillend in de diverse werelddelen en vormt de juiste positionnering zowel wat type gateway als timing een uitdaging, en een risico inzake rendabiliteit. Binnen de contouren van deze IoT markt, blijft waakzaamheid geboden om in orde te blijven met de intellectuele eigendomsrechten van alle betrokkenen, zowel concurrenten, leveranciers als klanten. Indien de verwachte explosie van de Internet of Things markt zich doorzet, zal het aantal aan internet geconnecteerde toestellen een gigantische groei kennen waardoor ook het risico op hacking en security-incidenten exponentieel zal toenemen. De oplossingen die worden aangeboden zullen voortdurend moeten rekening houden met deze cyberbedreigingen en evolueren telkens er nieuwe risico’s opduiken.
In de Lighting divisie is er enerzijds het risico dat de LED-technologie voorbijgestreefd wordt door andere
technologiëen vooraleer het merendeel van de bestaande normale armaturen door LED zijn vervangen, en anderzijds dat de smart lighting oplossingen niet bijtijds deze dalende markt zou hebben opgevuld.
Voor de hele groep, wensen wij onderstaand nog in te gaan op de continuïteit van de onderneming:
Eind december 2018 bedroeg de opname van het kortlopend Belfiuskrediet 1,45 miljoen EUR en de opname van de additionele kredietlijn van Van Zele Holding NV beliep 0,4 miljoen EUR. De cashpositie stond op 0,6 miljoen EUR. Eind juni 2019 is het Belfiuskrediet verhoogd naar 1,5 miljoen EUR, zij het dat de groep begonnen is met de aflossing van het investeringskrediet (0,08 miljoen EUR tijdens het eerste semester); de kredietlijn van Van Zele Holding NV stond nog op 0,4 miljoen EUR de cashpositie op 0,4 miljoen EUR en blijft daarmee beperkt. De bruto financiële schuld bedroeg eind 2018 4,8 miljoen EUR, deze bedraagt eind juni 2019 4,2 miljoen EUR, vermeerderd met de 1,9 miljoen EUR aan huur- en leaseverplichtingen ten gevolge van de toepassing van IFRS 16.
De schuldpositie veranderde niet noemenswaardig in vergelijking met begin van het jaar, zij het dat de referentie-aandeelhouders de vennootschap bijkomende kredieten hebben toegestaan om haar in staat te stellen de resterende externe brugfinanciering van 0,5 miljoen EUR terug te betalen.
Het management blijft geloven dat in de toekomst en in afwachting van een positieve cashflow in het segment Solutions, de segmenten Services en Lighting de negatieve EBITDA van het segment Solutions volledig moeten kunnen compenseren, wat evenwel nog niet het geval was in de eerste jaarhelft.
In afwachting van de verwachte doorbraak van de door Crescent NV nieuw gelanceerde produkten in de IOT markt, hebben de referentie-aandeelhouders hun steun toegezegd om de kasnoden in deze tussenperiode op te vangen indien de Vennootschap de middelen zelf nog niet kan genereren. Zo hebben zij hun voorschotten verhoogd in het derde kwartaal met 0,6 miljoen EUR, om de liquiditeitspositie van de groep te ondersteunen.
De Raad van Bestuur heeft de beslissing genomen om de schuldpositie van de vennootschap voor jaareinde af te bouwen door alle bestaande schulden aan aandeelhouders ten gevolge van de recente en de twee nog lopende overnames, alsmede de verstrekte voorschotten ter verbetering van de liquiditeitspositie in te brengen in kapitaal. Deze inbreng in natura zal een nominaal bedrag vertegenwoordigen van ongeveer 5 miljoen EUR. De Raad van Bestuur heeft verder de uitgifte van een nieuw warranteplan voor het senior management goedgekeurd.
Rekenend op de verbetering van de EBITDA, en de hierboven beschreven schuldafbouw is de Raad van Bestuur van oordeel dat de Vennootschap over voldoende middelen zal beschikken om in de komende jaren haar plan te realiseren.
MANAGEMENT VERKLARING
Het management verklaart dat, voor zover hen bekend:
- De verkorte financiële overzichten, die zijn opgesteld overeenkomstig de toepasselijke standaarden voor jaarrekeningen, een getrouw beeld geven van het vermogen, van de financiële toestand en van de resultaten van de Vennootschap en haar geconsolideerde ondernemingen;
- Het tussentijdse verslag een getrouw overzicht geeft van de belangrijke gebeurtenissen en de belangrijkste transacties die zich in de eerste zes maanden van het boekjaar hebben voorgedaan en het effect daarvan op de verkorte financiële overzichten, evenals een beschrijving van de voornaamste risico’s en onzekerheden voor de resterende maanden van het boekjaar.
Volledig persbericht inclusief tabellen - klik hier
Crescent NV - Halfjaarlijks Financieel Verslag - 30 juni 2019 - klik hier
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
REGULATED INFORMATION - INSIDE INFORMATION
Crescent Half-year results 2019
Leuven, Belgium – 30 September 2019 – 7h30 - Crescent (EURONEXT: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY)
H1 Highlights
- The turnover of the group increases by 14% to EUR 8.9 million compared to EUR 7.8 million in the first half of 2018
- EBITDA amounts to EUR 0.5 million in the first semester compared to EUR 0.3 million in the first half of 2018
- At the beginning of July Crescent acquired UEST NV, (www.zembro.com)
- The group maintains its outlook for double digit revenue growth for 2019 with a positive EBITDA
Results of first half-year
The group's revenue amounted to k€ 8,903, compared to k€ 7,838 in the first half of 2018 and an EBITDA of k€ 525, compared to k€ 300 in the first half of last year. The pro forma revenue in the first half of 2018 amounted to k€ 9,966 with an EBITDA of k€ -508. The pro forma results of the 2018 group are presented as if all companies included in the consolidation scope on 30 June 2019 contributed a full half year to the results.
(The reported revenue of k€ 7,838 was increased in the pro forma figures with k€ 1,335 (Crescent NV's revenue for the first five months), and the NE-IT revenue of k€ 793 for the first quarter to bring the total revenue to k€ 9,966.)
The net result of the group amounted to k€ -452 compared to k€ -20,044 in the first half of 2018, which was then mainly due to the goodwill impairment of Crescent NV as a result of the reverse takeover of May22, 2018.
The revenues and EBITDA of the three divisions were in the first semester:
In the Solutions division, Crescent NV (formerly Option NV) contributed EUR 1.8 million to the revenue increase, the pro forma revenue increase over the entire six months amounted to EUR 0.5 million; SAIT BV's revenue decreased by EUR 0.7 million. As far as EBITDA is concerned, SAIT BV’s EBITDA decreased by EUR 0.2 million to EUR -0.3 million, on the other hand Crescent NV’s EBITDA improved with EUR 0.3 million to EUR 0.4 million for the half-year. It needs to be noted that a one time net revenue of EUR 0.3 million was included in this result. The pro forma half-year EBITDA of Crescent NV improved by EUR 1.2 million.
The impact of the introduction of the new Cloudgate product family at the end of the second quarter is expected to further improve sales from the fourth quarter onwards.
For SAIT BV, the plan for the second semester was rewritten and a breakeven was targeted as an objective.
Revenue in the Services division improved mainly because of the addition of the activities of Ne-IT Hosting and Automatisering BV which were included for the full semester. Due to the integration of the IT services activities of Any-IT, and 2 Invision Managed Services, including the Belgian company, EBITDA could be improved by EUR 0.2 million.
The turnover of the Lighting division in the first half year reflected the general purchase reluctance in the Dutch home market. Demand is expected to pick up again in the second half of the year, and commercial efforts in South Africa are also expected to lead to sales orders.
Balance Sheet
Share Capital
The extraordinary shareholders’ Assembly of June 20, decided to reduce the capital of Crescent NV
from EUR 32,446,419 to EUR 3,857,902, incorporating the same amount from a part of the losses carried forward and also decided to reduce the share premium as booked in the unavailable "Share Premiums" account by EUR 17,608,896 to EUR 0, to incorporate another part of the losses carried forward.
As a result of this balance sheet operation, Crescent NV no longer registers as a company in difficulty.
The major shareholders per June 30 were:
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(A) Eric Van Zele/Van Zele Holding
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37.50%
|
|
(B) Jan Callewaert
|
10.59%
|
|
(C) Alychlo/Marc Coucke/Mylecke
|
10.29%
|
|
(D) Danlaw
|
7.59%
|
|
(E) Nanninga Beheer
|
3.43%
|
After June 30, the Company received a transparency declaration from Mr. Callewaert that its shareholding in Crescent was 9.64% on August 6; Alychlo reported the acquisition of an additional 20 million shares since June 30.
The updated shareholder information can be consulted on our website.
Financial debt
On June 30, 2019, the group had outstanding financial debts totaling k€ 6,100. The increase compared to the amount of k€ 4,814 at the end of December 2018 is mainly explained by the recognition of the lease obligations due to the first application of IFRS 16, which increased the financial debt by k€ 1,899. On the other hand, user rights to assets were added to the balance sheet for an amount of k€ 1,877.
Working Capital
Net working capital decreased by EUR 1.3 million, which is fully explained by the increased debt for the acquisition of Any-IT and 2 Invision Managed Services BV. This amount is due to Mr. Van Zele.
Board of Directors
At the Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting of June 20, the following independent directors were appointed for a period of six years: Mrs. Prof. dr. Liesbet VAN DER PERRE, S&S BVBA permanently represented Mrs. Prof. Dr. Sarah STEENHAUT and Mrs. Lieve DECLERCQ. Furthermore, MICHIELS INVEST & MANAGEMENT BVBA permanently represented by Mr. Johan MICHIELS was appointed as well.
Van Zele Holding NV, permanently represented by Mr. Eric VAN ZELE, CRESCEMUS BVBA
permanently represented by Mr. Pieter BOURGEOIS AND Mr. Raju DANDU were reappointed for a period of six years.
Acquisition of Uest nv
On July 5, 2019, the Group acquired 100% of the shares in Uest NV. The acquisition fits in with the Crescent group's strategy to grow through integrated IoT solutions and an expansion of the business portfolio. Uest NV produces, sells and supports personal alarm systems for seniors under the Zembro brand name. Zembro has developed a software service platform that will be deployed in other markets and further enhanced by Crescent's know-how. UEST NV will contribute to the group's revenue and EBITDA from the second semester onwards.
The acquisitions of Livereach Media Europe Bvba and Crescent Smart lighting BV have not yet been formally completed; this is expected to happen before the end of the year
Risk and uncertainties
Most of the risks and uncertainties are determined by the specific evolution of the markets in which Crescent is operating.
The reverse takeover in 2018 has de facto changed the risk profile of the Company and, on average, has decreased the level of risk because it is now active in three different markets, each with its own specific risks. Of course, the potential deterioration of the macroeconomic situation for the three segments will play a possible negative role that would not allow one segment to fully absorb the lesser results of the other. Furthermore, the new composition of the Group also influences the continuity position of the Group. Despite the continuing limited cash position, the Service and Lighting segments have shown that they are inherently cash-positive, and therefore able to compensate the negative results of the Solutions segment.
In the Services activities, there is the constant challenge of recruiting sufficient and competent IT profiles, in addition to constantly managing cyber risks both in the internal IT infrastructure and in that of the customers.
In the solutions segment and before addressing the specific risks for the sector in which Crescent NV (formerly Option NV) operates, the Company wishes to point out the cyclicality of the telecom market from which Aardingen Maro derives its most important revenues, and the risks inherent in SAIT BV's project business due to its ultimate responsibility as an integrator of solutions sold.
The market in which Crescent NV is active is characterized by the rapid and continuing introduction of new technologies. These inherently present a number of challenges, such as having the necessary competences available internally in order to be able to keep the products price / qualitatively competitive, and external procurement necessary to keep access to technology licenses within the defined product road map. In addition, every new product that is introduced to the market must be certified for radiation, safety and compatibility with current operator networks. Non-conformity in this certification process increases the risk of additional costs and lost income. Despite the worldwide growth of 18% in gateway sales in 2018, the adoption of IoT is different in the various continents and the correct positioning involves a challenge both for the choice of type of gateway type and for the adequate timing of market introduction, and hence bears a profitability risk. Within the contours of this IoT market, vigilance remains necessary to stay in order with the intellectual property rights of all parties involved, both competitors, suppliers and customers. If the expected explosion of the Internet of Things market continues, the number of devices connected to the Internet will grow enormously, which will also increase the risk of hacking and security incidents exponentially. The solutions that are offered will have to constantly take into account these cyber threats and evolve every time new risks arise.
In the Lighting division, on the one hand, there is the risk that the LED technology will be replaced by other technologies before the majority of existing normal luminaires have been replaced by LED, and on the other hand that the smart lighting solutions would not have filled this declining market in time.
For the entire group, we would like to discuss the continuity risk of the company:
At the end of December 2018, the drawdown of the current Belfius credit amounted to EUR 1.45 million and the drawdown of the additional credit line of Van Zele Holding NV amounted to EUR 0.4 million. The cash position stood at EUR 0.6 million. At the end of June 2019, the Belfius credit was increased to EUR 1.5 million, be it that the group has started to repay the investment credit (EUR 0.08 million during the first semester); the credit line of Van Zele Holding NV was still at EUR 0.4 million and the cash position stood at EUR 0.4 million and therefore remains limited. The gross financial debt amounted to EUR 4.8 million at the end of 2018 and amounted to EUR 4.2 million at the end of June 2019, increased by the EUR 1.9 million in rental and lease obligations resulting from the application of IFRS 16.
The debt position did not change significantly compared to the beginning of the year, although the reference shareholders have allowed the company additional loans to enable it to repay the remaining external bridge financing of EUR 0.5 million.
Management continues to believe that until the moment a positive cash flow is obtained in the Solutions segment, the EBITDA derived from the Services and Lighting segments should be capable of fully offsetting the negative EBITDA of the Solutions segment, which was not yet the case in the first half of the year however.
Anticipating the breakthrough of the new products launched by Crescent NV in the IOT market, the reference shareholders have promised their support to meet the cash needs in this interim period if the Company cannot yet generate the funds itself. For example, they increased their advances in the third quarter by EUR 0.6 million to support the liquidity position of the group.
The Board of Directors has taken the decision to reduce the company's debt position by year-end by incorporating all existing debts to shareholders as a result of the recent and the two still ongoing acquisitions, as well as the advances made by shareholders to improve the liquidity position, into capital. This contribution in kind will represent a nominal amount of approximately EUR 5 million. The Board of Directors also approved the issuance of a new warrant plan for senior management.
Based on the improvement in EBITDA and the debt reduction described above, the Board of Directors is of the opinion that the Company will have sufficient means to realize its plan in the coming years.
MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
Management declares that, to the best of their knowledge:
- The abbreviated financial statements, prepared in accordance with the applicable accounting standards, give a true and fair view of the assets, the financial situation and the results of the Company and its consolidated companies;
- The interim report provides a true and fair view of the important events and transactions that occurred during the first six months of the financial year and its effect on the condensed financial statements, as well as a description of the main risks and uncertainties for the remaining months of the financial year
Full press release including tables - click here
Crescent Half year report 2019 - click here
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
REGULATED INFORMATION - INSIDE INFORMATION
Crescent NV buys Uest NV ("ZEMBRO") and announces other acquisitions and changes in participation.
Leuven, Belgium – July 12, 2019 – 18h, Crescent NV, (Euronext Brussels: OPTI) and Alychlo NV & CAREvolution NV, report that the purchase/sale of UEST NV ("ZEMBRO") has been completed. All of the shares (100%) of UEST NV were hereby sold to Crescent NV.
After the rightsizing of Option NV and subsequent merger with Crescent NV, the group evolved into 4 Operating Divisions : IoT Devices, Managed Services, Lighting and IoT Solutions.
“This acquisition fits in the strategy of the Crescent Group to grow via integrated IoT solutions and an expansion of the activity portfolio in the important healthcare segment”, says Chairman Eric Van Zele.
UEST NV, under the brand name of "ZEMBRO", develops; markets and supports personal alarm systems for seniors and currently has more than 4,000 active users. Moreover ZEMBRO has also developed a very valuable software service platform, that –linked with the Crescent know-how– will be deployed into other markets (health, location monitoring , security, etc.).
"We see big opportunities to leverage and strengthen Zembro through the technology and marketing capabilities of Crescent NV, whilst capitalizing on their quality software platform” says Alain Van den Broeck, Division CEO.
“The combination of an integrated IoT player with the scale-up Uest (Zembro) is a very logical next step since both reference shareholders strongly believe that Crescent NV offers tremendous added value in terms of team, know how and network for the benefit and further profitable growth of Zembro” says Pieter Bourgeois (Investment Manager Alychlo NV).
Furthermore, the Board of Directors of Crescent NV has endorsed the purchase of LIVEREACH MEDIA EUROPE BVBA and CRESCENT SMART LIGHTING BV (NL) from VZH NV.
The addition of all these activities and companies should generate an increase in group revenues of EUR 1 million in the second half of the year, with positive EBITDA contributions.
All of the above acquisitions are funded by reference shareholders.
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Crescent NV
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
GEREGLEMENTEERDE INFORMATIE EN VOORWETENSCHAP
Crescent NV koopt Uest NV (« ZEMBRO ») en kondigt bijkomende overnames en participatiewijzigingen aan.
Leuven, België – 12 juli 2019 – 18u, Crescent NV, (Euronext Brussels: OPTI) en Alychlo NV & CAREvolution NV, melden dat de koop/verkoop van UEST NV (« ZEMBRO ») werd afgerond. Hierbij werden 100% van de aandelen van UEST NV verkocht aan Crescent NV.
Na de rightsizing van Option NV en samenvoeging met Crescent NV, evolueerde de groep naar 4 Operationele Divisies: IoT Devices, Managed Services, Lighting, and IoT Solutions. “Deze overname kadert in de strategie van de Crescent Groep om te groeien via geïntegreerde IoT oplossingen en een uitbreiding van het activiteiten portfolio in het belangrijke healthcare segment” zegt Voorzitter Eric Van Zele.
UEST NV, onder de merknaam “ZEMBRO” produceert, verkoopt en ondersteunt persoonlijke alarmsystemen voor senioren en heeft op vandaag 4.000 actieve klanten. ZEMBRO heeft daarvoor een software-serviceplatform ontwikkeld dat, gekoppeld aan de knowhow van Crescent, in andere markten zal ingezet worden (health, personen locatie, security, etc.).
“We zien een grote opportuniteit in het verder versterken van Zembro op basis van nieuwe technologie-bouwstenen van Crescent, en verder bouwend op het bestaande kwalitatieve software platform.” zegt Alain Van den Broeck, Divisie CEO.
“De combinatie van de geïntegreerde IoT speler met de scale-up Uest (Zembro) is een logische stap, beide Uest referentieaandeelhouders geloven er sterk in dat Crescent NV op vlak van team, kennis en netwerk een grote toegevoegde waarde bieden voor de verdere groei van Zembro .” zegt Pieter Bourgeois (Investment Manager Alychlo NV).
Verder heeft de Raad van Bestuur van Crescent NV ook beslist om LIVEREACH MEDIA EUROPE BVBA en CRESCENT SMART LIGHTING BV (NL) aan te kopen van VZH NV.
De toevoeging van al deze activiteiten en vennootschappen zou reeds in de tweede jaarhelft voor een stijging van de groepsomzet met 1miljoen EUR moeten zorgen, met een positieve EBITDA bijdrage. Al deze acquisities worden gefinancierd door referentie aandeelhouders.
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
Leuven, België – 19 June 2019 - 8h15. At today’s IoT Convention in Mechelen, Internet of Things agency Bagaar and Option announced that they will be joining forces. Bagaar will use Option’s communication technology to connect corporate technical installations to the industrial Internet. This helps industrial companies to intelligently automate analogue and digital industrial machines - in other words, to implement Industry 4.0.
Usually, the biggest challenge when making factories and industrial businesses ‘smart’ is the size of such digitisation projects, but through their new partnership, Bagaar and Option aim to tackle these together. “We’ll work with Option to develop our own communication module further and to use our combined, modular technology for new IoT projects”, says Ludo Wijckmans, CEO at Bagaar. “Option and Bagaar aim to offer an affordable way to connect every analogue or digital industrial device with the Internet, which enables companies to implement new processes such as predictive maintenance. Teaming up with Option will allow us to reach this goal quicker.”
IoT agency Bagaar develops prototypes for smart devices like smart bikes, energy meters and sensors. One of Bagaar’s sensor designs lets water companies measure the pressure in underground water pipes to detect leaks faster. Bagaar also provides technical services to connect companies to the Internet of Things. They develop the IoT plan and install the necessary sensors and communication modules.
Scale-up Bagaar enriched with decades of experience
Option has over 30 years of experience developing connectivity technologies. Their CloudGate IoT Gateway is a modular communication module for the Internet of Things which communicates through cellular networks, like 3G and 4G, and through low-power networks (LoRa, NB-IoT, LTE CaTm en BLE).
“Bagaar has the business and technical expertise to support industrial automation projects”, says Alain Van den Broeck, CEO at Option. “They can perform large-scale installations of our communication modules and successfully complete complex IoT projects. Together with Bagaar’s parent company Xylos, we’ll take care of our customers’ IoT and Industry 4.0 projects from A to Z.”
End-to-end service
Xylos will process data from connected devices in Microsoft Azure IoT, Microsoft’s Internet of Things cloud. Based on this analysis in Azure, businesses can optimise their production processes through automated bottleneck detection, avoid unnecessary costs through predictive maintenance, and much more.
Click here to see pictures of Ludo Wijckmans and Options CloudGate IoT Gateway here.
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About Option
With more than 20 years of experience and many industry’s firsts in the wireless industry, the Company is ideally positioned to bring the most efficient, reliable and secure wireless solutions to business markets and industrial markets. The Company partners with system integrators, value added resellers, application platform providers, value add distributors and network operators to bring tailor made solutions to end-customers. Option is headquartered in Belgium and is a brand of Crescent. More info on http://option.com
About Bagaar
Based on the philosophy that connected things accelerate processes and give organizations access to new markets and commercial models, the digital agency Bagaar specialized in product development for the Internet of Things. The IoT agency provides services for innovation, design and development of IoT solutions. Among other things, Bagaar designed the smart energy meter June, connected the smart bike Cowboy and developed sensors that measure the water pressure in Antwerp water pipes. Bagaar is located in Antwerp and has thirty employees. Since 2017 it is part of the Xylos Group. More info on http://bagaar.be.
CONTACT OPTION
Anne Mawet, marketing
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
CONTACT BAGAAR
Rachel Young, marketingmanager
T: +32 (0) 2 264 13 03
Press Contact
Factivity
Rafaël Tirmarche
T: +32 476 68 94 92
E: rafael@factivity.be
Leuven, België – 19 juni 2019 - 8h15, Het Internet of Things agency Bagaar en het technologiebedrijf Option, slaan de handen in elkaar. Dat hebben beide organisaties vandaag aangekondigd op de IoT Convention in Mechelen. Bagaar zal de communicatietechnologie van Option inzetten om technische installaties van bedrijven te koppelen met het industriële internet. Zo kunnen industriebedrijven analoge en digitale industriële machines slim automatiseren, industry 4.0 in vaktermen.
De grootste uitdaging om fabrieken en industriebedrijven ‘smart’ te maken is vaak de omvang van zulke digitaliseringsprojecten. Dat willen de nieuwe partners aanpakken. “Samen met Option gaan we onze eigen communicatiemodule verder ontwikkelen en onze gecombineerde, modulaire technologie inzetten bij nieuwe IoT-projecten”, zegt Ludo Wijckmans, CEO van Bagaar. “Option en Bagaar willen elk industrieel toestel - analoog of digitaal – betaalbaar koppelen met het internet, om nieuwe processen zoals ‘predictive maintenance’ te ontwikkelen. Door met Option in zee te gaan willen we die ambitie nog versnellen.”
IoT agency Bagaar ontwerpt prototypes van slimme toestellen zoals slimme fietsen of energiemeters, maar ook slimme sensoren. Met sensoren die Bagaar ontwierp, kunnen watermaatschappijen bijvoorbeeld de druk in ondergrondse waterleidingen meten en sneller lekken opsporen. Bagaar levert ook technische diensten om bedrijven te koppelen met het internet of things. Ze tekenen het IoT-plan uit en zorgen ook voor de installatie van sensoren en communicatiemodules.
Scale-up Bagaar haalt tientallen jaren ervaring op
Option heeft van zijn kant ruim dertig jaar ervaring met de ontwikkeling van connectiviteitstechnologieën. Met zijn CloudGate IoT Gateway beschikt het over een modulaire communicatiemodule voor het Internet of Things. Het toestel communiceert via cellulaire netwerken zoals 3G en 4G, maar ook via de zogenaamde low-powernetwerken LoRa, NB-IoT, LTE CaTm en BLE.
“Bagaar heeft de zakelijke en technische expertise om automatiseringsprojecten in de industrie te begeleiden”, zegt Alain van Den Broeck, CEO van Option. “Ze zijn in staat om onze communicatiemodules op grote schaal te installeren en complexe IoT-projecten tot een goed einde te brengen. Samen met Bagaars moederbedrijf Xylos helpen we klanten voortaan van begin tot eind bij hun IoT- en Industry 4.0-projecten.”
End-to-end dienst
Xylos zal de informatie van de gekoppelde toestellen verwerken in Microsoft Azure IoT, de internet-of-thingscloud van Microsoft. Aan de hand van de analyse in Azure kunnen bedrijven hun productie optimaliseren door onder meer geautomatiseerd bottlenecks te vinden of kosten besparen door bijvoorbeeld onderhoud meer voorspelbaar te maken.
Foto’s van Ludo Wijckmans en Options CloudGate IoT Gateway vindt u hier.
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Over Option
Met meer dan 30 jaar ervaring en een groot aantal wereldpremières in de mobiele technologie, is Option ideaal geplaatst om de meest efficiënte, betrouwbare en veilige draadloze oplossingen te stellen voor de bedrijfswereld en industriële markten. Het bedrijf werkt hiervoor samen met systeemintegratoren, value added resellers, application platform providers, distributeurs met toegevoegde waarde en netwerkoperatoren, om zo op maat gemaakte oplossingen aan eindklanten te kunnen voorstellen. Option heeft zijn hoofdkwartier in België en is een merk van Crescent. Meer info op http://option.com
Over Bagaar
Vanuit de filosofie dat connected things processen versnellen en organisaties toegang geven tot nieuwe markten en commerciële modellen, specialiseerde het digitale agentschap Bagaar zich in productontwikkeling voor het Internet of Things. Het IoT agency levert diensten voor innovatie, ontwerp en ontwikkeling van IoT-oplossingen. Bagaar ontwierp onder meer de slimme energiemeter June, connecteerde de slimme fiets Cowboy en ontwikkelde sensoren die de waterdruk in Antwerpse waterleidingen meten. Bagaar is gevestigd in Antwerpen en telt dertig medewerkers. Sinds 2017 maakt het deel uit van de Xylos Groep. Meer info op http://bagaar.be.
CONTACT OPTION
Anne Mawet, marketing
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
CONTACT BAGAAR
Rachel Young, marketingmanager
T: +32 (0) 2 264 13 03
Contact voor journalisten
Factivity
Rafaël Tirmarche
T: +32 476 68 94 92
E: rafael@factivity.be
Leuven, Belgique – 19 juin 2019 - 8h15, L’agence spécialisée dans l’internet des objets Bagaar et l’entreprise technologique Option ont décidé de conclure un partenariat. Les deux entreprises annoncent cette décision lors de l’IoT Convention qui a lieu à Malines ce 19 juin. Bagaar utilisera la technologie de communication d’Option pour connecter les installations techniques des entreprises à l’internet des objets industriels. De cette manière, les entreprises industrielles peuvent automatiser intelligemment des machines industrielles analogiques et numériques, c’est ce qu’on appelle l’« Industrie 4.0 » dans le jargon technique.
Le plus grand défi pour rendre les usines et les entreprises industrielles « intelligentes » est souvent la portée de ces projets de digitalisation. C’est précisément à ce problème que les nouveaux partenaires entendent s’atteler. « En partenariat avec Option, nous continuerons à développer notre propre module de communication et utiliserons notre technologie combinée et modulaire dans de nouveaux projets IoT », explique Ludo Wijckmans, CEO de Bagaar. « Option et Bagaar entendent connecter tous les appareils industriels - analogiques ou numériques - à internet à un prix abordable, afin de développer de nouveaux processus tels que la maintenance prédictive. En collaborant avec Option, nous voulons encore accélérer cette ambition. »
L’agence IoT Bagaar conçoit des prototypes d’appareils intelligents tels que des vélos ou des compteurs d’énergie, mais aussi des capteurs. Grâce aux capteurs intelligents conçus par Bagaar, les compagnies des eaux, par exemple, peuvent mesurer la pression dans les conduites d’eau souterraines et détecter plus rapidement les fuites. Bagaar fournit également des services techniques pour connecter les entreprises à l’internet des objets. Elle élabore le plan IoT et se charge de l’installation des capteurs et des modules de communication.
Bagaar va tirer parti de dizaines d’années d’expérience
Option a à son actif plus de trente ans d’expérience dans le développement de technologies de connectivité. Forte de sa passerelle IoT CloudGate, elle dispose d’un module de communication modulaire pour l’internet des objets. L’appareil communique via des réseaux cellulaires tels que 3G et 4G, mais aussi via les réseaux « basse consommation » LoRa, NB-IoT, LTE CaTm et BLE.
« Bagaar possède l’expertise opérationnelle et technique nécessaire pour soutenir les projets d’automatisation dans l’industrie », constate Alain van Den Broeck, CEO d’Option. « Elle est capable d’installer nos modules de communication à grande échelle et de mener à bonne fin des projets d’IoT complexes. En collaboration avec la société mère de Bagaar, Xylos, nous aidons désormais nos clients du début à la fin de leurs projets IoT et Industrie 4.0. »
Service de bout en bout
Xylos traitera les informations provenant des appareils connectés dans Microsoft Azure IoT, le cloud « internet des objets » de Microsoft. Sur la base de l’analyse d’Azure, les entreprises peuvent optimiser leur production, entre autres, en détectant automatiquement des goulets d’étranglement ou en réduisant les coûts, par exemple, en augmentant la prévisibilité de la maintenance.
Vous trouverez des photos de Ludo Wijckmans et de la passerelle IoT CloudGate d’Option en suivant ce lien.
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À propos d’Option
Ayant à son actif plus de 30 ans d’expérience et de nombreuses premières mondiales dans le domaine de la technologie mobile, Option est idéalement positionnée pour fournir les solutions sans fil les plus efficaces, les plus fiables et les plus sécurisées pour les entreprises et les marchés industriels. La société collabore à cet effet avec des intégrateurs de systèmes, des revendeurs à valeur ajoutée, des fournisseurs de plates-formes applicatives et des opérateurs de réseaux afin d’offrir des solutions sur mesure aux clients finaux. Option a établi son siège en Belgique et est une marque de Crescent. Plus d’informations sur http://option.com
À propos de Bagaar
Se basant sur la philosophie selon laquelle les objets connectés accélèrent les processus des entreprises et leur ouvrent les portes de nouveaux marchés et modèles commerciaux, l’agence numérique Bagaar s’est spécialisée dans le développement de produits pour l’internet des objets (IoT). L’agence IoT fournit des services d’innovation, de conception et de développement de solutions IoT. Bagaar a, entre autres, conçu le compteur d’énergie intelligent June, a connecté le vélo intelligent Cowboy, et a développé des capteurs qui mesurent la pression de l’eau dans les conduites d’eau anversoises. Bagaar est basée à Anvers et totalise trente collaborateurs. Elle fait partie du groupe Xylos depuis 2017. Plus d’informations sur http://bagaar.be.
CONTACT OPTION
Anne Mawet, marketing
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
CONTACT BAGAAR
Rachel Young, marketingmanager
T: +32 (0) 2 264 13 03
Contact pour les journalistes
Factivity
Rafaël Tirmarche
T: +32 476 68 94 92
E: rafael@factivity.be
REGULATED INFORMATION - INSIDE INFORMATION
Leuven, Belgium – May 20, 2019 – 21h00, Crescent NV, Gaston Geenslaan 14, 3001 Heverlee (Euronext Brussels: OPTI) today announced its unaudited results for the full fiscal year 2018 ended December 31, 2018. The financial information reported in this release is presented in Euros and has been prepared in accordance with the recognition and measurement criteria of IFRS as adopted by the European Union. The accounting policies and methods of computation followed in the attached financial statements are essentially the same as those followed in the most recent annual financial statements.
Message from the Chairman When we solved the short-term cash need of Option NV in January 2017 through the sale of Innolumis BV, a long and difficult process for rescuing the company in a sustainable way and reviving it began immediately.With the loyal support of many small investors and a few strong reference shareholders, we succeeded in converting a huge financial debt of EUR 29 million into capital. At the same time, drastic measures were taken to reduce the workforce in a socially responsible manner and to quickly reduce recurring expenses to an affordable level without affecting the basic competencies of Option.These were important first tactical realizations within a rescue trajectory that few thought possible, but in which it was already clear at the time that we also had to take strategic action to put Option back on profitable tracks.Remediation to survive was one thing, but achieving sustainable growth was another challenge of a different order.In 2018 we were then able to ensure that Option’s shareholders’ equity was positive again through a reverse takeover with Crescent Ventures, which was absolutely necessary to reschedule and refinance EUR 3 million in non-financial debts via a credit line with Belfius and via extra cash and guarantees from reference shareholders and from Gigarant.With the arrival of Alain Van den Broeck at the head of the new integrated Crescent group and with Michallis Pashidis as CTO, we were able to significantly strengthen the senior management team shortly afterwards.We could now gradually start working on the strategic refocusing of the Crescent group with an increased focus on an IOT 'Systems and Solutions' profile and with an 'end to end' value creation story thanks to synergies with Innolumis (smart lighting) and with 2Invision ( managed services).On the one hand, we chose to quickly and drastically upgrade Option's cloudgate platform and to prepare a number of targeted investments in emerging vertical markets for smart lighting and smart energy systems. We recently received support from the government for the latter. The recovery of previously paid social security fines will also contribute to the elimination of the enormous debt burden that has weighed on the company for years.In addition, the acquisition of 100% of the shares of 2Invision Managed Services BV was recently brought to a successful conclusion and we expect the introduction of the new Cloudgate platform at Crescent NV to be imminent in the second quarter of 2019. The ultimate turn around is now really under construction.I am pleased that recently we have also been able to convince four very competent and professional Directors to assist us in this fascinating but difficult course and I take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone, who continued to believe in us and supported us in this ultimate rescue attempt, for their confidence.We are determined to complete this story successfully. The best is yet to come!
Eric Van Zele
From Option to Crescent
On May 22 , 2018, the Group acquired Option NV (currently Crescent NV) and its associated subsidiaries through a "reverse acquisition". A reverse acquisition occurs when the entity that issues securities (the acquiring party in the legal sense, in this case Option NV) is identified as the acquired party. Although Crescent Ventures NV (formerly Crescent NV) is legally the subsidiary, it is therefore regarded as the parent company for the purposes of the consolidated accounts. Crescent NV (formerly Option NV) is processed as the subsidiary. This transaction has considerably changed the financial position of Crescent NV, and has substantially changed the consolidated statements. It may also be emphasized that the 2018 consolidated income statement is not representative of a full year of operations of the group as compiled at the end of 2018, because on one hand only seven months of results from Crescent NV were included and that its expenses also include non-recurring costs (EUR 497,000 in severance pay and EUR 391,000 in costs related to the reverse acquisition), and on the other hand only nine months of results from NE-IT Automatisering BV and NE-IT Hosting BV that were acquired at the end of March 2018. The pro forma turnover of the group for a full year of operations would have amounted to EUR 18.8 million for a REBITDA of EUR (0.6) million.The explanation for the largest movements from 2017 to 2018 in the profit and loss statement and the balance sheet are the result of the aforementioned reverse takeover, but also of the evolution of other changes in the composition of the group from one year to the next. Innolumis Public Lighting BV joined the group on 31 May 2017, and NE-IT as mentioned above on 31 March 2018.
Overview of results and allocation of results of the Company
Consolidated results
For a detailed report on the consolidated Income Statement and Balance Sheet, we refer to the financial report below.
The highlights of the consolidated results of 2018 include the following (in thousands EUR):
|
|
2018
|
2017
|
|
Revenues
|
16 675
|
11 383
|
|
EBIT
|
(25 859)
|
(1 891)
|
|
Depreciations and amortizations
|
23 298
|
1 322
|
|
EBITDA
|
(2 561)
|
(569)
|
|
Non-recurring expenses
|
2 366
|
311
|
|
REBTIDA
|
(195)
|
(259)
|
|
Financial Result
|
492
|
(65)
|
|
Result before taxes
|
(25 367)
|
(1 956)
|
|
Net result:
|
(25 032)
|
(2 638)
|
|
Attributable to shareholders Crescent
|
(25 262)
|
(2 459)
|
|
Attributable to non-controlling interest
|
230
|
(178)
|
The following table shows the analysis of the most important movements in revenue between 2017 and 2018 (Thousands EUR): Innolumis achieved a turnover of 4,352,000 EUR in 2018, which is an increase of almost 11% compared to 2017; in 2018, the company contributed to the group's revenues throughout the complete year, whereas this was only seven months in 2017, implying a turnover increase of EUR 1,783,000 for the group.The acquisition of the two NE-ITs by 2Invision Managed Services BV was signed on 31 March 2018. They contributed to the group's revenue for EUR 2,351,000. Together they achieved a revenue of EUR 3,192,000 in 2018, an increase of 20% compared to 2017.Crescent NV (formerly Option NV) was only included in the group results in the last seven months of 2018, which led to a contribution of EUR 2,073,000 to the increase in group revenue, but which meant a decrease in revenue for the company itself with 35% compared to 2017. This decrease can only be attributed to the lower sales of the Cloudgate products whose introduction of the new announced gamma was postponed by six months until the second quarter of 2019 due to certification problems.SAIT BV also had to take a 20% fall in turnover in 2018. The total turnover in 2018 amounted to EUR 3,619,000, a decrease of EUR 942,000 compared to 2017. The two causes were, on the one hand, the delayed completion of several large projects and, on the other hand, the reduced portfolio of new projects. The impact of previous revenue changes on REBITDA 2018 is shown in the following table (Thousands EUR):
The above table clearly shows the correlation between the increased or decreased revenue and the contribution to the group REBITDA, with the only exception being the results of Crescent NV, where the increased revenue for the group contributed negatively to the group result. Crescent NV realized a negative EBITDA of EUR 2 million in 2018, of which EUR 888,000 were non-recurring expenses. However, this was a deterioration of EBITDA by EUR 220,000 compared to 2017, despite the cost reduction of EUR 1 million in 2018. The negative net result of 2018 of EUR 25,859,000 was largely impacted by the impairment on the initial goodwill of EUR 28,040,000 resulting from the valuation of Crescent NV during the reverse acquisition. This goodwill was reduced to EUR 4,420,000 through a write-down of EUR 23,620,000.
In line with the internal follow-up of its activities, the company has divided its activities into the following segments: • Solutions - contains all activities related to the production of data cards, USB devices, routers and built-in modules, the end-to-end service offering as well as the activities related to building and maintaining telecom, earthing and lightning installations and installations for wireless communication in closed spaces; This segment includes Crescent NV, SAIT BV and Aardingen Maro Bvba • Services - contains all services related to the management of the IT environment and software for customers in public and private data center environments, as well as for small and medium-sized companies; the companies that belong to this segment are 2Invision Managed Services BV in the Netherlands, and NV in Belgium, furthermore the NE-ITs and the service division of SAIT BV. • Lighting - contains all activities related to LED street lighting and currently corresponds to the Innolumis company.
The following is an analysis of the Group's revenue and operating results per reported segment:
REBITDA contributions from the Services and Lighting segments were positive for resp. EUR 336,000 and EUR 175,000, but due to the negative REBITDA of the Solutions segment of EUR 706,000, the total REBITDA for the group amounted to EUR (195,000).
The following are the most important items in the balance sheet at the end of 2018 (Thousands EUR):
Equity increased as a result of the reverse takeover, but goodwill was increased accordingly. Full details of the description of the processing and the underlying assumptions can be found in the notes to the financial report. On May 22 , 2018, the extraordinary shareholders meeting of Crescent NV approved a capital increase by the contribution in kind of financial debts amounting to EUR 11,300,117 and by the contribution in kind of the shares of Crescent Ventures NV amounting to EUR 10,125,000.The issued capital of the company thus amounts to EUR 36,304,321, and the number of shares increased from 297,584,091 to a total of 1,368,839,925.All reports regarding this extraordinary shareholders meeting are available online at:
http://www.option.com/about-investor/.
Before the aforementioned contribution of financial debt was made on 22 May, various shareholders had made new financial resources available in early 2018 for an amount of EUR 2.1 million. These were also contributed on 22 May.
On September 27, the company announced that the credit agreement with Belfius Bank to refinance and restructure the remaining non-financial historical debt obligations (EUR 1.5 million) and to support the company with a working capital credit line of EUR 1.5 million was signed after approval by Gigarant.At year end this is drawn in total for resp. EUR 1.45 million and EUR 1.5 million.In addition, Van Zele Holding NV has responded to the request from Belfius and Gigarant to provide an additional credit line of EUR 0.5 million as an additional buffer if certain assumptions in the Group's liquidity plan could not be realized. EUR 0.4 million of this credit line was called up at year-end.
Statutory results
Full year sales amounted to EUR 3.4 million, a decrease of 35% compared to the previous financial year. This decrease was determined in both products and engineering services, on the one hand by postponing the introduction of the new CloudGate mini and micro gamma to 2019, and on the other by the decrease in engineering services for Danlaw Inc. Operating expenses decreased from EUR 7.5 million to EUR 4.0 million, resulting in a negative operating result or EBIT of EUR 2.1 million, the same as in 2017. In this result, EUR 0.9 million of non-recurring expenses were recognized in 2018 (EUR 0.5 million severance pay and EUR 0.4 million related to the reverse acquisition). Financial income includes a non-recurring income of EUR 0.2 million thanks to the sale of the shares that the company held in Autonet Mobile Inc. These were fully amortized in the accounts in the previous financial year.The financial costs decreased from EUR 0.4 million in 2017 to EUR 0.1 million in 2017, mainly due to the decrease in financial debts. With a loss of EUR 2.0 million, the net result remained approximately at the same level as in 2017 (EUR 2.1 million). The main movements in the balance sheet are explained by the contribution of Crescent Ventures NV to the capital of the Company for EUR 10.1 million and contribution of financial debts for a total amount of EUR 11.3 million. For the main assumptions and sensitivities of the underlying valuation, we refer to note 9 of the consolidated annual report.
As a result, the capital increased from EUR 14.9 million to EUR 36.3 million, the financial fixed assets increased to EUR 10.2 million and the current financial debts decreased by EUR 7.0 million and the non-current financial debts with EUR 1.8 million. In addition, shareholders made an additional EUR 2.1 million available at the beginning of 2018, which were also converted into capital. The existing non-current financial debt of EUR 0.4 million concerns a debt to Van Zele Holding NV, which was mainly used to grant an advance to the subsidiary Crescent Ventures for the purchase of the minority interests in 2Invision Managed Services BV.Belfius Bank also allowed a credit line of EUR 1.5 million, 60% guaranteed by Gigarant NV. As security for this credit line, the trading fund and the acquired shares in Crescent Ventures NV were pledged.EUR 1.45 million of this credit line was withdrawn at the end of 2018. This was mainly used to reduce the outstanding debts to social security charges, taxes and suppliers. On a balance sheet total of EUR 12.4 million, total equity amounted to EUR 4.5 million on December 31, 2018.
Allocation of the statutory result
The Board of Directors proposes to add the non-consolidated net loss of EUR 2.0 million of 2018 to the loss carried forward from the previous years. The loss carried forward increases from EUR 48 million to EUR 50 million.
Significant events that took place after the end of the financial year
The cash position of the group remains limited, but the reference shareholders have indicated that they continue to support the company. This was also made concrete in April 2019 by Van Zele Holding NV by providing an additional credit line of € 450,000, of which € 325,000 was immediately paid-in, and by Alychlo NV by an additional loan of € 400,000 that was also paid-in.In addition, smaller shareholders also promised a total of € 200,000. The agreements for the acquisition of the minority interests (40.5%) of 2Invision Managed Services BV were also definitively finalized on 27 March 2019. The remaining shares held by AJUST B.V. and PP Technology Group B.V. were acquired for a total amount of EUR 1,065,000. Of this, EUR 325,000 was paid as an advance in 2018 by a cash payment and EUR 740,000 was paid in 2019 through delivery of shares in the share capital of Crescent NV. The value of the majority of these shares is set at € 0.02. The number of shares to be delivered amounts thus to 34,157,500. On 13 April 2019 an addendum was signed to the agreement for the takeover of the two NE-IT companies. This provides for a new arrangement for the amounts still to be paid for the acquisition. The final installment (of the Purchase Price) of EUR 700,000 is paid as follows. An amount of EUR 160,000 was paid on April 26, 2019 and an amount of EUR 74,000 will be paid on May 31, 2019. With regard to the (remaining) amount of EUR 466,000, it is agreed that this will be paid by Crescent Ventures by means of delivery of bearer shares in the share capital of Crescent, subject to the provisions in sub b. The value of each share is set at EUR 0.04. Delivery of the shares will take place in the following manner:a. The seller is entitled to the delivery of 11,650,000 bearer shares in the share capital of Crescent. Crescent Ventures is obliged to deliver the aforementioned number of freely tradable shares within 31 days after the aforementioned number has been issued by Crescent, but no later than 31 August 2019 to the seller's securities account.b. The seller is aware that on 13 April 2019 Crescent Ventures does not have freely tradable shares in Crescent's share capital. If Crescent Ventures does not succeed in delivering the shares referred to in the aforementioned article on time, then the Seller will be entitled to payment of the remaining amount of EUR 466,000 in respect of the Purchase Price to the Buyer. This claim will then become due on September 14, 2019. For the obligations regarding the acquisition of the minority interests of 2Invision Managed Services BV, Van Zele Holding NV has stated its willingness to take over this temporarily from Crescent NV.After payment of the advance of EUR 325,000 in 2018, Crescent Ventures NV still had to deliver a total of 31,315,000 shares of Crescent NV to the minority shareholders in April 2019 and 2,842,500 shares before the end of July 2019. At the end of 2018, the Company submitted a request for remission of contribution surcharges to the National Social Security Office. In April 2019, she received a message that the fines paid were fully waived for the years 2013 to 2017 in the amount of € 603,000. This amount may be deducted from the following payments of social debts. This amount will be included in the 2019 results; the cash expenditure of 2019 will therefore be estimated to decrease by € 480,000, that of 2020 by € 123,000.
CRITICAL JUDGEMENTS
Going concern
In 2018, the group took a number of crucial steps in its ambition to refocus and restructure itself. On May 22, 2018, all but EUR 0.5 million of external financing debts (convertible bond loans and bridge financing) were contributed to the capital and the activities of Crescent Ventures were also contributed.This enabled the group to conclude an additional credit financing with Belfius in September 2018, 60% guaranteed by Gigarant. This has enabled the Group to improve its liquidity position, on the one hand by rescheduling the short-term financial debt by EUR 1.25 million to the long-term, and on the other by an additional credit line of EUR 1.5 million that has been used to pay off a number of overdue debts. In addition, Van Zele Holding NV has responded to the request from Belfius and Gigarant to provide an additional credit line of EUR 0.5 million as an additional buffer if certain assumptions in the Group's liquidity plan could not be realized.At the end of December 2018, however, the drawdown of the Belfius loan was already EUR 1.45 million and the drawdown of the additional credit line of Van Zele Holding amounted to EUR 0.4 million. The cash position at the end of December remains limited at EUR 0.6 million. The gross financial debt amounted to EUR 4.6 million at that time.
The realization of the various three-year plans should furthermore allow more than to supplement the liquidity shortages still foreseen in some companies with cash surpluses in others. The result and cash generation trends in the lighting and services segments look positive and compensate for the cash deficits of the companies in the Solutions segment, which still weigh on the liquidity position of the group.With the introduction of some new products from the second quarter of 2019 and the move towards solutions and software, management expects that the cash losses of Crescent NV can also be stopped, so that this company will gradually start contributing to positive cash flows. Although the board of directors has full confidence in the realization of the three-year plan for the group, for a number of activities in the group these represent a trend break or acceleration compared to the past. There is therefore a risk that this change in turnover could be delayed and the ambitious plans not realized, which could increase the pressure on the liquidity position. This liquidity pressure was also increased in April 2019 by the last repayment of a remaining bridge financing of EUR 0.5 million, which forced the group to obtain additional financing from the reference shareholders. At the beginning of April 2019, Van Zele Holding NV and Alychlo NV made funds available for EUR 325,000 and EUR 400,000 respectively, and in addition to Van Zele Holding NV, which will also further pay-in EUR125,000, other existing shareholders were willing to pay together another EUR 200,000.The current reference shareholders have indicated their intention to provide the company with the necessary resources to achieve its objectives and to meet the urgent working capital needs, and the board of directors is confident that this will happen if necessary.
In addition, the Company is continuing to negotiate with some suppliers to agree or revise payment plans, so that this can also be absorbed within existing cash projections without the need for additional financing.
The Board of Directors is of the opinion that through the combination of these measures and the successful completion of the actions already taken, the Company will have sufficient funds over the next 12 months to realize its plan and confirms herewith its valuation rules regarding going concern.
Full press release including tables here & on www.option.com/about-investor
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
Investment
We will not invest in any of the following areas:
Employment
We will not engage in any of the following activities:
Discrimination
We will not discriminate against our employees in any of the following areas:
Purchasing
We will put into place checks, controls and procedures to ensure all our suppliers and sub-contractors:
Prevention of Corruption
We will include in our distribution and supply agreements anti-bribery standard clauses. Our employment policies outline measures that can and will be taken in order to prevent corruption. Option®, as a public company and a member of the ETHIBEL Sustainability index, respects the Corporate Governance rules.
- communication of our policies both internally and externally
- commitment to continual improvement in environmental performance
- taking account of the input of staff, customers, shareholders, government, local authorities, interested third parties and the general public
- awareness and training on environmental issues so as to create a better environment for all through the reduction, recycling and reuse of waste, optimum usage of resources and elimination of polluting releases into the environment
- compliance with all applicable regulations and legislation
- prevention of pollution
- manufacture in a safe environment of products supplied to customer specifications and requirements
Our management is committed to providing the resources necessary to ensure that the company’s environmental objectives and targets are achieved. Option has done substantial efforts to align customer requests for customization while lowering its ecological footprint. This resulted in our offering of environmentally friendly and highly customizable packaging. If you want to read more on our packaging, click here.GEREGLEMENTEERDE INFORMATIE EN VOORWETENSCHAP - Buitengewone Algemene Vergadering
Leuven, België – 20 november, 2019 – 8u00 - Crescent (EURONEXT: OPTI)
Crescent NV (Euronext Brussels: OPTI) zal een Buitengewone Algemene Vergadering bijeenroepen op 20 december 2019 met als belangrijkste agendapunten de goedkeuring van de acquisities van Crescent Smart Lighting BV en Livereachmedia Europe Bvba en een kapitaalverhoging door inbreng in natura van 6.044.145 EUR schulden in kapitaal. De uitgifteprijs van de nieuwe aandelen werd door de Raad van Bestuur bepaald op 0,0256 EUR.
Hierdoor zullen 236.099.445 nieuwe aandelen worden uitgegeven, waarvan de notering op Euronext onmiddellijk na de BAV van 20 december zal worden aangevraagd.
De oproeping wordt vandaag in het Belgisch Staatsblad en De Standaard gepubliceerd en de relevante verslagen van Raad van Bestuur en de Commissaris worden in de loop van de dag ter beschikking gesteld op de website.
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
REGULATED INFORMATION - INSIDE INFORMATION - Extraordinary General Meeting
Leuven, Belgium – November 20, 2019 – 8h00 - Crescent (EURONEXT: OPTI)
Crescent NV (Euronext Brussels: OPTI) will convene an Extraordinary General Meeting on December 20, 2019 with as main agenda items the approval of the acquisitions of Crescent Smart Lighting BV and Livereachmedia Europe Bvba and a capital increase through contribution in kind of EUR 6,044,145 in debt in capital. The issue price of the new shares was set by the Board of Directors at EUR 0.0256.
As a result, 236,099,445 new shares will be issued, the listing of which will be requested on Euronext immediately after the EGM of December 20.
The notice is published today in the Belgian Official Gazette and De Standaard and the relevant reports of the Board of Directors and the Auditor are made available on the website during the course of the day.
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
GEREGLEMENTEERDE INFORMATIE EN VOORWETENSCHAP
Crescent halfjaarresultaten 2019
Leuven, België – 30 september 2019 – 7u30 - Crescent (EURONEXT: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY)
H1 Highlights
De omzet van de groep stijgt met 14% naar 8,9 miljoen EUR in vergelijking met 7,8 miljoen EUR in het eerste halfjaar van 2018
Resultaten van het eerste halfjaar
De omzet van de groep kwam uit op 8.903 k€, in vergelijking met 7.838 k€ in het eerste halfjaar van 2018 en een EBITDA van 525 k€, in vergelijking met 300 k€ in het eerste halfjaar van vorig jaar. De pro-forma omzet in het eerste halfjaar 2018 kwam uit op 9.966 k€ met een EBITDA van -508 k€. De pro-forma resultaten van de groep van 2018 worden voorgesteld alsof alle vennootschappen die op 30 juni 2019 in de consolidatiekring zijn opgenomen, een volledig halfjaar hebben bijgedragen tot de resultaten.
(De gerapporteerde omzet van 7.838 k€, zou dan in de pro-forma cijfers worden aangevuld met 1.335 k€ (de omzet van Crescent over de eerste vijf maanden), en de omzet van het eerste kwartaal van NE-IT van 793 k€ om in totaal uit te komen op 9.966 k€.)
Het netto-resultaat van de groep kwam uit op -452 k€, in vergelijking met -20.044 k€ in het eerste halfjaar van 2018, wat toen voornamelijk het gevolg was van de goodwill impairment van Crescent NV ten gevolge van de omgekeerde overname van 22 mei 2018.
De omzetten en EBITDA van de drie divisies waren in het eerste semester :
In de Solutions divisie droeg Crescent NV (het voormalige Option NV) 1,8 miljoen EUR bij tot de omzetstijging, evenwel bedroeg de pro-forma omzetstijging over de volledige zes maanden 0,5 miljoen EUR; de omzet van SAIT BV verminderde met 0,7 miljoen EUR. Wat de EBITDA betreft verslechterde deze van SAIT BV met 0,2 miljoen EUR tot -0,3 miljoen EUR, maar was er een verbetering met 0,3 miljoen EUR naar 0,4 miljoen EUR voor het semester bij Crescent NV, Het dient gezegd dat hierin een netto niet-recurrente opbrengst van 0.3 miljoen EUR is opgenomen. De pro-forma semesteriële EBITDA van Crescent NV verbeterde met 1,2 miljoen EUR.
De impact van de introductie van de nieuwe Cloudgate productfamilie op het eind van het tweede kwartaal wordt verwacht vanaf het vierde kwartaal de omzet verder in positieve zin te laten evolueren.
Voor SAIT BV werd het plan voor het tweede semester herschreven en een breakeven als objectief aangehouden.
De omzet in de divisie Services verbeterde voornamelijk doordat de activiteiten van Ne-IT Hosting en Automatisering BV voor het volledige semester werden opgenomen. Door de integratie van de IT services activiteiten van Any-IT, en 2 Invision Managed Services, inclusief de Belgische, kon de EBITDA met 0,2 miljoen EUR worden verbeterd.
De omzet van de Lighting divisie in het eerste halfjaar reflecteerde de algemene terughoudendheid in de Nederlandse thuismarkt. Verwacht wordt dat in de tweede helft van het jaar de vraag weer zal aantrekken, en dat ook de commerciële inspanningen in Zuid-Afrika tot orders zullen leiden.
Balans
Kapitaal
Bij besluit van de bijzondere Algemene vergadering van 20 juni jl. werd het kapitaal van Crescent NV
verminderd van 32.446.419 EUR tot 3.857.902 EUR, ter aanzuivering voor eenzelfde bedrag van een deel van de overgedragen verliezen en werd eveneens besloten de uitgiftepremie zoals geplaatst op de onbeschikbare rekening "Uitgiftepremies", te verminderen met 17.608.896 EUR, om deze tot 0 EUR te herleiden, ter aanzuivering van een deel van de overgedragen verliezen.
Door deze balansherschikking wordt de Vennootschap Crescent NV niet langer als een onderneming in moeilijkheden beschouwd.
Op 30 juni 2019 waren de belangrijkste aandeelhouders:
(A) Eric Van Zele/Van Zele Holding
37,50%
(B) Jan Callewaert
10,59%
(C) Alychlo/Marc Coucke/Mylecke
10,29%
(D) Danlaw
7,59%
(E) Nanninga Beheer
3,43%
Na 30 juni ontving de Vennootschap een transparantieverklaring van de Heer Callewaert dat zijn aandelenbezit in Crescent 9,64% bedraagt op 6 augustus; Alychlo meldde verwerving van 20 miljoen bijkomende aandelen sinds 30 juni.
De bijgewerkte aandeelhoudersinformatie is te raadplegen op onze website.
Financiële schulden
Op 30 juni 2019 had de groep uitstaande financiële schulden van in totaal 6.100 k€. De stijging ten overstaan van de positie per eind december van 4.814 k€ wordt voornamelijk verklaard door de opname van de lease-verplichtingen door de eerste toepassing van IFRS 16, wat de financiële schuld met 1.899 k€ verhoogd heeft. Hiertegenover werden voor 1.877 k€ gebruiksrechten op activa toegevoegd in de vaste activa.
Werkkapitaal
Het netto werkkapitaal daalde verder met 1,3 miljoen EUR, wat volledig wordt verklaard door de toegenomen schuld voor de verwerving van Any-IT en 2 Invision Managed Services BV. Dit bedrag is verschuldigd aan de Heer Van Zele.
Raad van Bestuur
In de Algemene Aandeelhoudersvergadering van 20 juni jl. werden volgende onafhankelijke bestuurders aangesteld voor een periode van zes jaar: Mevrouw Prof. dr. Liesbet VAN DER PERRE, S&S BVBA vast vertegenwoordigd Mevrouw Prof. dr. Sarah STEENHAUT en Mevrouw Lieve DECLERCQ. Verder werd ook MICHIELS INVEST & MANAGEMENT BVBA vast vertegenwoordigd door de Heer Johan MICHIELS benoemd.
Van Zele Holding NV, vast vertegenwoordigd door de Heer Eric VAN ZELE, CRESCEMUS BVBA vast
vertegenwoordigd door de heer Pieter BOURGEOIS EN DE Heer Raju DANDU werden herbenoemd voor een periode van zes jaar.
Overname Uest nv
De Groep heeft op 5 juli 2019 100% van de aandelen verworven in Uest NV. De overname kadert in de strategie van de Crescent groep om te groeien via geïntegreerde IoT oplossingen en een uitbreiding van het activiteitenportfolio. Uest NV produceert, verkoopt en ondersteunt persoonlijke alarmsystemen voor senioren onder de merknaam Zembro. Zembro heeft een software-serviceplatform ontwikkeld dat gekoppeld aan de knowhow van Crescent in andere markten zal ingezet worden. UEST NV zal vanaf het tweede semester bijdragen tot de omzet en EBITDA van de groep.
De overnames van Livereach Media Europe Bvba en Crescent Smart lighting BV werden nog niet formeel afgerond; verwacht wordt dat dit voor jaareinde zal gebeuren.
Risico’s en onzekerheden
De meeste van de risico’s en onzekerheden worden bepaald door de specifieke evolutie van de markten waarin Crescent actief is.
Door de omgekeerde overname in 2018 is de facto het risicoprofiel van de Vennootschap veranderd en gemiddeld afgenomen doordat zij nu in drie verschillende markten actief is met elk hun eigen specifieke risico’s. Uiteraard zal voor de drie segmenten de gebeurlijke verslechtering van de macro-economische toestand een mogelijke negatieve rol spelen die niet zou toelaten dat het ene segment de mindere resultaten van de andere volledig kan opvangen. Verder heeft de nieuwe samenstelling van de Groep ook gevolgen voor de continuïteit, ondanks de immer beperkte kaspositie, hebben de segmenten Service en Lighting aangetoond dat zij inherent kaspositief werken, en daardoor in staat zijn de negatieve resultaten van het segment Solutions op te vangen.
In de Services- activiteiten is er de voortdurende uitdaging tot aanwerving van voldoende en competente ICT-profielen, naast het voortdurend beheersen van de cyber-risico’s zowel in de interne ICT-infrastructuur als in deze van de klanten.
In het solutions segment en vooraleer in te gaan op de specifieke risico’s voor de sector waarin Crescent NV (voormalig Option NV) actief is, wenst de Vennootschap te wijzen op de cycliciteit van de telecommarkt waarin Aardingen Maro haar belangrijkste omzet vandaan haalt, en op de inherente risico’s eigen aan de projectbusiness van SAIT BV door haar eindverantwoordelijkheid als integrator van verkochte oplossingen.
De markt waarin Crescent NV actief is, wordt gekenmerkt door de snelle en opeenvolgende introducties van nieuwe technologieën. Deze brengen inherent een aantal uitdagingen mee, zoals het tijdig intern terbeschikking hebben van de nodige competenties om de aanpassingen te kunnen doen om de produkten prijs/kwalitatief concurrentieel te houden, en de externe inkoop waar nodig om toegang te houden tot technologielicenties binnen de uitgestippelde product-roadmap. Bovendien moet elke nieuw product dat in de markt wordt geïntroduceerd gecertificeeerd worden inzake straling, veiligheid en compatibiliteit met de gangbare operatornetwerken. Nonconformititeit in dit certificatieproces verhoogt het risico op bijkomende kosten, en gemiste inkomsten. Ondanks de wereldwijde groei van 18% in gateway verkopen in 2018, is de adoptie van IoT verschillend in de diverse werelddelen en vormt de juiste positionnering zowel wat type gateway als timing een uitdaging, en een risico inzake rendabiliteit. Binnen de contouren van deze IoT markt, blijft waakzaamheid geboden om in orde te blijven met de intellectuele eigendomsrechten van alle betrokkenen, zowel concurrenten, leveranciers als klanten. Indien de verwachte explosie van de Internet of Things markt zich doorzet, zal het aantal aan internet geconnecteerde toestellen een gigantische groei kennen waardoor ook het risico op hacking en security-incidenten exponentieel zal toenemen. De oplossingen die worden aangeboden zullen voortdurend moeten rekening houden met deze cyberbedreigingen en evolueren telkens er nieuwe risico’s opduiken.
In de Lighting divisie is er enerzijds het risico dat de LED-technologie voorbijgestreefd wordt door andere
technologiëen vooraleer het merendeel van de bestaande normale armaturen door LED zijn vervangen, en anderzijds dat de smart lighting oplossingen niet bijtijds deze dalende markt zou hebben opgevuld.
Voor de hele groep, wensen wij onderstaand nog in te gaan op de continuïteit van de onderneming:
Eind december 2018 bedroeg de opname van het kortlopend Belfiuskrediet 1,45 miljoen EUR en de opname van de additionele kredietlijn van Van Zele Holding NV beliep 0,4 miljoen EUR. De cashpositie stond op 0,6 miljoen EUR. Eind juni 2019 is het Belfiuskrediet verhoogd naar 1,5 miljoen EUR, zij het dat de groep begonnen is met de aflossing van het investeringskrediet (0,08 miljoen EUR tijdens het eerste semester); de kredietlijn van Van Zele Holding NV stond nog op 0,4 miljoen EUR de cashpositie op 0,4 miljoen EUR en blijft daarmee beperkt. De bruto financiële schuld bedroeg eind 2018 4,8 miljoen EUR, deze bedraagt eind juni 2019 4,2 miljoen EUR, vermeerderd met de 1,9 miljoen EUR aan huur- en leaseverplichtingen ten gevolge van de toepassing van IFRS 16.
De schuldpositie veranderde niet noemenswaardig in vergelijking met begin van het jaar, zij het dat de referentie-aandeelhouders de vennootschap bijkomende kredieten hebben toegestaan om haar in staat te stellen de resterende externe brugfinanciering van 0,5 miljoen EUR terug te betalen.
Het management blijft geloven dat in de toekomst en in afwachting van een positieve cashflow in het segment Solutions, de segmenten Services en Lighting de negatieve EBITDA van het segment Solutions volledig moeten kunnen compenseren, wat evenwel nog niet het geval was in de eerste jaarhelft.
In afwachting van de verwachte doorbraak van de door Crescent NV nieuw gelanceerde produkten in de IOT markt, hebben de referentie-aandeelhouders hun steun toegezegd om de kasnoden in deze tussenperiode op te vangen indien de Vennootschap de middelen zelf nog niet kan genereren. Zo hebben zij hun voorschotten verhoogd in het derde kwartaal met 0,6 miljoen EUR, om de liquiditeitspositie van de groep te ondersteunen.
De Raad van Bestuur heeft de beslissing genomen om de schuldpositie van de vennootschap voor jaareinde af te bouwen door alle bestaande schulden aan aandeelhouders ten gevolge van de recente en de twee nog lopende overnames, alsmede de verstrekte voorschotten ter verbetering van de liquiditeitspositie in te brengen in kapitaal. Deze inbreng in natura zal een nominaal bedrag vertegenwoordigen van ongeveer 5 miljoen EUR. De Raad van Bestuur heeft verder de uitgifte van een nieuw warranteplan voor het senior management goedgekeurd.
Rekenend op de verbetering van de EBITDA, en de hierboven beschreven schuldafbouw is de Raad van Bestuur van oordeel dat de Vennootschap over voldoende middelen zal beschikken om in de komende jaren haar plan te realiseren.
MANAGEMENT VERKLARING
Het management verklaart dat, voor zover hen bekend:
Volledig persbericht inclusief tabellen - klik hier
Crescent NV - Halfjaarlijks Financieel Verslag - 30 juni 2019 - klik hier
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
REGULATED INFORMATION - INSIDE INFORMATION
Crescent Half-year results 2019
Leuven, Belgium – 30 September 2019 – 7h30 - Crescent (EURONEXT: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY)
H1 Highlights
- The turnover of the group increases by 14% to EUR 8.9 million compared to EUR 7.8 million in the first half of 2018
- EBITDA amounts to EUR 0.5 million in the first semester compared to EUR 0.3 million in the first half of 2018
- At the beginning of July Crescent acquired UEST NV, (www.zembro.com)
- The group maintains its outlook for double digit revenue growth for 2019 with a positive EBITDA
Results of first half-year
The group's revenue amounted to k€ 8,903, compared to k€ 7,838 in the first half of 2018 and an EBITDA of k€ 525, compared to k€ 300 in the first half of last year. The pro forma revenue in the first half of 2018 amounted to k€ 9,966 with an EBITDA of k€ -508. The pro forma results of the 2018 group are presented as if all companies included in the consolidation scope on 30 June 2019 contributed a full half year to the results.
(The reported revenue of k€ 7,838 was increased in the pro forma figures with k€ 1,335 (Crescent NV's revenue for the first five months), and the NE-IT revenue of k€ 793 for the first quarter to bring the total revenue to k€ 9,966.)
The net result of the group amounted to k€ -452 compared to k€ -20,044 in the first half of 2018, which was then mainly due to the goodwill impairment of Crescent NV as a result of the reverse takeover of May22, 2018.
The revenues and EBITDA of the three divisions were in the first semester:
In the Solutions division, Crescent NV (formerly Option NV) contributed EUR 1.8 million to the revenue increase, the pro forma revenue increase over the entire six months amounted to EUR 0.5 million; SAIT BV's revenue decreased by EUR 0.7 million. As far as EBITDA is concerned, SAIT BV’s EBITDA decreased by EUR 0.2 million to EUR -0.3 million, on the other hand Crescent NV’s EBITDA improved with EUR 0.3 million to EUR 0.4 million for the half-year. It needs to be noted that a one time net revenue of EUR 0.3 million was included in this result. The pro forma half-year EBITDA of Crescent NV improved by EUR 1.2 million.
The impact of the introduction of the new Cloudgate product family at the end of the second quarter is expected to further improve sales from the fourth quarter onwards.
For SAIT BV, the plan for the second semester was rewritten and a breakeven was targeted as an objective.
Revenue in the Services division improved mainly because of the addition of the activities of Ne-IT Hosting and Automatisering BV which were included for the full semester. Due to the integration of the IT services activities of Any-IT, and 2 Invision Managed Services, including the Belgian company, EBITDA could be improved by EUR 0.2 million.
The turnover of the Lighting division in the first half year reflected the general purchase reluctance in the Dutch home market. Demand is expected to pick up again in the second half of the year, and commercial efforts in South Africa are also expected to lead to sales orders.
Balance Sheet
Share Capital
The extraordinary shareholders’ Assembly of June 20, decided to reduce the capital of Crescent NV
from EUR 32,446,419 to EUR 3,857,902, incorporating the same amount from a part of the losses carried forward and also decided to reduce the share premium as booked in the unavailable "Share Premiums" account by EUR 17,608,896 to EUR 0, to incorporate another part of the losses carried forward.
As a result of this balance sheet operation, Crescent NV no longer registers as a company in difficulty.
The major shareholders per June 30 were:
(A) Eric Van Zele/Van Zele Holding
37.50%
(B) Jan Callewaert
10.59%
(C) Alychlo/Marc Coucke/Mylecke
10.29%
(D) Danlaw
7.59%
(E) Nanninga Beheer
3.43%
After June 30, the Company received a transparency declaration from Mr. Callewaert that its shareholding in Crescent was 9.64% on August 6; Alychlo reported the acquisition of an additional 20 million shares since June 30.
The updated shareholder information can be consulted on our website.
Financial debt
On June 30, 2019, the group had outstanding financial debts totaling k€ 6,100. The increase compared to the amount of k€ 4,814 at the end of December 2018 is mainly explained by the recognition of the lease obligations due to the first application of IFRS 16, which increased the financial debt by k€ 1,899. On the other hand, user rights to assets were added to the balance sheet for an amount of k€ 1,877.
Working Capital
Net working capital decreased by EUR 1.3 million, which is fully explained by the increased debt for the acquisition of Any-IT and 2 Invision Managed Services BV. This amount is due to Mr. Van Zele.
Board of Directors
At the Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting of June 20, the following independent directors were appointed for a period of six years: Mrs. Prof. dr. Liesbet VAN DER PERRE, S&S BVBA permanently represented Mrs. Prof. Dr. Sarah STEENHAUT and Mrs. Lieve DECLERCQ. Furthermore, MICHIELS INVEST & MANAGEMENT BVBA permanently represented by Mr. Johan MICHIELS was appointed as well.
Van Zele Holding NV, permanently represented by Mr. Eric VAN ZELE, CRESCEMUS BVBA
permanently represented by Mr. Pieter BOURGEOIS AND Mr. Raju DANDU were reappointed for a period of six years.
Acquisition of Uest nv
On July 5, 2019, the Group acquired 100% of the shares in Uest NV. The acquisition fits in with the Crescent group's strategy to grow through integrated IoT solutions and an expansion of the business portfolio. Uest NV produces, sells and supports personal alarm systems for seniors under the Zembro brand name. Zembro has developed a software service platform that will be deployed in other markets and further enhanced by Crescent's know-how. UEST NV will contribute to the group's revenue and EBITDA from the second semester onwards.
The acquisitions of Livereach Media Europe Bvba and Crescent Smart lighting BV have not yet been formally completed; this is expected to happen before the end of the year
Risk and uncertainties
Most of the risks and uncertainties are determined by the specific evolution of the markets in which Crescent is operating.
The reverse takeover in 2018 has de facto changed the risk profile of the Company and, on average, has decreased the level of risk because it is now active in three different markets, each with its own specific risks. Of course, the potential deterioration of the macroeconomic situation for the three segments will play a possible negative role that would not allow one segment to fully absorb the lesser results of the other. Furthermore, the new composition of the Group also influences the continuity position of the Group. Despite the continuing limited cash position, the Service and Lighting segments have shown that they are inherently cash-positive, and therefore able to compensate the negative results of the Solutions segment.
In the Services activities, there is the constant challenge of recruiting sufficient and competent IT profiles, in addition to constantly managing cyber risks both in the internal IT infrastructure and in that of the customers.
In the solutions segment and before addressing the specific risks for the sector in which Crescent NV (formerly Option NV) operates, the Company wishes to point out the cyclicality of the telecom market from which Aardingen Maro derives its most important revenues, and the risks inherent in SAIT BV's project business due to its ultimate responsibility as an integrator of solutions sold.
The market in which Crescent NV is active is characterized by the rapid and continuing introduction of new technologies. These inherently present a number of challenges, such as having the necessary competences available internally in order to be able to keep the products price / qualitatively competitive, and external procurement necessary to keep access to technology licenses within the defined product road map. In addition, every new product that is introduced to the market must be certified for radiation, safety and compatibility with current operator networks. Non-conformity in this certification process increases the risk of additional costs and lost income. Despite the worldwide growth of 18% in gateway sales in 2018, the adoption of IoT is different in the various continents and the correct positioning involves a challenge both for the choice of type of gateway type and for the adequate timing of market introduction, and hence bears a profitability risk. Within the contours of this IoT market, vigilance remains necessary to stay in order with the intellectual property rights of all parties involved, both competitors, suppliers and customers. If the expected explosion of the Internet of Things market continues, the number of devices connected to the Internet will grow enormously, which will also increase the risk of hacking and security incidents exponentially. The solutions that are offered will have to constantly take into account these cyber threats and evolve every time new risks arise.
In the Lighting division, on the one hand, there is the risk that the LED technology will be replaced by other technologies before the majority of existing normal luminaires have been replaced by LED, and on the other hand that the smart lighting solutions would not have filled this declining market in time.
For the entire group, we would like to discuss the continuity risk of the company:
At the end of December 2018, the drawdown of the current Belfius credit amounted to EUR 1.45 million and the drawdown of the additional credit line of Van Zele Holding NV amounted to EUR 0.4 million. The cash position stood at EUR 0.6 million. At the end of June 2019, the Belfius credit was increased to EUR 1.5 million, be it that the group has started to repay the investment credit (EUR 0.08 million during the first semester); the credit line of Van Zele Holding NV was still at EUR 0.4 million and the cash position stood at EUR 0.4 million and therefore remains limited. The gross financial debt amounted to EUR 4.8 million at the end of 2018 and amounted to EUR 4.2 million at the end of June 2019, increased by the EUR 1.9 million in rental and lease obligations resulting from the application of IFRS 16.
The debt position did not change significantly compared to the beginning of the year, although the reference shareholders have allowed the company additional loans to enable it to repay the remaining external bridge financing of EUR 0.5 million.
Management continues to believe that until the moment a positive cash flow is obtained in the Solutions segment, the EBITDA derived from the Services and Lighting segments should be capable of fully offsetting the negative EBITDA of the Solutions segment, which was not yet the case in the first half of the year however.
Anticipating the breakthrough of the new products launched by Crescent NV in the IOT market, the reference shareholders have promised their support to meet the cash needs in this interim period if the Company cannot yet generate the funds itself. For example, they increased their advances in the third quarter by EUR 0.6 million to support the liquidity position of the group.
The Board of Directors has taken the decision to reduce the company's debt position by year-end by incorporating all existing debts to shareholders as a result of the recent and the two still ongoing acquisitions, as well as the advances made by shareholders to improve the liquidity position, into capital. This contribution in kind will represent a nominal amount of approximately EUR 5 million. The Board of Directors also approved the issuance of a new warrant plan for senior management.
Based on the improvement in EBITDA and the debt reduction described above, the Board of Directors is of the opinion that the Company will have sufficient means to realize its plan in the coming years.
MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
Management declares that, to the best of their knowledge:
Full press release including tables - click here
Crescent Half year report 2019 - click here
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
GEREGLEMENTEERDE INFORMATIE
Openbaarmaking transparantiekennisgevingen
(artikel 14, eerste lid, van de wet van 2 mei 2007 op de openbaarmaking van belangrijke deelnemingen)
Leuven, België – 9 augustus 2019 – 18u - Crescent (EURONEXT: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY )– heeft op 6 augustus 2019 een transparantiekennisgeving ontvangen van de Heer Callewaert, waaruit blijkt dat de deelnemingsdrempel van 10% werd onderschreden. De relevante gegevens van deze transparantiemelding is als volgt:
Reden van kennisgeving:
Verwerving of overdracht van stemrechtverlenende effecten of stemrechten.
Kennisgeving door:
Een persoon die alleen kennis geeft
Kennisplichtige persoon:
Jan Callewaert
Datum van drempeloverschrijding :
31/07/2019
Overschreden drempel
Hierdoor werd de drempel van 10% onderschreden.
Noemer: totaal aantal aandelen
1.368.839.925
Detail van de kennisgeving
Houder van stemrechten
Jan Callewaert
Vorige kennisgeving
38.245.047 stemrechten
Na de transactie
131.996.147 stemrechten verbonden aan effecten
9,64% stemrechten verbonden aan effecten
Meer details zijn beschikbaar op de website van CRESCENT:
https://www.option.com/about-investor/ & https://www.crescent-ventures.com/
Overeenkomstig de statuten, werd de drempel vanaf dewelke een deelneming moet worden bekendgemaakt, vastgesteld op 3 %.
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
REGULATED INFORMATION - INSIDE INFORMATION
Crescent NV buys Uest NV ("ZEMBRO") and announces other acquisitions and changes in participation.
Leuven, Belgium – July 12, 2019 – 18h, Crescent NV, (Euronext Brussels: OPTI) and Alychlo NV & CAREvolution NV, report that the purchase/sale of UEST NV ("ZEMBRO") has been completed. All of the shares (100%) of UEST NV were hereby sold to Crescent NV.
After the rightsizing of Option NV and subsequent merger with Crescent NV, the group evolved into 4 Operating Divisions : IoT Devices, Managed Services, Lighting and IoT Solutions.
“This acquisition fits in the strategy of the Crescent Group to grow via integrated IoT solutions and an expansion of the activity portfolio in the important healthcare segment”, says Chairman Eric Van Zele.
UEST NV, under the brand name of "ZEMBRO", develops; markets and supports personal alarm systems for seniors and currently has more than 4,000 active users. Moreover ZEMBRO has also developed a very valuable software service platform, that –linked with the Crescent know-how– will be deployed into other markets (health, location monitoring , security, etc.).
"We see big opportunities to leverage and strengthen Zembro through the technology and marketing capabilities of Crescent NV, whilst capitalizing on their quality software platform” says Alain Van den Broeck, Division CEO.
“The combination of an integrated IoT player with the scale-up Uest (Zembro) is a very logical next step since both reference shareholders strongly believe that Crescent NV offers tremendous added value in terms of team, know how and network for the benefit and further profitable growth of Zembro” says Pieter Bourgeois (Investment Manager Alychlo NV).
Furthermore, the Board of Directors of Crescent NV has endorsed the purchase of LIVEREACH MEDIA EUROPE BVBA and CRESCENT SMART LIGHTING BV (NL) from VZH NV.
The addition of all these activities and companies should generate an increase in group revenues of EUR 1 million in the second half of the year, with positive EBITDA contributions.
All of the above acquisitions are funded by reference shareholders.
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Crescent NV
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
GEREGLEMENTEERDE INFORMATIE EN VOORWETENSCHAP
Crescent NV koopt Uest NV (« ZEMBRO ») en kondigt bijkomende overnames en participatiewijzigingen aan.
Leuven, België – 12 juli 2019 – 18u, Crescent NV, (Euronext Brussels: OPTI) en Alychlo NV & CAREvolution NV, melden dat de koop/verkoop van UEST NV (« ZEMBRO ») werd afgerond. Hierbij werden 100% van de aandelen van UEST NV verkocht aan Crescent NV.
Na de rightsizing van Option NV en samenvoeging met Crescent NV, evolueerde de groep naar 4 Operationele Divisies: IoT Devices, Managed Services, Lighting, and IoT Solutions. “Deze overname kadert in de strategie van de Crescent Groep om te groeien via geïntegreerde IoT oplossingen en een uitbreiding van het activiteiten portfolio in het belangrijke healthcare segment” zegt Voorzitter Eric Van Zele.
UEST NV, onder de merknaam “ZEMBRO” produceert, verkoopt en ondersteunt persoonlijke alarmsystemen voor senioren en heeft op vandaag 4.000 actieve klanten. ZEMBRO heeft daarvoor een software-serviceplatform ontwikkeld dat, gekoppeld aan de knowhow van Crescent, in andere markten zal ingezet worden (health, personen locatie, security, etc.).
“We zien een grote opportuniteit in het verder versterken van Zembro op basis van nieuwe technologie-bouwstenen van Crescent, en verder bouwend op het bestaande kwalitatieve software platform.” zegt Alain Van den Broeck, Divisie CEO.
“De combinatie van de geïntegreerde IoT speler met de scale-up Uest (Zembro) is een logische stap, beide Uest referentieaandeelhouders geloven er sterk in dat Crescent NV op vlak van team, kennis en netwerk een grote toegevoegde waarde bieden voor de verdere groei van Zembro .” zegt Pieter Bourgeois (Investment Manager Alychlo NV).
Verder heeft de Raad van Bestuur van Crescent NV ook beslist om LIVEREACH MEDIA EUROPE BVBA en CRESCENT SMART LIGHTING BV (NL) aan te kopen van VZH NV.
De toevoeging van al deze activiteiten en vennootschappen zou reeds in de tweede jaarhelft voor een stijging van de groepsomzet met 1miljoen EUR moeten zorgen, met een positieve EBITDA bijdrage. Al deze acquisities worden gefinancierd door referentie aandeelhouders.
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
REGULATED INFORMATION - INSIDE INFORMATION
Leuven, Belgium – July 2, 2019 – 20h00, Crescent NV, Gaston Geenslaan 14, 3001 Heverlee (Euronext Brussels: OPTI) announces approval by the FSMA on July 2, 2019 of the prospectus in the context of the admission to the trading of 1,071,255,834 additional shares following the capital increase of May 22, 2018, in accordance with article 18, §2, d of the Prospectus Act of June 16, 2006.
The total number of listed shares of Crescent NV will therefore increase from 297,584,091 to 1,368,839,925. The new shares will be listed from July 17 at the latest.
Crescent NV has also added corrected consolidated financial statements 2018 on its website, which correct the results per share in the previously published financial statements.
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
GEREGLEMENTEERDE INFORMATIE EN VOORWETENSCHAP
Leuven, België – 2 juli 2019 – 20u00, Crescent NV, Gaston Geenslaan 14, 3001 Heverlee (Euronext Brussels: OPTI) meldt goedkeuring door de FSMA op 2 juli 2019 van de gelijkwaardige informatieverstrekking in het kader van de toelating tot de verhandeling van 1.071.255.834 bijkomende aandelen naar aanleiding van de kapitaalverhoging van 22 mei 2018, overeenkomstig art.18, §2, d van de Prospectuswet van 16 juni 2006.
Het totaal aantal noterende aandelen van Crescent NV zal daardoor verhogen van 297.584.091 tot 1.368.839.925. De nieuwe aandelen zullen noteren uiterlijk 17 juli.
Crescent NV heeft op haar website eveneens een gecorrigeerde geconsolideerde jaarrekening 2018 toegevoegd, die het resultaat per aandeel corrigeert in de eerder gepubliceerde jaarrekening.
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
Leuven, België – 19 June 2019 - 8h15. At today’s IoT Convention in Mechelen, Internet of Things agency Bagaar and Option announced that they will be joining forces. Bagaar will use Option’s communication technology to connect corporate technical installations to the industrial Internet. This helps industrial companies to intelligently automate analogue and digital industrial machines - in other words, to implement Industry 4.0.
Usually, the biggest challenge when making factories and industrial businesses ‘smart’ is the size of such digitisation projects, but through their new partnership, Bagaar and Option aim to tackle these together. “We’ll work with Option to develop our own communication module further and to use our combined, modular technology for new IoT projects”, says Ludo Wijckmans, CEO at Bagaar. “Option and Bagaar aim to offer an affordable way to connect every analogue or digital industrial device with the Internet, which enables companies to implement new processes such as predictive maintenance. Teaming up with Option will allow us to reach this goal quicker.”
IoT agency Bagaar develops prototypes for smart devices like smart bikes, energy meters and sensors. One of Bagaar’s sensor designs lets water companies measure the pressure in underground water pipes to detect leaks faster. Bagaar also provides technical services to connect companies to the Internet of Things. They develop the IoT plan and install the necessary sensors and communication modules.
Scale-up Bagaar enriched with decades of experience
Option has over 30 years of experience developing connectivity technologies. Their CloudGate IoT Gateway is a modular communication module for the Internet of Things which communicates through cellular networks, like 3G and 4G, and through low-power networks (LoRa, NB-IoT, LTE CaTm en BLE).
“Bagaar has the business and technical expertise to support industrial automation projects”, says Alain Van den Broeck, CEO at Option. “They can perform large-scale installations of our communication modules and successfully complete complex IoT projects. Together with Bagaar’s parent company Xylos, we’ll take care of our customers’ IoT and Industry 4.0 projects from A to Z.”
End-to-end service
Xylos will process data from connected devices in Microsoft Azure IoT, Microsoft’s Internet of Things cloud. Based on this analysis in Azure, businesses can optimise their production processes through automated bottleneck detection, avoid unnecessary costs through predictive maintenance, and much more.
Click here to see pictures of Ludo Wijckmans and Options CloudGate IoT Gateway here.
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About Option
With more than 20 years of experience and many industry’s firsts in the wireless industry, the Company is ideally positioned to bring the most efficient, reliable and secure wireless solutions to business markets and industrial markets. The Company partners with system integrators, value added resellers, application platform providers, value add distributors and network operators to bring tailor made solutions to end-customers. Option is headquartered in Belgium and is a brand of Crescent. More info on http://option.com
About Bagaar
Based on the philosophy that connected things accelerate processes and give organizations access to new markets and commercial models, the digital agency Bagaar specialized in product development for the Internet of Things. The IoT agency provides services for innovation, design and development of IoT solutions. Among other things, Bagaar designed the smart energy meter June, connected the smart bike Cowboy and developed sensors that measure the water pressure in Antwerp water pipes. Bagaar is located in Antwerp and has thirty employees. Since 2017 it is part of the Xylos Group. More info on http://bagaar.be.
CONTACT OPTION
Anne Mawet, marketing
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
CONTACT BAGAAR
Rachel Young, marketingmanager
T: +32 (0) 2 264 13 03
Press Contact
Factivity
Rafaël Tirmarche
T: +32 476 68 94 92
E: rafael@factivity.be
Leuven, België – 19 juni 2019 - 8h15, Het Internet of Things agency Bagaar en het technologiebedrijf Option, slaan de handen in elkaar. Dat hebben beide organisaties vandaag aangekondigd op de IoT Convention in Mechelen. Bagaar zal de communicatietechnologie van Option inzetten om technische installaties van bedrijven te koppelen met het industriële internet. Zo kunnen industriebedrijven analoge en digitale industriële machines slim automatiseren, industry 4.0 in vaktermen.
De grootste uitdaging om fabrieken en industriebedrijven ‘smart’ te maken is vaak de omvang van zulke digitaliseringsprojecten. Dat willen de nieuwe partners aanpakken. “Samen met Option gaan we onze eigen communicatiemodule verder ontwikkelen en onze gecombineerde, modulaire technologie inzetten bij nieuwe IoT-projecten”, zegt Ludo Wijckmans, CEO van Bagaar. “Option en Bagaar willen elk industrieel toestel - analoog of digitaal – betaalbaar koppelen met het internet, om nieuwe processen zoals ‘predictive maintenance’ te ontwikkelen. Door met Option in zee te gaan willen we die ambitie nog versnellen.”
IoT agency Bagaar ontwerpt prototypes van slimme toestellen zoals slimme fietsen of energiemeters, maar ook slimme sensoren. Met sensoren die Bagaar ontwierp, kunnen watermaatschappijen bijvoorbeeld de druk in ondergrondse waterleidingen meten en sneller lekken opsporen. Bagaar levert ook technische diensten om bedrijven te koppelen met het internet of things. Ze tekenen het IoT-plan uit en zorgen ook voor de installatie van sensoren en communicatiemodules.
Scale-up Bagaar haalt tientallen jaren ervaring op
Option heeft van zijn kant ruim dertig jaar ervaring met de ontwikkeling van connectiviteitstechnologieën. Met zijn CloudGate IoT Gateway beschikt het over een modulaire communicatiemodule voor het Internet of Things. Het toestel communiceert via cellulaire netwerken zoals 3G en 4G, maar ook via de zogenaamde low-powernetwerken LoRa, NB-IoT, LTE CaTm en BLE.
“Bagaar heeft de zakelijke en technische expertise om automatiseringsprojecten in de industrie te begeleiden”, zegt Alain van Den Broeck, CEO van Option. “Ze zijn in staat om onze communicatiemodules op grote schaal te installeren en complexe IoT-projecten tot een goed einde te brengen. Samen met Bagaars moederbedrijf Xylos helpen we klanten voortaan van begin tot eind bij hun IoT- en Industry 4.0-projecten.”
End-to-end dienst
Xylos zal de informatie van de gekoppelde toestellen verwerken in Microsoft Azure IoT, de internet-of-thingscloud van Microsoft. Aan de hand van de analyse in Azure kunnen bedrijven hun productie optimaliseren door onder meer geautomatiseerd bottlenecks te vinden of kosten besparen door bijvoorbeeld onderhoud meer voorspelbaar te maken.
Foto’s van Ludo Wijckmans en Options CloudGate IoT Gateway vindt u hier.
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Over Option
Met meer dan 30 jaar ervaring en een groot aantal wereldpremières in de mobiele technologie, is Option ideaal geplaatst om de meest efficiënte, betrouwbare en veilige draadloze oplossingen te stellen voor de bedrijfswereld en industriële markten. Het bedrijf werkt hiervoor samen met systeemintegratoren, value added resellers, application platform providers, distributeurs met toegevoegde waarde en netwerkoperatoren, om zo op maat gemaakte oplossingen aan eindklanten te kunnen voorstellen. Option heeft zijn hoofdkwartier in België en is een merk van Crescent. Meer info op http://option.com
Over Bagaar
Vanuit de filosofie dat connected things processen versnellen en organisaties toegang geven tot nieuwe markten en commerciële modellen, specialiseerde het digitale agentschap Bagaar zich in productontwikkeling voor het Internet of Things. Het IoT agency levert diensten voor innovatie, ontwerp en ontwikkeling van IoT-oplossingen. Bagaar ontwierp onder meer de slimme energiemeter June, connecteerde de slimme fiets Cowboy en ontwikkelde sensoren die de waterdruk in Antwerpse waterleidingen meten. Bagaar is gevestigd in Antwerpen en telt dertig medewerkers. Sinds 2017 maakt het deel uit van de Xylos Groep. Meer info op http://bagaar.be.
CONTACT OPTION
Anne Mawet, marketing
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
CONTACT BAGAAR
Rachel Young, marketingmanager
T: +32 (0) 2 264 13 03
Contact voor journalisten
Factivity
Rafaël Tirmarche
T: +32 476 68 94 92
E: rafael@factivity.be
Leuven, Belgique – 19 juin 2019 - 8h15, L’agence spécialisée dans l’internet des objets Bagaar et l’entreprise technologique Option ont décidé de conclure un partenariat. Les deux entreprises annoncent cette décision lors de l’IoT Convention qui a lieu à Malines ce 19 juin. Bagaar utilisera la technologie de communication d’Option pour connecter les installations techniques des entreprises à l’internet des objets industriels. De cette manière, les entreprises industrielles peuvent automatiser intelligemment des machines industrielles analogiques et numériques, c’est ce qu’on appelle l’« Industrie 4.0 » dans le jargon technique.
Le plus grand défi pour rendre les usines et les entreprises industrielles « intelligentes » est souvent la portée de ces projets de digitalisation. C’est précisément à ce problème que les nouveaux partenaires entendent s’atteler. « En partenariat avec Option, nous continuerons à développer notre propre module de communication et utiliserons notre technologie combinée et modulaire dans de nouveaux projets IoT », explique Ludo Wijckmans, CEO de Bagaar. « Option et Bagaar entendent connecter tous les appareils industriels - analogiques ou numériques - à internet à un prix abordable, afin de développer de nouveaux processus tels que la maintenance prédictive. En collaborant avec Option, nous voulons encore accélérer cette ambition. »
L’agence IoT Bagaar conçoit des prototypes d’appareils intelligents tels que des vélos ou des compteurs d’énergie, mais aussi des capteurs. Grâce aux capteurs intelligents conçus par Bagaar, les compagnies des eaux, par exemple, peuvent mesurer la pression dans les conduites d’eau souterraines et détecter plus rapidement les fuites. Bagaar fournit également des services techniques pour connecter les entreprises à l’internet des objets. Elle élabore le plan IoT et se charge de l’installation des capteurs et des modules de communication.
Bagaar va tirer parti de dizaines d’années d’expérience
Option a à son actif plus de trente ans d’expérience dans le développement de technologies de connectivité. Forte de sa passerelle IoT CloudGate, elle dispose d’un module de communication modulaire pour l’internet des objets. L’appareil communique via des réseaux cellulaires tels que 3G et 4G, mais aussi via les réseaux « basse consommation » LoRa, NB-IoT, LTE CaTm et BLE.
« Bagaar possède l’expertise opérationnelle et technique nécessaire pour soutenir les projets d’automatisation dans l’industrie », constate Alain van Den Broeck, CEO d’Option. « Elle est capable d’installer nos modules de communication à grande échelle et de mener à bonne fin des projets d’IoT complexes. En collaboration avec la société mère de Bagaar, Xylos, nous aidons désormais nos clients du début à la fin de leurs projets IoT et Industrie 4.0. »
Service de bout en bout
Xylos traitera les informations provenant des appareils connectés dans Microsoft Azure IoT, le cloud « internet des objets » de Microsoft. Sur la base de l’analyse d’Azure, les entreprises peuvent optimiser leur production, entre autres, en détectant automatiquement des goulets d’étranglement ou en réduisant les coûts, par exemple, en augmentant la prévisibilité de la maintenance.
Vous trouverez des photos de Ludo Wijckmans et de la passerelle IoT CloudGate d’Option en suivant ce lien.
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À propos d’Option
Ayant à son actif plus de 30 ans d’expérience et de nombreuses premières mondiales dans le domaine de la technologie mobile, Option est idéalement positionnée pour fournir les solutions sans fil les plus efficaces, les plus fiables et les plus sécurisées pour les entreprises et les marchés industriels. La société collabore à cet effet avec des intégrateurs de systèmes, des revendeurs à valeur ajoutée, des fournisseurs de plates-formes applicatives et des opérateurs de réseaux afin d’offrir des solutions sur mesure aux clients finaux. Option a établi son siège en Belgique et est une marque de Crescent. Plus d’informations sur http://option.com
À propos de Bagaar
Se basant sur la philosophie selon laquelle les objets connectés accélèrent les processus des entreprises et leur ouvrent les portes de nouveaux marchés et modèles commerciaux, l’agence numérique Bagaar s’est spécialisée dans le développement de produits pour l’internet des objets (IoT). L’agence IoT fournit des services d’innovation, de conception et de développement de solutions IoT. Bagaar a, entre autres, conçu le compteur d’énergie intelligent June, a connecté le vélo intelligent Cowboy, et a développé des capteurs qui mesurent la pression de l’eau dans les conduites d’eau anversoises. Bagaar est basée à Anvers et totalise trente collaborateurs. Elle fait partie du groupe Xylos depuis 2017. Plus d’informations sur http://bagaar.be.
CONTACT OPTION
Anne Mawet, marketing
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
CONTACT BAGAAR
Rachel Young, marketingmanager
T: +32 (0) 2 264 13 03
Contact pour les journalistes
Factivity
Rafaël Tirmarche
T: +32 476 68 94 92
E: rafael@factivity.be
REGULATED INFORMATION - INSIDE INFORMATION
Trading Update Q1 2019
Leuven, Belgium – May 20, 2019 – 19h00, Crescent NV, Gaston Geenslaan 14, 3001 Heverlee (Euronext Brussels: OPTI) During the first quarter of 2019 Crescent NV realized 4.8 mio €of revenues.
EBITDA for the quarter turned positive and the company maintains its outlook guidance of double digit growth for calendar 2019.
The board of directors will present the appointment of 4 independent directors to the general meeting of shareholders of 20 June.
Crescent will organize an extraordinary shareholder meeting (dd.20.06.2019) to enact a capital decrease through the absorption of accumulated & historic financial losses in order to improve its “equity to capital” ratio and lower its balance sheet. The net equity position of the company will not be affected by this operation and remains at 4.5 mio €.
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
GEREGLEMENTEERDE INFORMATIE EN VOORWETENSCHAP
Trading Update Q1 2019
Leuven, België – 20 mei 2019 – 19u00, Crescent NV, Gaston Geenslaan 14, 3001 Heverlee (Euronext Brussels: OPTI) Crescent NV realiseerde in het eerste kwartaal van 2019 4,8 miljoen euro opbrengsten. De EBITDA voor het kwartaal werd positief en de onderneming handhaaft haar vooruitzichten voor groei met dubbele cijfers voor kalenderjaar 2019.
De raad van bestuur zal de benoeming van 4 onafhankelijke bestuurders voorleggen aan de algemene aandeelhoudersvergadering van 20 juni.
Crescent zal een buitengewone aandeelhoudersvergadering organiseren (dd.20.06.2019) om een kapitaalvermindering tot stand te brengen door de absorptie van overgedragen & historische financiële verliezen om de ratio eigen vermogen tot kapitaal te verbeteren. De eigen vermogenspositie van het bedrijf wordt niet beïnvloed door deze operatie en blijft op 4,5 miljoen €.
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
REGULATED INFORMATION - INSIDE INFORMATION
Leuven, Belgium – May 20, 2019 – 21h00, Crescent NV, Gaston Geenslaan 14, 3001 Heverlee (Euronext Brussels: OPTI) today announced its unaudited results for the full fiscal year 2018 ended December 31, 2018. The financial information reported in this release is presented in Euros and has been prepared in accordance with the recognition and measurement criteria of IFRS as adopted by the European Union. The accounting policies and methods of computation followed in the attached financial statements are essentially the same as those followed in the most recent annual financial statements.
Message from the Chairman When we solved the short-term cash need of Option NV in January 2017 through the sale of Innolumis BV, a long and difficult process for rescuing the company in a sustainable way and reviving it began immediately.With the loyal support of many small investors and a few strong reference shareholders, we succeeded in converting a huge financial debt of EUR 29 million into capital. At the same time, drastic measures were taken to reduce the workforce in a socially responsible manner and to quickly reduce recurring expenses to an affordable level without affecting the basic competencies of Option.These were important first tactical realizations within a rescue trajectory that few thought possible, but in which it was already clear at the time that we also had to take strategic action to put Option back on profitable tracks.Remediation to survive was one thing, but achieving sustainable growth was another challenge of a different order.In 2018 we were then able to ensure that Option’s shareholders’ equity was positive again through a reverse takeover with Crescent Ventures, which was absolutely necessary to reschedule and refinance EUR 3 million in non-financial debts via a credit line with Belfius and via extra cash and guarantees from reference shareholders and from Gigarant.With the arrival of Alain Van den Broeck at the head of the new integrated Crescent group and with Michallis Pashidis as CTO, we were able to significantly strengthen the senior management team shortly afterwards.We could now gradually start working on the strategic refocusing of the Crescent group with an increased focus on an IOT 'Systems and Solutions' profile and with an 'end to end' value creation story thanks to synergies with Innolumis (smart lighting) and with 2Invision ( managed services).On the one hand, we chose to quickly and drastically upgrade Option's cloudgate platform and to prepare a number of targeted investments in emerging vertical markets for smart lighting and smart energy systems. We recently received support from the government for the latter. The recovery of previously paid social security fines will also contribute to the elimination of the enormous debt burden that has weighed on the company for years.In addition, the acquisition of 100% of the shares of 2Invision Managed Services BV was recently brought to a successful conclusion and we expect the introduction of the new Cloudgate platform at Crescent NV to be imminent in the second quarter of 2019. The ultimate turn around is now really under construction.I am pleased that recently we have also been able to convince four very competent and professional Directors to assist us in this fascinating but difficult course and I take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone, who continued to believe in us and supported us in this ultimate rescue attempt, for their confidence.We are determined to complete this story successfully. The best is yet to come!
Eric Van Zele
From Option to Crescent
On May 22 , 2018, the Group acquired Option NV (currently Crescent NV) and its associated subsidiaries through a "reverse acquisition". A reverse acquisition occurs when the entity that issues securities (the acquiring party in the legal sense, in this case Option NV) is identified as the acquired party. Although Crescent Ventures NV (formerly Crescent NV) is legally the subsidiary, it is therefore regarded as the parent company for the purposes of the consolidated accounts. Crescent NV (formerly Option NV) is processed as the subsidiary. This transaction has considerably changed the financial position of Crescent NV, and has substantially changed the consolidated statements. It may also be emphasized that the 2018 consolidated income statement is not representative of a full year of operations of the group as compiled at the end of 2018, because on one hand only seven months of results from Crescent NV were included and that its expenses also include non-recurring costs (EUR 497,000 in severance pay and EUR 391,000 in costs related to the reverse acquisition), and on the other hand only nine months of results from NE-IT Automatisering BV and NE-IT Hosting BV that were acquired at the end of March 2018. The pro forma turnover of the group for a full year of operations would have amounted to EUR 18.8 million for a REBITDA of EUR (0.6) million.The explanation for the largest movements from 2017 to 2018 in the profit and loss statement and the balance sheet are the result of the aforementioned reverse takeover, but also of the evolution of other changes in the composition of the group from one year to the next. Innolumis Public Lighting BV joined the group on 31 May 2017, and NE-IT as mentioned above on 31 March 2018.
Overview of results and allocation of results of the Company
Consolidated results
For a detailed report on the consolidated Income Statement and Balance Sheet, we refer to the financial report below.
The highlights of the consolidated results of 2018 include the following (in thousands EUR):
2018
2017
Revenues
16 675
11 383
EBIT
(25 859)
(1 891)
Depreciations and amortizations
23 298
1 322
EBITDA
(2 561)
(569)
Non-recurring expenses
2 366
311
REBTIDA
(195)
(259)
Financial Result
492
(65)
Result before taxes
(25 367)
(1 956)
Net result:
(25 032)
(2 638)
Attributable to shareholders Crescent
(25 262)
(2 459)
Attributable to non-controlling interest
230
(178)
The following table shows the analysis of the most important movements in revenue between 2017 and 2018 (Thousands EUR): Innolumis achieved a turnover of 4,352,000 EUR in 2018, which is an increase of almost 11% compared to 2017; in 2018, the company contributed to the group's revenues throughout the complete year, whereas this was only seven months in 2017, implying a turnover increase of EUR 1,783,000 for the group.The acquisition of the two NE-ITs by 2Invision Managed Services BV was signed on 31 March 2018. They contributed to the group's revenue for EUR 2,351,000. Together they achieved a revenue of EUR 3,192,000 in 2018, an increase of 20% compared to 2017.Crescent NV (formerly Option NV) was only included in the group results in the last seven months of 2018, which led to a contribution of EUR 2,073,000 to the increase in group revenue, but which meant a decrease in revenue for the company itself with 35% compared to 2017. This decrease can only be attributed to the lower sales of the Cloudgate products whose introduction of the new announced gamma was postponed by six months until the second quarter of 2019 due to certification problems.SAIT BV also had to take a 20% fall in turnover in 2018. The total turnover in 2018 amounted to EUR 3,619,000, a decrease of EUR 942,000 compared to 2017. The two causes were, on the one hand, the delayed completion of several large projects and, on the other hand, the reduced portfolio of new projects. The impact of previous revenue changes on REBITDA 2018 is shown in the following table (Thousands EUR):
The above table clearly shows the correlation between the increased or decreased revenue and the contribution to the group REBITDA, with the only exception being the results of Crescent NV, where the increased revenue for the group contributed negatively to the group result. Crescent NV realized a negative EBITDA of EUR 2 million in 2018, of which EUR 888,000 were non-recurring expenses. However, this was a deterioration of EBITDA by EUR 220,000 compared to 2017, despite the cost reduction of EUR 1 million in 2018. The negative net result of 2018 of EUR 25,859,000 was largely impacted by the impairment on the initial goodwill of EUR 28,040,000 resulting from the valuation of Crescent NV during the reverse acquisition. This goodwill was reduced to EUR 4,420,000 through a write-down of EUR 23,620,000.
In line with the internal follow-up of its activities, the company has divided its activities into the following segments: • Solutions - contains all activities related to the production of data cards, USB devices, routers and built-in modules, the end-to-end service offering as well as the activities related to building and maintaining telecom, earthing and lightning installations and installations for wireless communication in closed spaces; This segment includes Crescent NV, SAIT BV and Aardingen Maro Bvba • Services - contains all services related to the management of the IT environment and software for customers in public and private data center environments, as well as for small and medium-sized companies; the companies that belong to this segment are 2Invision Managed Services BV in the Netherlands, and NV in Belgium, furthermore the NE-ITs and the service division of SAIT BV. • Lighting - contains all activities related to LED street lighting and currently corresponds to the Innolumis company.
The following is an analysis of the Group's revenue and operating results per reported segment:
REBITDA contributions from the Services and Lighting segments were positive for resp. EUR 336,000 and EUR 175,000, but due to the negative REBITDA of the Solutions segment of EUR 706,000, the total REBITDA for the group amounted to EUR (195,000).
The following are the most important items in the balance sheet at the end of 2018 (Thousands EUR):
Equity increased as a result of the reverse takeover, but goodwill was increased accordingly. Full details of the description of the processing and the underlying assumptions can be found in the notes to the financial report. On May 22 , 2018, the extraordinary shareholders meeting of Crescent NV approved a capital increase by the contribution in kind of financial debts amounting to EUR 11,300,117 and by the contribution in kind of the shares of Crescent Ventures NV amounting to EUR 10,125,000.The issued capital of the company thus amounts to EUR 36,304,321, and the number of shares increased from 297,584,091 to a total of 1,368,839,925.All reports regarding this extraordinary shareholders meeting are available online at:
http://www.option.com/about-investor/.
Before the aforementioned contribution of financial debt was made on 22 May, various shareholders had made new financial resources available in early 2018 for an amount of EUR 2.1 million. These were also contributed on 22 May.
On September 27, the company announced that the credit agreement with Belfius Bank to refinance and restructure the remaining non-financial historical debt obligations (EUR 1.5 million) and to support the company with a working capital credit line of EUR 1.5 million was signed after approval by Gigarant.At year end this is drawn in total for resp. EUR 1.45 million and EUR 1.5 million.In addition, Van Zele Holding NV has responded to the request from Belfius and Gigarant to provide an additional credit line of EUR 0.5 million as an additional buffer if certain assumptions in the Group's liquidity plan could not be realized. EUR 0.4 million of this credit line was called up at year-end.
Statutory results
Full year sales amounted to EUR 3.4 million, a decrease of 35% compared to the previous financial year. This decrease was determined in both products and engineering services, on the one hand by postponing the introduction of the new CloudGate mini and micro gamma to 2019, and on the other by the decrease in engineering services for Danlaw Inc. Operating expenses decreased from EUR 7.5 million to EUR 4.0 million, resulting in a negative operating result or EBIT of EUR 2.1 million, the same as in 2017. In this result, EUR 0.9 million of non-recurring expenses were recognized in 2018 (EUR 0.5 million severance pay and EUR 0.4 million related to the reverse acquisition). Financial income includes a non-recurring income of EUR 0.2 million thanks to the sale of the shares that the company held in Autonet Mobile Inc. These were fully amortized in the accounts in the previous financial year.The financial costs decreased from EUR 0.4 million in 2017 to EUR 0.1 million in 2017, mainly due to the decrease in financial debts. With a loss of EUR 2.0 million, the net result remained approximately at the same level as in 2017 (EUR 2.1 million). The main movements in the balance sheet are explained by the contribution of Crescent Ventures NV to the capital of the Company for EUR 10.1 million and contribution of financial debts for a total amount of EUR 11.3 million. For the main assumptions and sensitivities of the underlying valuation, we refer to note 9 of the consolidated annual report.
As a result, the capital increased from EUR 14.9 million to EUR 36.3 million, the financial fixed assets increased to EUR 10.2 million and the current financial debts decreased by EUR 7.0 million and the non-current financial debts with EUR 1.8 million. In addition, shareholders made an additional EUR 2.1 million available at the beginning of 2018, which were also converted into capital. The existing non-current financial debt of EUR 0.4 million concerns a debt to Van Zele Holding NV, which was mainly used to grant an advance to the subsidiary Crescent Ventures for the purchase of the minority interests in 2Invision Managed Services BV.Belfius Bank also allowed a credit line of EUR 1.5 million, 60% guaranteed by Gigarant NV. As security for this credit line, the trading fund and the acquired shares in Crescent Ventures NV were pledged.EUR 1.45 million of this credit line was withdrawn at the end of 2018. This was mainly used to reduce the outstanding debts to social security charges, taxes and suppliers. On a balance sheet total of EUR 12.4 million, total equity amounted to EUR 4.5 million on December 31, 2018.
Allocation of the statutory result
The Board of Directors proposes to add the non-consolidated net loss of EUR 2.0 million of 2018 to the loss carried forward from the previous years. The loss carried forward increases from EUR 48 million to EUR 50 million.
Significant events that took place after the end of the financial year
The cash position of the group remains limited, but the reference shareholders have indicated that they continue to support the company. This was also made concrete in April 2019 by Van Zele Holding NV by providing an additional credit line of € 450,000, of which € 325,000 was immediately paid-in, and by Alychlo NV by an additional loan of € 400,000 that was also paid-in.In addition, smaller shareholders also promised a total of € 200,000. The agreements for the acquisition of the minority interests (40.5%) of 2Invision Managed Services BV were also definitively finalized on 27 March 2019. The remaining shares held by AJUST B.V. and PP Technology Group B.V. were acquired for a total amount of EUR 1,065,000. Of this, EUR 325,000 was paid as an advance in 2018 by a cash payment and EUR 740,000 was paid in 2019 through delivery of shares in the share capital of Crescent NV. The value of the majority of these shares is set at € 0.02. The number of shares to be delivered amounts thus to 34,157,500. On 13 April 2019 an addendum was signed to the agreement for the takeover of the two NE-IT companies. This provides for a new arrangement for the amounts still to be paid for the acquisition. The final installment (of the Purchase Price) of EUR 700,000 is paid as follows. An amount of EUR 160,000 was paid on April 26, 2019 and an amount of EUR 74,000 will be paid on May 31, 2019. With regard to the (remaining) amount of EUR 466,000, it is agreed that this will be paid by Crescent Ventures by means of delivery of bearer shares in the share capital of Crescent, subject to the provisions in sub b. The value of each share is set at EUR 0.04. Delivery of the shares will take place in the following manner:a. The seller is entitled to the delivery of 11,650,000 bearer shares in the share capital of Crescent. Crescent Ventures is obliged to deliver the aforementioned number of freely tradable shares within 31 days after the aforementioned number has been issued by Crescent, but no later than 31 August 2019 to the seller's securities account.b. The seller is aware that on 13 April 2019 Crescent Ventures does not have freely tradable shares in Crescent's share capital. If Crescent Ventures does not succeed in delivering the shares referred to in the aforementioned article on time, then the Seller will be entitled to payment of the remaining amount of EUR 466,000 in respect of the Purchase Price to the Buyer. This claim will then become due on September 14, 2019. For the obligations regarding the acquisition of the minority interests of 2Invision Managed Services BV, Van Zele Holding NV has stated its willingness to take over this temporarily from Crescent NV.After payment of the advance of EUR 325,000 in 2018, Crescent Ventures NV still had to deliver a total of 31,315,000 shares of Crescent NV to the minority shareholders in April 2019 and 2,842,500 shares before the end of July 2019. At the end of 2018, the Company submitted a request for remission of contribution surcharges to the National Social Security Office. In April 2019, she received a message that the fines paid were fully waived for the years 2013 to 2017 in the amount of € 603,000. This amount may be deducted from the following payments of social debts. This amount will be included in the 2019 results; the cash expenditure of 2019 will therefore be estimated to decrease by € 480,000, that of 2020 by € 123,000.
CRITICAL JUDGEMENTS
Going concern
In 2018, the group took a number of crucial steps in its ambition to refocus and restructure itself. On May 22, 2018, all but EUR 0.5 million of external financing debts (convertible bond loans and bridge financing) were contributed to the capital and the activities of Crescent Ventures were also contributed.This enabled the group to conclude an additional credit financing with Belfius in September 2018, 60% guaranteed by Gigarant. This has enabled the Group to improve its liquidity position, on the one hand by rescheduling the short-term financial debt by EUR 1.25 million to the long-term, and on the other by an additional credit line of EUR 1.5 million that has been used to pay off a number of overdue debts. In addition, Van Zele Holding NV has responded to the request from Belfius and Gigarant to provide an additional credit line of EUR 0.5 million as an additional buffer if certain assumptions in the Group's liquidity plan could not be realized.At the end of December 2018, however, the drawdown of the Belfius loan was already EUR 1.45 million and the drawdown of the additional credit line of Van Zele Holding amounted to EUR 0.4 million. The cash position at the end of December remains limited at EUR 0.6 million. The gross financial debt amounted to EUR 4.6 million at that time.
The realization of the various three-year plans should furthermore allow more than to supplement the liquidity shortages still foreseen in some companies with cash surpluses in others. The result and cash generation trends in the lighting and services segments look positive and compensate for the cash deficits of the companies in the Solutions segment, which still weigh on the liquidity position of the group.With the introduction of some new products from the second quarter of 2019 and the move towards solutions and software, management expects that the cash losses of Crescent NV can also be stopped, so that this company will gradually start contributing to positive cash flows. Although the board of directors has full confidence in the realization of the three-year plan for the group, for a number of activities in the group these represent a trend break or acceleration compared to the past. There is therefore a risk that this change in turnover could be delayed and the ambitious plans not realized, which could increase the pressure on the liquidity position. This liquidity pressure was also increased in April 2019 by the last repayment of a remaining bridge financing of EUR 0.5 million, which forced the group to obtain additional financing from the reference shareholders. At the beginning of April 2019, Van Zele Holding NV and Alychlo NV made funds available for EUR 325,000 and EUR 400,000 respectively, and in addition to Van Zele Holding NV, which will also further pay-in EUR125,000, other existing shareholders were willing to pay together another EUR 200,000.The current reference shareholders have indicated their intention to provide the company with the necessary resources to achieve its objectives and to meet the urgent working capital needs, and the board of directors is confident that this will happen if necessary.
In addition, the Company is continuing to negotiate with some suppliers to agree or revise payment plans, so that this can also be absorbed within existing cash projections without the need for additional financing.
The Board of Directors is of the opinion that through the combination of these measures and the successful completion of the actions already taken, the Company will have sufficient funds over the next 12 months to realize its plan and confirms herewith its valuation rules regarding going concern.
Full press release including tables here & on www.option.com/about-investor
CONTACT
Edwin Bex
Gaston Geenslaan 14
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
TEL: +32 (0) 16 31 74 11
FAX: +32 (0) 16 31 74 90
E-mail: investor@option.com
www.option.com
www.crescent-ventures.com
Half Year + Full Year 2018 results:
Annual Report 2018:
Half year 2019 results & Interim Financial report:
Monday September 30, 2019 - before market trading
Annual Shareholders Meeting: Thursday June 20, 2019 in Leuven (Belgium).
Half jaar + volledig jaar 2018 resultaten:
maandag 20 mei 2019
Jaarverslag 2017:
Half jaar 2018 resultaten en Tussentijds Financieel verslag:
Algemene aandeelhoudersvergadering: donderdag 20 juni 2019 in Leuven (België).
Financial News 2015 onwards - see Reports & Publications
Financial News 2015 / Financieel Nieuws 2015
Financial News 2014 / Financieel Nieuws 2014
Financial News 2013 / Financieel Nieuws 2013
Financial News 2012 / Financieel Nieuws 2012
Financial News 2011 / Financieel Nieuws 2011
Financial News 2010 / Financieel Nieuws 2010
Financial News 2009 / Financieel Nieuws 2009
Financial News 2008 / Financieel Nieuws 2008
Financial News 2007 / Financieel Nieuws 2007
Financial News 2006 / Financieel Nieuws 2006
Financial News 2005 / Financieel Nieuws 2005
Financial News 2004 / Financieel Nieuws 2004
Financial News 2003 / Financieel Nieuws 2003
Financial News 2002 / Financieel Nieuws 2002
Statutory Accounts – Enkelvoudige Jaarrekeningen 2018
Statutory Accounts – Enkelvoudige Jaarrekeningen 2017
Statutory Accounts – Enkelvoudige Jaarrekeningen 2016
Statutory Accounts – Enkelvoudige Jaarrekeningen 2015
Statutory Accounts – Enkelvoudige Jaarrekeningen 2014
Statutory Accounts – Enkelvoudige Jaarrekeningen 2013
Statutory accounts 2005 to 2012 - see Shareholders' meetings - Ordinary General meetings 2005 to 2012.
GELIJKWAARDIGE INFORMATIEVERSTREKKING
IN HET KADER VAN DE TOELATING TOT VERHANDELING
VAN 1.071.255.834 BIJKOMENDE AANDELEN
(artikel 18, § 2, d) van de Prospectuswet van 16 juni 2006)
Op grond van artikel 18, § 2, d) van de Wet van 26 juni 2006 op de openbare aanbieding van beleggingsinstrumenten en de toelating tot de verhandeling op een gereglementeerde markt, wordt de onderstaande gelijkwaardige informatie ter beschikking gesteld :
GELIJKWAARDIGE INFORMATIEVERSTREKKING
IN HET KADER VAN DE TOELATING TOT VERHANDELING
VAN 116.464.000 BIJKOMENDE AANDELEN - 27 juni 2017
(artikel 18, § 2, d) van de Prospectuswet van 16 juni 2006)
Bijlage A - Bijzonder verslag van de raad van bestuur overeenkomstig artikel 602 van het wetboek van vennootschappen
Bijlage B - Verslag van de commissaris overeenkomstig artikel 602 van het wetboek van vennootschappen
Bijlage B2 - Brief Deloitte Correctie Inbreng in natura
Bijlage C - Akte kapitaalverhoging
Bijlage D - Coördinatie statuten Option NV
Bijlage E - Corporate Governance Charter Option NV
Bijlage F - Jaarverslag en jaarrekening 2013
Bijlage G - Jaarverslag en jaarrekening 2014
Bijlage H - Jaarverslag en jaarrekening 2015
Bijlage I - Jaarverslag en jaarrekening 2016
Bijlage J – Halfjaarcijfers 2016
Bijlage K - Persberichten
GELIJKWAARDIGE INFORMATIEVERSTREKKING
IN HET KADER VAN DE TOELATING TOT VERHANDELING
VAN 82.677.545 BIJKOMENDE AANDELEN
(artikel 18, § 2, d) van de Prospectuswet van 16 juni 2006)
Bijlage A - Bijzonder verslag van de raad van bestuur overeenkomstig artikel 602 van het wetboek van vennootschappen
Bijlage B - Verslag van de commissaris overeenkomstig artikel 602 van het wetboek van vennootschappen
Bijlage C - Akte kapitaalverhoging
Bijlage D - Coördinatie statuten Option NV
Bijlage E - Corporate Governance Charter Option NV
Bijlage F - Jaarverslag en jaarrekening 2013
Bijlage G - Jaarverslag en jaarrekening 2014
Bijlage H - Jaarverslag en jaarrekening 2015
Bijlage I - Halfjaarcijfers 2016
Bijlage J – Jaarcijfers 2016
Bijlage K - Persberichten
KAPITAALSTRUCTUUR CRESCENT NV
Laatste update: augustus 2019
CAPITAL STRUCTURE CRESCENT NV
Last update: August 2019
Transparency filing
In accordance with the requirements of the current legislation on the disclosure of major participations in issuers of which shares are admitted to trading on a ‘regulated market’, are any natural or legal person who, directly or indirectly, acquire or resign shares or other voting granting financial instruments of the company, whether or not they represent capital, compulsory by the law applicable at that time, are obliged to inform both the Company and the FSMA of the number of financial instruments owned as well as the percentage of existing voting rights whenever the voting rights are attached to these financial instruments reach a first time three percent (3%) and then five percent (5%) or a multiple of five percent (5%), exceed or fall below such percentage. The involved shareholders must comply with the statutory requirements and regulations in this regard.
Overeenkomstig de voorschriften van de vigerende wetgeving inzake de`openbaarmaking van belangrijke deelnemingen in emittenten waarvan aandelen zijn toegelaten tot de verhandeling op een gereglementeerde markt', is elke natuurlijke of rechtspersoon die, rechtstreeks of onrechtstreeks, aandelen of andere stemrecht verlenende financiële instrumenten van de vennootschap, die al dan niet het kapitaal vertegenwoordigen, verwerft of afstaat, verplicht in de omstandigheden voorzien door de op dat ogenblik toepasselijke wetgeving, zowel de vennootschap als de FSMA kennis te geven van het aantal financiële instrumenten dat hij bezit, alsook het percentage van de bestaande stemrechten, telkens wanneer de stemrechten verbonden aan deze financiële instrumenten een eerste maal drie procent (3%) en vervolgens vijf procent (5%) of een veelvoud van vijf procent (5%) bereiken, overschrijden of beneden zulk percentage zakken. De betrokken aandeelhouders dienen zich te conformeren naar de wettelijke voorschriften ter zake.
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- Declaration of interest / Kennisgeving 2018
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Shareholders’ meeting
Extraordinary General Meeting - 20 December 2019
Convocation Extraordinary General Meeting (including agenda) (NL) CORRECTIE (Q NIEUW UIT TE GEVEN AANDELEN)
Ordinary General Meeting - 20 June 2019
Extraordinary General Meeting - 20 June 2019
Ordinary General Meeting - 15 June 2018
Extraordinary General Meeting - 22 May 2018
Ordinary General Meeting – 31 May 2018
Extraordinary General Meeting - 2 May 2018
Extraordinary General Meeting - 30 June 2017
Ordinary General Meeting – 30 June 2017
Extraordinary General Meeting - 12 June 2017
PREVIOUS Shareholder's meetings
Ordinary General Meeting – 31 May 2016
Extraordinary General Meeting - 26 June 2015
Extraordinary General Meeting - 29 May 2015
Ordinary General Meeting – 29 May 2015
Extraordinary General Meeting – 31 May 2013
Official By-Laws in Dutch (PDF), May 2018
LEUVEN, België – 24 april 2014 – Option (EURONEXT Brussel: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY) is van mening dat bij het uitvoeren van het nieuwe businessmodel geënt op ‘connecting Things to the Cloud’, met verkoopcycli voor M2M-projecten die 8 tot 18 maanden in beslag nemen, kwartaalgebaseerde updates over de inkomsten minder betekenisvol zijn. Een halfjaarlijkse en jaarlijkse update over de financiële situatie en de business is beter geschikt om de prestaties van het bedrijf te evalueren.
Hoogtepunten eerste kwartaal
SimplyHome’s Goal: Expand In-Home Services to Thousands of Aging and Disabled Recipients
New technologies are changing the way health services are delivered, allowing recipients to remain in their homes to receive care and to avoid costly hospital stays. SimplyHome of Asheville, N.C., is meeting this need with a portfolio of innovative home care solutions for independent living – specifically tailored to serve aging and disabled populations nationwide.
The solution was developed together with Aeris (www.aeris.com) and includes the use of CloudGate.
By communicating with multiple sensors to observe activities of daily living, the SimplyHome systems proactively alert caregivers and loved ones to changes in behavioral patterns. Text, email or phone alerts can be generated by a single event, an intersection of multiple events or by inactivity. Components like motion sensors, door/window contacts, and bed pressure pads alert caretakers to falls, wandering, and sleep patterns. The SimplyHome systems also help the resident remain independent with environmental controls that operate beds, lights, TVs, doors, and more via tablet or voice-activation.
State and federal healthcare agencies encourage in-home care programs as a vital way to deliver efficiencies. With Medicaid under increased pressure to find more cost-effective solutions without compromising care, SimplyHome’s services provide an important solution.
Read the full story here:
www.aeris.com/m2m-solutions/case-studies/simplyhome-case-study/
Regulated information
LEUVEN – Belgium – April 11 2014 – 17.45h – Option (EURONEXT Brussels: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY), the company connecting Things to the Cloud, today announces that it has successfully concluded a private placement. The company intended to raise an amount ranging between € 8 to 12 million and is pleased to report that it has effectively secured the maximum amount of € 12 million via the issue of a convertible bond. The funding is subscribed to by Quaeroq CVBA for € 4 million, Alychlo NV, holding company of Marc Coucke, for € 2,7 million, Vermec NV for € 1,5 million, Jan Callewaert for € 0,5 million, Frank Deschuytere, CEO of Option, for € 0,2 million and a number of private investors and companies for € 3,1 million.
This financing round was a success following the investors’ firm belief in the market opportunity of the Internet of Things and in the unique position Option has and the solutions it brings to this market. The new funds will be used to support the expansion of the sales channels, sales & sales support teams, to expand the product portfolio with technology & applications and to further develop the CloudGate partner-ecosystem.
The 5-year convertible bond matures in April 2019 and has an annual interest rate of 9% with an initial conversion price of € 0.295, which is the average price of the Option share 30 days prior to the issuing of the convertible bond. The interest shall be capitalized with the outstanding principal amount of the bonds on a half-yearly basis.
Further information regarding the convertible bond can be found in the report of the Board of Directors drafted in accordance with articles 583, 596 juncto 598 of the Code of Companies and in the report of the Auditor of the company drafted in accordance with articles 596 juncto 598 of the Code of Companies.
These reports are available below(in Dutch only):
Gereguleerde informatie
LEUVEN – België, 11 april 2014 – 17u45 – Option (EURONEXT Brussels: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY), het bedrijf dat staat voor ‘Connecting Things to the Cloud’, maakt vandaag bekend dat het een private plaatsing met succes heeft afgerond. De vennootschap had de intentie om een bedrag binnen de vork van 8 à 12 miljoen euro op te halen, en is tevreden te kunnen melden dat het zich inderdaad van het maximale bedrag van 12 miljoen euro wist te verzekeren via de uitgifte van een converteerbare obligatie. Deze obligatie wordt onderschreven door Quaeroq CVBA voor 4 miljoen euro, Alychlo NV, de holding vennootschap van Marc Coucke, voor 2,7 miljoen euro, Vermec NV voor 1,5 miljoen euro, Jan Callewaert voor 0,5 miljoen euro, Frank Deschuytere, CEO van Option, voor 0,2 miljoen euro en daarnaast een aantal privé-investeerders en bedrijven voor samen 3,1 miljoen euro.
Deze financieringsronde was een succes dankzij het sterke geloof van de investeerders in de opportuniteiten binnen de markt van het ‘Internet of Things’, en in de oplossingen en de unieke positie van Option binnen deze markt. De nieuwe fondsen zullen worden aangewend om de expansie te ondersteunen van de verkoopkanalen, de verkoop- en supportteams, om de productportfolio verder uit te breiden met technologie & toepassingen en om verder het ecosysteem van CloudGate-partners uit te breiden.
De converteerbare obligatie over 5 jaar loopt af in april 2019 en heeft een jaarlijkse interestvoet van 9,00% en de initiële conversieprijs bedraagt 0,295 euro, wat overeenstemt met de gemiddelde koers van het Option-aandeel gedurende de 30 dagen voor de uitgifte van de converteerbare obligatie. De interest zal worden gekapitaliseerd bij het initieel uitstaande bedrag van de obligaties en dit op een halfjaarlijkse basis.
Meer details over de converteerbare obligatie zijn beschikbaar in het rapport van de Raad van Bestuur, dat is opgesteld in overeenstemming met de artikelen 583, 596 juncto 598 van het Wetboek van Vennootschappen, en in het rapport van de Auditor van de Vennootschap dat is opgesteld in overeenstemming met de artikelen 596 juncto 598 van het Wetboek van Vennootschappen.
Deze rapporten zijn hieronder beschikbaar:
Leuven, België – 13 maart 2014 – Option N.V. (EURONEXT Brussels: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY), een wereldspeler op het gebied van draadloze connectiviteit, heeft vandaag haar resultaten bekendgemaakt van het volledige jaar, eindigend op 31 december 2013. De resultaten zijn uitgedrukt in euro en werden opgesteld in overeenstemming met de opname- en waarderingsgrondslagen van IFRS zoals aanvaard binnen de Europese Unie. De boekhoudprincipes en waarderingsregels die in de onderstaande financiële rapportering worden gevolgd, zijn dezelfde als deze in de meest recente jaarrekening.
Business Update
Frank Deschuytere, CEO van Option, gaf volgende commentaar:
“CloudGate, de intelligente M2M gateway van Option, is uniek gepositioneerd om in te spelen op de opportuniteiten in de belangrijkste M2M-markten. Deze oplossing is uiterst competitief. Als ik kijk naar het aantal partners dat heeft gekozen voor de CloudGateoplossing, naar de opportuniteiten in onze verkoopskanalen en naar de snelheid waarmee de verkoopscycli zich in een eindfase bevinden, heb ik er vertrouwen in dat dit zal resulteren in een gezonde omzetgroei, in lijn met onze plannen.”
Financiële kerncijfers voor het volledige jaar 2013
Voor het volledige persbericht, inclusief tabellen, gelieve op onderstaande link te klikken:
Option rapporteert resultaten van het volledige jaar 2013
Leuven, Belgium – March 13, 2014 – Option N.V. (EURONEXT Brussels: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY), a global leader in wireless connectivity, security and experience, today announced its results for the full fiscal year ended December 31, 2013. The financial information reported in this release is presented in Euros and has been prepared in accordance with the recognition and measurement criteria of IFRS as adopted by the European Union. The accounting policies and methods of computation followed in the attached financial statements are the same as those followed in the most recent annual financial statements.
Business Update
Frank Deschuytere, CEO Option commented:
“CloudGate, Option’s intelligent M2M gateway, is uniquely positioned to capture the opportunities in the key M2M markets defined. The solution is highly competitive. Looking at the number of partners that have adopted the CloudGate solution, looking at the opportunities in our sales funnel and looking at the speed at which the sales cycles mature, I feel confident that this will result in a healthy top line growth in line with our plans.”
Financial Highlights of the full fiscal year 2013
For the entire press release, including tables, click on the link below.
Option reports full year 2013 results
Two Option partners will demonstrate industry solutions where CloudGate is a main part of.
Smith Micro’s demonstration will be focused on offering WiFi access in taxi cabs in its current form but flexible enough to adapt to other use cases. Taxi cab companies should be receptive to those new service offerings because they face a growing threat from companies promoting and providing customers with easy online ordering/dispatching services.
There is a public demo of Smiths Micro application in the Open Mobile Alliance partner event on Wednesday, 26 February 2014, at 15:00h, in Hall 8.0 Theatre District.
DCN (or DeviceCloudNetworks) will have a demo set up with CloudGate using IP based Wi-Fi cameras as the end point. At this point, DCN will set up CloudGate and the cameras in their US office and show their capabilities via web device at the show in Barcelona (Spain). DCN located in the Meeting Room Suites Area (Stand: 2A2MR).
Option will be present at the M2M summit scandianvia tradeshow from November 5 – 6 2013 in the Kista Exhibition Center Stockholm,booth: M2M04. The M2M Summit Scandinavia presents a brand new platform to discover the latest trends and developments in the rapidly evolving field of M2M communication. You can expect a vibrant conference and exhibition, where major M2M actors – including Option – meet, exchange and bring their M2M solutions to a truly international audience. Over 1.000 visitors are expected at the prime venue of Kistamässan, the Silicon Valley of Scandinavia, just outside of Stockholm. In addition to an M2M zone in the exhibition area at the Embedded Conference, the one-day M2M conference provides a unique platform for the presentation of new trends and interesting business cases.
Option will showcase the modular & intelligent gateway CloudGate, a key building block in today’s M2M projects. Option welcomes key customers as well as System Houses and System Integrators interested in reselling this unique solution (intelligent M2M gateway and the provisioning server).
If you are visiting this show and would like to have a demo of the M2M platform, please contact Joris Van der Elst at j.vanderelst@option.com
Intelligent and flexible M2M gateway, CloudGate, key building block of ‘Belgacom m2m factory’ solution
LEUVEN, Belgium – October 25, 2013 – Option (EURONEXT Brussels: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY), the Company connecting Things to the Cloud, announces that the company’s flagship product, CloudGate, has been selected by Belgacom as M2M gateway in the ‘Belgacom m2m factory’ solution. The partnership with the Belgian network operator was announced at the Broadband World Forum 2013.
With the ‘Belgacom m2m factory’, companies can combine the necessary building blocks of hardware, application middleware and connectivity via Belgacom's mobile and fixed networks to build, deploy and manage their own complete M2M application. Belgacom is working with Option’s CloudGate as key building block of the solution.
Belgacom selected CloudGate, after a thorough testing-phase, because of the gateway’s intelligence, reliability and flexibility enabling the operator’s customers do deploy their M2M solutions in a fast and reliable way. Option’s CloudGate solution – consisting of the CloudGate device and CloudGate Universe, the cloud based software provisioning system – provided the telecom operator with the open and modular architecture they needed for their M2M platform. The customer references of CloudGate-based projects in the US helped to further convince Belgacom that Option was the right choice.
With the Belgacom-Option M2M solution partners of Belgacom get a “one-stop shop” solution from leading industry players to migrate and roll out their M2M solutions via the cloud. CloudGate’s open software platform and hardware and software development kits allows them to develop their own on gateway software solutions integrating existing Option developed or in-house developed hardware expansion cards. This makes it the ideal development platform for System Integrators and Independent Software Vendors for their current and future M2M business solutions.
About CloudGate
CloudGate is an M2M solution that includes an intelligent M2M gateway, an open M2M application development environment and a cloud based provisioning service. It meets all the market requirements for a robust, secure, feature rich routing platform that will not let customers down in the field.
Application Enablement Platform vendors and System Integrators creating M2M solutions are faced with the challenge of very fragmented customer requirements. CloudGate provides an extensible hardware and software platform that allows them to tailor the product to meet the needs of each customer reducing their time to solution, development costs and increasing their addressable markets.
Intelligente en flexibele M2M gateway CloudGate is belangrijke bouwsteen voor ‘Belgacom m2m factory’ oplossing
Leuven, België – 25 oktober 2013 – Option (EURONEXT Brussel: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY), het bedrijf dat staat voor ‘Connecting Things to the Cloud’, maakt bekend dat het belangrijkste product van het bedrijf, met name CloudGate, werd geselecteerd door Belgacom als M2M gateway voor de ‘Belgacom m2m factory’ oplossing. Het partnership met de Belgische netwerkoperator werd aangekondigd tijdens het Broadband World Forum 2013.
Dankzij de ‘Belgacom m2m factory’ kunnen bedrijven de noodzakelijke bouwstenen op vlak van hardware, applicatie middleware en connectiviteit via Belgacom’s mobiele en vaste netwerken combineren om zo hun eigen, complete M2M-applicatie te ontwikkelen, uit te rollen en te beheren. Belgacom werkt met Option’s CloudGate als belangrijke bouwsteen in deze oplossing.
Belgacom selecteerde CloudGate na een strenge testfase, en dit omwille van de intelligentie, de betrouwbaarheid en de flexibiliteit van de gateway, die de klanten van de operator de mogelijkheid bieden om hun eigen M2M-oplossingen op een snelle en betrouwbare manier uit te rollen. Option’s oplossing CloudGate – die bestaat uit het CloudGate toestel en CloudGate Universe, het cloudgebaseerde software provisioning systeem – bood de telecomoperator precies de open en modulaire architectuur die nodig was voor zijn M2M-platform. Klantenreferenties van CloudGate-gebaseerde projecten in de VS hielpen mee om Belgacom te overtuigen dat Option de juiste keuze was.
Dankzij de Belgacom-Option M2M-oplossing kunnen partners van Belgacom terugvallen op een “one-stop shop” oplossing van toonaangevende spelers binnen deze markt om zo hun eigen M2M-oplossingen te migreren en uit te rollen via de cloud.
Het open software platform, de hardware en de software development kits van CloudGate bieden hen verder de mogelijkheid om hun eigen gateway software oplossingen te ontwikkelen, en daarbij kunnen ze bestaande, door Option of in eigen huis ontwikkelde hardware uitbreidingskaarten integreren. Dit maakt het tot het ideale ontwikkelingsplatform voor systeemintegratoren en onafhankelijke software vendors voor zowel hun huidige als toekomstige zakelijke M2M-oplossingen.
Over CloudGate
CloudGate is een M2M oplossing die bestaat uit een intelligente M2M gateway, een open M2M ontwikkelingsomgeving voor applicaties en een cloudgebaseerde provisioning service. Het komt zo tegemoet aan de noden in de markt voor een robuust en veilige routing platform dat over veel mogelijke toepassingen beschikt en dat op het terrein klanten nooit in de steek zal laten.
Application Enablement Platform vendors en systeemintegratoren die M2M oplossingen op de markt brengen, staan voor grote uitdagingen omwille van de sterk gefragmenteerde vraag vanwege hun klanten. CloudGate voorziet een uitbreidbaar hardware en software platform dat hen de mogelijkheid biedt om hun product op de maat van de noden van iedere klant af te stemmen en zo de tijd voor een oplossing gevoelig inkort, de ontwikkelingskosten doet dalen en het aantal aan te boren markten vergroot.
LEUVEN, Belgium – October 24, 2013 – Option (EURONEXT Brussels: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY) today announced that the company posted revenue of EUR 2.2 million in the third quarter of 2013.
The company added several design wins in the third quarter as a result of the ecosystem of partners that has been developed in the Americas. These should result in significantly increased revenues from customer projects over the next 12 months. In addition to the successful deployment of CloudGate in the fuel truck monitoring solution of GPS4Hire, CloudGate is being deployed in solutions for sizeable projects for the marine industry and electrical power and water management applications in the utilities industries. Furthermore, the CloudGate is being used in demonstrations, pilot programs, and soon to be commercial deployments with middleware partners. The over two hundred seed and evaluation units in customer hands allow for implementation of solutions on any of the approved networks of the leading carriers in the US and Canada (AT&T, Bell Mobility, Sprint, Telus, T-Mobile, and Verizon). The competitive pricing and hardware and software flexibility of CloudGate is generating opportunities in the Latin America markets. The breath of solutions for which CloudGate is being considered and utilized is congruent with the large growth expectations for the M2M market.
In Europe the company continued to invest in sales & marketing programs to strengthen its M2M partner network and to increase its footprint in the M2M ecosystem. During the quarter CloudGate was integrated in the M2M solution offerings of several European partners with customer projects in piloting or deployment stages.
The company continues to monitor its financial situation closely and takes the necessary actions to bring its cost-base in line with the revenues.
LEUVEN, België – 24 oktober 2013 – Option (EURONEXT Brussels: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY), maakte vandaag bekend dat de onderneming een omzet realiseerde van 2,2 miljoen EURO in het derde kwartaal van 2013.
Het bedrijf heeft in het derde kwartaal verschillende design-wins gerealiseerd als gevolg van het eco-systeem van partners dat in de VS werd uitgebouwd. Deze zouden moeten zorgen voor een substantiële hogere omzet gedurende de volgende 12 maanden. Bijkomend op het succesvol uitrollen van CloudGate in de oplossing voor het monitoren van brandstof in tankwagens van GPS4Hire wordt CloudGate tevens uitgerold in oplossingen voor belangrijke projecten in de scheepvaart en voor toepassingen voor electrical power en water management van nutsbedrijven. Verder wordt CloudGate gebruikt in demo’s, pilootprogramma’s en andere commerciële toepassingen van middleware partners. De meer dan 200 test units van CloudGate in gebruik bij klanten zijn in staat om verschillende toepassingen te laten werken op de netwerken van de toonaangevende operatoren in de V.S. en Canada (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, Telus en Bell Mobility). Het feit dat CloudGate competitief geprijsd is en software flexibiliteit verschaft, zorgt er voor dat er ook mogelijkheden voor het product gecreëerd worden in Latijns-Amerika. De grote waaier van oplossingen waarvoor CloudGate in aanmerking komt en gebruikt kan worden is congruent met de grote groeiverwachtingen voor de M2M-markt.
In Europa blijft het bedrijf investeren in sales & marketing programma’s om zijn M2M-partnernetwerk te versterken en de omvang van zijn M2M-ecosysteem te vergroten. Tijdens het kwartaal werd CloudGate geïntegreerd in het aanbod van M2M-oplossingen van verschillende Europese partners, waarbij verschillende projecten bij klanten in een piloot- of uitrolfase zitten.
De onderneming blijft zijn financiële situatie van dichtbij volgen en neemt de noodzakelijke maatregelen om zijn kostenbasis in lijn te brengen met de omzet.
Jan Callewaert Executive Chairman
LEUVEN, Belgium – October 21, 2013 – Option (EURONEXT Brussels: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY), the company connecting Things to the Cloud, announces today the appointment of Frank Deschuytere as CEO of Option. Jan Callewaert, who has been the company’s CEO since he founded Option in 1986, will serve as Executive Chairman. The changes are effective immediately.
Frank Deschuytere will lead Option in further implementing the company’s strategy of becoming a leading player in the buoying M2M market worldwide. In his role he is responsible for all day-to-day management of the company. Jan Callewaert will shift his focus to the overall strategic direction of the company, investor relations and on addressing his network of key industry players and business partners.
Frank Deschuytere (°1964, Belgium) has more than 20 years of experience in various management positions within the technology industry. He started his career in 1989 at Agfa-Gevaert’s R&D department, where he worked on the development of technologies for digital printing. In 1999, he joined Xeikon, taking on various roles as a member of the executive team, including responsibility for R&D, production, logistics, HR and sales. In 2010, he moved to OTN Systems, a producer of telecommunication equipment. As VP R&D and Service at OTN Systems, he oversaw the transition to a new network technology. Early 2013 he became CEO of Xeikon, a position he relinquished after the successful introduction of a new major shareholder. Frank Deschuytere has a master’s degree in engineering science (specializing in civil telecommunication engineering) from the University of Ghent (Belgium) and obtained an MBA from the University of Leuven (Belgium).
Frank Deschuytere: “I’m honoured with my appointment as the CEO of Option. This is a company that has earned the respect of many, both as an example of entrepreneurial spirit and as a technology innovator worldwide. I am convinced that the company’s strategic shift from a B2C to a B2B company with intense focus on the wireless M2M market was the right move to make. I’m ready to take on the challenge and further implement the company’s strategy.”
Jan Callewaert: “Option is reinventing itself. We have developed a world-class M2M platform that is the foundation of the new Option. The transformation of the company requires new skills internally, a whole new partner model and a thorough understanding and management of a project-oriented business. With the announcement of Frank as the Company’s new CEO we’re bringing in the person with an in-depth understanding of and experience with technology companies in B2B and project-driven markets. The arrival of Frank makes it the right time for me to hand over the CEO responsibilities. Frank has proven during his career that he can combine an entrepreneurial spirit with a first class management style while perfectly understanding the technologies driving our industry.”
“On behalf of Option’s board, I would like to thank Jan for his outstanding stewardship of the company for the past 27 years,” said Larry Levy, chair of the Nomination Committee of the Board of Directors at Option. “Jan’s vision has been and will continue to be the beacon of Option. ‘Anytime, Anywhere easy access to information’ happened in a big way and is now being extended in the new world of Internet of Things. The board is confident that the combination of Frank as CEO and Jan as Executive Chairman and visionary is the right one to ensure the company’s future prosperity.”
Jan Callewaert founded Option in 1986 and as CEO, grew the company to more than 300 million euro’s in annual revenue. Based on his vision of ‘Anywhere, Anytime easy access to information’, he built Option into a company that is a respected player in the wireless industry worldwide. Under his leadership the Company delivered no less than 21 significant innovations, Option was awarded the title of Company of the Year in 2005, the same year Jan Callewaert was honoured as Manager of the Year. In 2007 the World Economic Forum selected Option as a member of the “Community of Global Growth Companies”.
Jan Callewaert Uitvoerend Voorzitter
LEUVEN, België – 21 oktober 2013 – Option (EURONEXT Brussels: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY), het bedrijf dat staat voor ‘connecting Things to the Cloud’, maakt vandaag de aanstelling bekend van Frank Deschuytere tot CEO van Option. Jan Callewaert, die CEO was sinds de oprichting in 1986, blijft actief als Uitvoerend Voorzitter. Deze wijzigingen gaan onmiddellijk in.
Frank Deschuytere zal Option leiden bij het verder implementeren van de bedrijfsstrategie die erin bestaat om een toonaangevende speler te worden in de wereldwijd groeiende M2M-markt. In zijn rol is hijverantwoordelijk voor het dagelijkse management van het bedrijf. Jan Callewaert zal zijn focus verleggen naar de overkoepelende strategische koers van het bedrijf, investor relations en het aanspreken van zijn netwerk van industriële spelers en businesspartners.
Frank Deschuytere (°1964, België) heeft meer dan 20 jaar ervaring in diverse managementfuncties binnen de technologische sector. Hij startte zijn carrière in 1989 bij het R&D-departement van Agfa-Gevaert, waar hij meewerkte aan de ontwikkeling van technologieën voor digital drukken. In 1999 vervoegde hij Xeikon, waar hij diverse rollen opnam binnen het executive team, met onder meer de verantwoordelijkheid voor R&D, productie, logistiek, HR en sales. In 2010 stapte hij over naar OTN Systems, een producent van telecommunicatie-apparatuur. Als VP R&D en Service bij OTN Systems overzag hij de transitie naar een nieuwe netwerktechnologie. Begin 2013 werd hij CEO van Xeikon, een positie waarvan hij afstand deed na de succesvolle introductie van een nieuwe belangrijke aandeelhouder. Frank Deschuytere is Master in de ingenieurswetenschappen - burgerlijk ingenieur (met een specialisatie in de telecommunicatie), afgestudeerd aan UGent, en behaalde een MBA aan de KU Leuven.
Frank Deschuytere: “Ik ben vereerd met mijn aanstelling als nieuwe CEO van Option. Dit bedrijf geniet het respect van velen, zowel als een voorbeeld van ondernemerszin, maar ook als een wereldwijd innovator op vlak van technologie. Ik ben ervan overtuigd dat de strategische koerswijziging van een B2C naar een B2B bedrijf, met een intense focus op de M2M-markt, de juiste keuze was. Ik ben klaar om de uitdaging aan te gaan en de strategie van het bedrijf verder te implementeren.”
Jan Callewaert: “Option is zichzelf aan het heruitvinden. We hebben een M2M-platform van wereldklasse ontwikkeld dat de basis vormt van het nieuwe Option. De transformatie van een bedrijf vraagt ook intern om nieuwe vaardigheden, een volledig nieuw partnermodel en een verregaand inzicht in en het management van een projectgeoriënteerde business. Met de aanstelling van Frank als nieuwe CEO halen we de juiste persoon binnen met inzicht in en ervaring met technologiebedrijven in een B2B- en projectgerichte markten. Met de komst van Frank is voor mij het juiste moment gekomen om de CEO-verantwoordelijkheden over te dragen. Frank heeft tijdens zijn carrière bewezen dat hij een ondernemersgeest kan combineren met een kwalitatief hoogstaande managementstijl, waarbij hij perfect begrijpt welke technologieën onze sector voortdrijven.”
“In naam van de Raad van Bestuur van Option, wil ik graag Jan bedanken voor zijn uitstekend leiderschap in de afgelopen 27 jaar”, zei Lawrence Levy, voorzitter van het Benoemingscomité van de Raad van Bestuur van Option. “Jan’s visie was het baken van Option, en dat zal ook zo blijven. ‘Overal en Altijd eenvoudig toegang tot informatie’ groeide uit tot iets groots, en wordt nu uitgebreid naar de nieuwe wereld van het ‘Internet of Things’. De Raad van Bestuur heef er alle vertrouwen in dat de combinatie van Frank als CEO en Jan als Uitvoerend Voorzitter en visionair de juiste is om de toekomst van het bedrijf te verzekeren.”
Jan Callewaert stichtte Option in 1986 en met hem als CEO behaalde het bedrijf een jaaromzet van meer dan 300 miljoen euro. Gebaseerd op zijn visie van ‘Overal en Altijd eenvoudig toegang tot informatie’ bouwde hij Option uit tot een wereldwijd gerespecteerd bedrijf in de draadloze industrie. Onder zijn leiderschap realiseerde het bedrijf niet minder dan 21 belangrijke innovaties, werd Option in 2005 bekroond met de titel van ‘Onderneming van het Jaar’, en werd Callewaert datzelfde jaar uitgeroepen tot ‘Manager van het Jaar’. In 2007 selecteerde het World Economic Forum Option als lid van de ‘Community of Global Growth Companies’.
Option will be present at the SPS IPS Drives tradeshow together with its distribution partner Round Solutions GmbH & Co (booth: 10-512). SPC IPS Drives is the leading tradeshow & conference in Germany for automation technology.
The industrial, modular & intelligent gateway CloudGate, a key building block in today’s industrial automation projects, will be demonstrated. Round Solutions and Option will both welcome key customers as well as System Houses and System Integrators interested in reselling this unique solution (intelligent M2M gateway and the provisioning server).
Round Solutions GmbH & Co is one of Option’s key distributors in Germany for CloudGate and is actively involved in numerous M2M solutions and projects. They have successfully tested CloudGate and are recommending it for various IoT (Internet of Things) projects.
If you are visiting this show and would like to have a demo of the M2M platform, please contact André Volwater at a.volwater@option.com.
LEUVEN, Belgium – December 10, 2009 – Option, the wireless technology company, announced that the Board of Directors, on 9 December 2009, decided in the framework of the authorised capital to increase the capital of the Company with an amount of up to EUR 20,212,155.04 through the issuance of maximum 41,249,296 new shares in Option at a subscription price of EUR 0.49 per share (the Subscription Price). The board of directors has decided to grant a non-statutory preferential subscription right to existing shareholders (the Right) entitling them to subscribe to the new shares in a ratio of 1 new share for 1 Right held in their possession (the Ratio).
Subscription period
At the close of the regulated market of Euronext Brussels on 9 December 2009, Option NV's shareholders will receive one Right per existing share. The Right, represented by coupon nr. 1, will be separated from the existing shares on 9 December 2009 after Euronext Brussels closes on that day and will be listed on Euronext Brussels (ISIN code BE0970111143 and symbol OPTI1) from 10 December 2009 until and including 17 December 2009.
The holders of Rights are entitled, subject to the applicable securities laws, to subscribe for new shares at the Subscription Price and in accordance with the Ratio during the subscription period from 10 December 2009 until and including 17 December 2009.
The Rights which are not exercised at the end of this subscription period will be automatically converted into scrips. The scrips will be sold to institutional investors by means of a private placement. This will in principle take place on 18 December 2009. Investors purchasing scrips give an irrevocable commitment to exercise the scrips and subscribe to the new shares against payment of the Subscription Price and in accordance with the Ratio. The net proceeds of the scrips will accrue to holders of the Rights.
The results of the public offer will be announced on or around 19 December 2009. The payment of the Subscription Price, the realization of the capital increase and the listing of the new shares on Euronext Brussels is expected to occur on 23 December 2009.
Commitments
Gimv and LRM have committed to subscribe to the capital increase for an amount of EUR 2.5 million each, in case and to the extent that not all unexercised rights would be sold in the private placement following the rights subscription period. The commitment of Gimv and LRM is subject to the Company raising at least EUR 6 million (excluding Gimv’s and LRM’s commitment) within the framework of the contemplated rights issue.
Jan Callewaert, representing 17.34 per cent of the Company's issued share capital (personally and through his wholly owned Pepper NV), has committed to exercise all his Rights and to subscribe to the capital increase, implying a commitment of approximately EUR 3.5 million. Therefore Option needs to raise approximately an additional EUR 2.5 million in order to trigger the commitments of Gimv and LRM.
Use of proceeds of the capital increase
The reason for the offering is the strengthening of the balance sheet and to assure the going concern of the Company. The proceeds of the offering will be used to enable the growth of the Company and to develop further its strategy of integrating its devices, software and service activities into a single offering. In addition, Option wishes to have sufficient resources to invest in the development of new products and segments in order to continue to be a leader in technology innovation.
An amount of up to EUR 7 million will be used to fund the Company’s previously announced restructuring costs.
Prospectus
On 9 December 2009, the Banking, Finance and Insurance Commission approved the prospectus in relation to the capital increase with non-statutory rights. Subject to certain restrictions, copies of the prospectus are available without charge in Dutch and in English, as well as a summary in French, at Option’s registered office or by telephone from ING at +32 (0) 2 464 60 04 (English), +32 (0)2 464 60 01 (Dutch) or +32 (0)2 464 60 02 (French). The prospectus is also available on the following internet websites: www.option.com and www.ing.be. Any decision to invest in Option NV securities should be based on a thorough review of the prospectus, including the risk factors provided therein.
Option has only taken steps for a public offering of new shares and Rights in Belgium. No securities will be sold in any jurisdiction in which an offer, invitation or sale are illegal without prior registration or approval under the financial legislation of that jurisdiction.
LEUVEN, België – 10 december 2009 – Option, de specialist op vlak van draadloze communicatie, heeft aangekondigd dat de Raad van Bestuur op 9 december 2009 beslist heeft om in het kader van het toegestaan kapitaal het kapitaal van de Vennootschap te verhogen met een bedrag tot 20.212.155,04 EUR via de uitgifte van maximaal 41.249.296 nieuwe Option aandelen tegen een inschrijvingsprijs van 0,49 EUR per aandeel (de Inschrijvingsprijs). De Raad van Bestuur heeft beslist om een extra-legaal voorkeurrecht aan de bestaande aandeelhouders toe te kennen (het Recht) die hen het recht geeft om in te tekenen op de nieuwe aandelen in een verhouding van 1 nieuw aandeel tegen 1 Recht in hun bezit (de Ratio).
Inschrijvingsperiode
De aandeelhouders van Option NV zullen op 9 december 2009 bij de sluiting van de gereglementeerde markt van Euronext Brussel één Recht ontvangen per bestaand aandeel.
Het Recht, vertegenwoordigd door coupon nr. 1, zal op 9 december 2009 onthecht worden van de bestaande aandelen na de sluiting van Euronext Brussel en zal genoteerd worden op Euronext Brussel (ISIN code BE0970111143 en het symbool OPTI1) vanaf 10 december 2009 tot en met 17 december 2009.
De houders van de Rechten hebben, onder voorbehoud van de toepasselijke effectenwetgeving, het recht om in te schrijven op de nieuwe aandelen, aan de Inschrijvingsprijs en overeenkomstig de Ratio, tijdens de inschrijvingsperiode die loopt van 10 december 2009 tot en met 17 december 2009. De Rechten die niet uitgeoefend zijn op het einde van deze inschrijvingsperiode zullen automatisch worden omgezet in scrips. De scrips zullen via een private plaatsing verkocht worden aan institutionele investeerders. Deze zal in principe plaatsvinden op 18 december 2009. Investeerders die scrips aankopen gaan een onherroepelijke verbintenis aan om de scrips uit te oefenen en aldus in te schrijven op de nieuwe aandelen tegen de Inschrijvingsprijs en overeenkomstig de Ratio. De netto opbrengst van de verkoop van de scrips zal aan de houders van de Rechten toekomen.
De resultaten van de openbare aanbieding zullen op of rond 19 december 2009 worden bekendgemaakt. De betaling van de Inschrijvingsprijs, de vaststelling van de kapitaalverhoging en de notering van de nieuwe aandelen op Euronext Brussel wordt verwacht plaats te vinden op 23 december 2009.
Engagementen
Gimv en LRM hebben zich geëngageerd om in te schrijven op de kapitaalverhoging, elk voor een bedrag van 2,5 miljoen EUR, in het geval en in de mate dat niet alle niet-uitgeoefende scrips zouden verkocht zijn in de private plaatsing volgend op de Inschrijvingsperiode. Het engagement van Gimv en LRM is voorwaardelijk aan het feit dat de Vennootschap minimaal 6 miljoen EUR ophaalt (exclusief Gimv’s en LRM’s engagement) in het kader van de voorgenomen kapitaalverhoging.
Jan Callewaert, die 17,34 procent van het aandelenkapitaal van de Vennootschap vertegenwoordigt (persoonlijk en via Pepper NV), heeft zich ertoe verbonden al zijn Rechten uit te oefenen en in te tekenen op de kapitaalverhoging. Dit houdt een engagement in van ongeveer 3,5 miljoen EUR. Als gevolg daarvan dient de Vennootschap ongeveer 2,5 miljoen EUR bijkomend op te halen opdat de engagementen van Gimv en LRM zouden worden getriggerd.
Gebruik van de opbrengsten van de kapitaalverhoging
De reden voor de kapitaalverhoging is het versterken van de balans en het verzekeren van de voortzetting van de activiteiten van de Vennootschap als ‘going concern’. De opbrengsten van het aanbod zullen worden aangewend om de groei van de Vennootschap te bewerkstelligen en om haar strategie, die erop gericht is producten, software en diensten in één enkel aanbod te integreren, verder te ontwikkelen. Bijkomend wil Option over voldoende middelen beschikken om te kunnen investeren in de ontwikkeling van nieuwe producten en nieuwe segmenten met het oog op het behoud van een leidende positie op het vlak van technologische innovatie.
Een bedrag van 7 miljoen EUR zal worden aangewend om de door de Vennootschap reeds aangekondigde herstructureringskosten te financieren.
Prospectus
Op 9 december 2009 heeft de Commissie voor het Bank-, Financie- en Assurantiewezen het prospectus in verband met de kapitaalverhoging met extra-legale rechten goedgekeurd. Onder voorbehoud van bepaalde beperkingen kunnen exemplaren van het prospectus kosteloos in het Nederlands en Engels, evenals een samenvatting in het Frans, bekomen worden op de maatschappelijke zetel van Option of per telefoon bij ING op +32 (0) 2 464 60 04 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +32 (0) 2 464 60 04 end_of_the_skype_highlighting (Engels), +32 (0)2 464 60 01 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +32 (0)2 464 60 01 end_of_the_skype_highlighting (Nederlands) or +32 (0)2 464 60 02 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +32 (0)2 464 60 02 end_of_the_skype_highlighting (Frans). De prospectus is ook beschikbaar op volgende websites: www.option.com en www.ing.be. Elke beslissing om te investeren in Option NV effecten dient gebaseerd te zijn op een grondige studie van het prospectus en de daarin opgenomen risicofactoren.
Option heeft enkel stappen ondernomen voor een openbare aanbieding van nieuwe aandelen en Rechten in België. Er zal geen verkoop van effecten plaatsvinden in enig rechtsgebied waarin zulk aanbod, uitnodiging of verkoop onwettig zou zijn zonder de voorafgaande registratie of goedkeuring onder de financiële wetgeving van zulk rechtsgebied.
LEUVEN, Belgium – December 9, 2009 – Option, the wireless technology company, announces that Gimv NV commits itself to support Option’s rights issue subject to certain conditions.
Gimv has committed to subscribe to the capital increase for an amount of EUR 2.5 million, in case and to the extent that not all unexercised rights would be sold in the private placement following the rights subscription period. The commitment of Gimv is subject to the Company raising at least EUR 8.5 million (excluding Gimv’s commitment) within the framework of the contemplated rights issue.
As was announced earlier, Jan Callewaert, representing 17.34 per cent of the company's issued share capital (personally and through his wholly owned Pepper NV), has committed to exercise all his rights and to subscribe to the capital increase.
LEUVEN, België – 9 december 2009 – Option, de specialist op vlak van draadloze communicatie, kondigt aan dat Gimv NV zich heeft geëngageerd om de kapitaalverhoging van Option te ondersteunen mits de vervulling van een aantal voorwaarden.
Gimv heeft zich geëngageerd om in te schrijven op de kapitaalverhoging voor een bedrag van 2,5 miljoen EURO, indien en in de mate dat niet alle niet–uitgeoefende rechten zouden zijn verkocht in de private plaatsing die volgt op de inschrijvingsperiode gedurende dewelke op de rechten kan worden ingeschreven. Het engagement van de Gimv is afhankelijk van het feit dat Option minimaal 8,5 miljoen EURO ophaalt (exclusief Gimv’s engagement) in het kader van de geplande kapitaalverhoging.
Zoals reeds eerder aangekondigd heeft Jan Callewaert, die 17,34 procent van de door de vennootschap uitgegeven aandelen bezit (via de vennootschap Pepper NV en in persoonlijke naam), zich geëngageerd om al zijn rechten uit te oefenen en in te tekenen op de kapitaalverhoging.
LEUVEN, Belgium – December 2, 2009 – Option N.V. (Euronext: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY), the wireless technology company, today announced that revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009 are expected to be in the range of EUR 20-25 million. These revenues combined with EUR 128 million for the first three quarters of 2009 will generate full year revenue in the range of EUR 148-153 million which is approximately 44% less than the full year 2008.
During the quarter a number of factors affected the indicated revenue. The key issues faced by the Company included continuing competitive pricing, continued weakness in the US dollar reducing the Euro value of that revenue and deeply discounted sales of products entering their end of life cycle.
Option anticipated that the fourth quarter of 2009 would continue to prove difficult as the company continues to transition its product portfolio and organization to an integrated software, services and hardware platform.
Option continues to believe that it is well positioned for 2010 due to:
Audited figures for the fourth quarter and the full year 2009 will be published on March 2, 2010.
LEUVEN, België – 2 december 2009 – Option N.V. (Euronext: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY), de specialist op het vlak van draadloze communicatie, heeft vandaag bekendgemaakt dat het verwacht dat de opbrengsten voor het vierde kwartaal van het fiscale jaar 2009 zullen uitkomen tussen de 20 en 25 miljoen EURO. Deze opbrengsten, in combinatie met de 128 miljoen EURO van de eerste drie kwartalen van 2009, zullen resulteren in een totale opbrengst op jaarbasis tussen de 148 en 153 miljoen EURO, wat ongeveer 44 % lager is in vergelijking met het volledige jaar 2008.
Tijdens dit kwartaal hebben een aantal factoren een invloed gehad op de aangegeven opbrengsten. Sleutelfactoren waarmee het bedrijf te maken kreeg, zijn onder meer de blijvende concurrentiële prijzen, de blijvende zwakke positie van de US dollar die zorgt voor een daling van de opbrengsten uitgedrukt in Euro en sterke kortingen bij de verkoop van producten die in hun ‘end of life’-fase zijn beland.
Option anticipeerde al dat ook het vierde kwartaal van 2009 zich als moeilijk aankondigde, terwijl het bedrijf verder werkt aan de transitie van de portfolio en organisatie naar een platform met de integratie van software, diensten en hardware.
Option blijft geloven dat het goed gepositioneerd is voor 2010 om volgende redenen:
Geauditeerde cijfers voor het vierde kwartaal en het volledige jaar 2009 zullen gepubliceerd worden op 2 maart 2010.
LEUVEN, Belgium – November 30, 2009 – Option today announces its intention to raise approximately EUR 20 million, by way of a public market transaction with non-statutory preferential rights to existing shareholders. It is expected that the subscription period will start on or about December 7th. The rights are expected to be tradable on Euronext Brussels. The detailed terms and conditions of the transaction will be announced in due time.
Jan Callewaert, both personally and through his wholly owned Pepper NV, represents 17.34 per cent of the company’s issued share capital and has the intention to exercise all his rights and to subscribe to the capital increase.
The proceeds from the capital increase will be used to strengthen the company’s capital structure, enable it to support the reorganization of its operations which is projected to cost EUR 7 million, and to continue the implementation of its new business strategy.
ING is acting as lead manager and bookrunner.
LEUVEN, België – 30 november 2009 – Option kondigt vandaag haar intentie aan om bij benadering EUR 20 miljoen op te halen door middel van een transactie op de publieke markt met niet-statutaire voorkeursrechten voor de bestaande aandeelhouders. Naar verwacht zal de inschrijvingsperiode starten op of rond 7 december. De rechten zullen naar verwachting verhandeld worden op Euronext Brussel. De gedetailleerde bepalingen en voorwaarden van de transactie zullen te gepasten tijde worden aangekondigd.
Jan Callewaert, die 17,34 procent van de aandelen van het bedrijf vertegenwoordigt – via zijn vennootschap Pepper NV en persoonlijk – heeft de intentie om al zijn rechten uit te oefenen en in te schrijven op de kapitaalsverhoging.
De opbrengsten van de kapitaalsverhoging zullen gebruikt worden om de kapitaalstructuur van het bedrijf te versterken, de reorganisatie van haar operaties te ondersteunen die naar schatting EUR 7 miljoen zal kosten en om de nieuwe business strategie te implementeren.
ING handelt als ‘lead manager’ en ‘bookrunner’.
LEUVEN, Belgium – November 23, 2009 – Option today presented in more detail its strategy during an Analyst Briefing. During the meeting the Company reiterated its strategy to move towards integrated hardware, software and services solutions. In addition, the Company confirms indicating that its targeted revenues for 2010 will be approximately 20% higher compared to 2009. Finally the Company reconfirmed its previously announced intention to raise approximately EUR20 million in a capital raise before year-end.
LEUVEN, België – 23 november 2009 – Option heeft vandaag tijdens een Analisten Briefing haar strategie meer in detail voorgesteld. Tijdens de meeting heeft Option haar strategie om te evolueren naar het aanbieden van geïntegreerde oplossingen – gebaseerd op hardware, software en diensten – herhaald. Bijkomend bevestigde het bedrijf dat de omzetdoelstellingen voor 2010 circa 20% hoger zullen uitkomen vergeleken met 2009. Tot slot heeft Option haar eerder aangekondigde intentie herhaald om een kapitaalsverhoging van om en bij de EUR 20 miljoen te doen voor het einde van dit jaar.
Leuven, Belgium – October 29, 2009 – Option N.V. (EURONEXT Brussels: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY), the wireless technology company, today announces its results for the third quarter ended 30 September 2009. The financial information reported in this release is presented in Euros and has been prepared in accordance with the recognition and measurement criteria of IFRS as adopted by the European Union. The accounting policies and methods of computation followed in the attached financial statements are the same as those followed in the most recent annual financial statements.
Cost Reduction Plan
In March, Option announced a plan to reduce quarterly non-revenue related operating expenses of EUR 21.3 million in Q4 2008 by 20%. At the end of Q3 2009, Option had significantly exceeded this plan and has reduced quarterly operating costs by 35% to EUR 13.8 million. Continuing its operational alignment with the strategy, Option is to carry out a further cost reduction plan. The new plan envisages an additional EUR 20 million savings in operating expenses for 2010 compared to the annualized Q3 2009 run-rate. Option has the intention to proceed with the following measures to implement this plan:
Related to this additional restructuring plan, the company anticipates approximately EUR 7 million of one-off restructuring costs in Q4 2009.
Capital Increase
The Company has approved a capital increase of approximately EUR 20 million which will be used to support the costs associated with the further transformation of the Company. The Company is currently assessing different alternatives. Further details will be provided at the appropriate time.
Strategy
The strategy is to explicitly focus on a move away from commoditized hardware to a fully integrated offering for mobile broadband markets:
Other
Option announces that Chip Frederking, Vice President Sales Americas, has been promoted to Vice President Global Sales. Chip joined Option in mid 2008 and has been instrumental in its development in the US. Before joining Option, Chip worked for 20 years for Motorola where he held various sales management positions. Filip Buerms, previously Vice President Global Sales, has left the Company to pursue other opportunities.
Financial Highlights of the third quarter 2009
Financial Highlights of the year to date result 2009
For the entire press release, including tables, click on the link below
Leuven, België – 29 oktober 2009 – Option N.V. (EURONEXT Brussel: OPTI; OTC: OPNVY), de specialist op het vlak van draadloze communicatie, maakt vandaag resultaten bekend voor het derde kwartaal, eindigend op 30 september 2009. De resultaten vermeld in dit bericht zijn uitgedrukt in euro en werden opgesteld in overeenstemming met de opname- en waarderingsgrondslagen van IFRS zoals aanvaard binnen de Europese Unie. De boekhoudprincipes en waarderingsregels die in de onderstaande financiële rapportering worden gevolgd, zijn dezelfde als deze in de meest recente jaarrekening.
Kostenbesparingsplan
In maart heeft Option een plan bekendgemaakt om de niet aan opbrengsten gerelateerde bedrijfskosten op kwartaalbasis van 21,3 miljoen EURO voor het vierde kwartaal van 2008 met 20% te verminderen. Op het einde van het derde kwartaal 2009 heeft Option deze doelstelling significant overschreden en zijn de bedrijfskosten op kwartaalbasis met 35% gedaald naar 13,8 miljoen EURO. Terwijl het verder de operaties afstemt op de strategie, gaat Option een nieuw kostenbesparingsplan doorvoeren. Het nieuwe plan mikt voor 2010 op een bijkomende besparing van 20 miljoen EURO in de bedrijfskosten, dit in vergelijking met de op jaarbasis berekende run-rate van het derde kwartaal 2009. Option heeft de intentie om dit plan te implementeren door de volgende maatregelen door te voeren:
Voor dit bijkomende besparingsplan voorziet het bedrijf ongeveer 7 miljoen EUR aan eenmalige herstructureringskosten in het vierde kwartaal van 2009.
Kapitaalsverhoging
Het bedrijf heeft een kapitaalsverhoging van ongeveer 20 miljoen EURO goedgekeurd die mee zal dienen om de kosten te dragen verbonden aan de verdere transformatie van het bedrijf. Het bedrijf overweegt momenteel verschillende alternatieven. Meer details zullen te gelegener tijd worden meegedeeld.
Strategie
De strategie is er expliciet op gericht om weg te gaan van commoditized hardware naar een volledig geïntegreerd aanbod voor de markten van mobiel breedband:
Ander nieuws
Option kondigt ook aan dat Chip Frederking, Vice President Sales Americas, is gepromoveerd tot Vice President Global Sales. Chip vervoegde Option midden 2008 en speelde een belangrijke rol in de ontwikkeling van Option in de US. Voor hij naar Option overstapte, was Chip 20 jaar actief bij Motorola waar hij verschillende managementfuncties vervulde binnen sales. Filip Buerms, de vroegere Vice President Global Sales, heeft het bedrijf verlaten voor andere opportuniteiten.
Financiële kerncijfers voor het derde kwartaal van 2009
Financiële kerncijfers voor de eerste drie kwartalen van 2009
Voor het volledige persbericht, inclusief tabellen, gelieve op onderstaande link te klikken:
LEUVEN, België – 16 oktober 2009 – Option heeft kennis genomen van recente speculatie in de pers omtrent een mogelijke kapitaalsverhoging. Het management van Option bekijkt op dit ogenblik verschillende opties om opnieuw aan te knopen met winst en duurzame groei, waaronder de mogelijkheid van een kapitaalsverhoging. Hierover is echter nog geen definitieve beslissing genomen. Option zal, zoals gebruikelijk, te gepasten tijde, elke bijkomende informatie verschaffen en dit via de normale kanalen.
Option publiceert haar kwartaalresultaten op donderdag 29 oktober 2009.
Leuven - Belgium, October 16 2009 - Option notes the recent press speculation regarding a possible capital increase. Management is currently contemplating different options to regain profitability and sustainable growth, among which is the possibility of a capital increase. However, no final decision has been taken in this respect. As usual, Option will provide any additional information in due course through the regular channels.
Option releases its quarterly results on Thursday October 29 2009.
GlobeSurfer III Reference Manual - revised on 5th March 2012
Learn the latest firmware development on the CloudGate
The iCON 7.2 will be updated to:
Firmware 2.5.11
GlobeTrotter Connect for Windows 2.3.0.630
GlobeTrotter Connect for MAC 1.3.0.164
For MAC OSX 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7
For Windows XP 32 bit (SP3 recomended), Windows Vista 32 & 64 bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
The iCON 7.2 will be updated to:
Firmware 2.5.11
GlobeTrotter Connect for Windows 2.3.0.630
GlobeTrotter Connect for MAC 1.3.0.164
For MAC OSX 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7
For Windows XP 32 bit (SP3 recomended), Windows Vista 32 & 64 bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
For MAC OSX 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7
For Windows XP 32 bit (SP3 recomended), Windows Vista 32 & 64 bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
Step by step description on how to set up Dynamic DNS in GlobeSurfer II 7.2
GlobeSurfer III Reference Manual - revised on 5th March 2012
This application is the interface between the GlobeSurfer® III device and your personal desktop. It allows you to see incoming messages, phone calls, etc. on your desktop.
This document provides a description of how to configure an IPSec tunnel on
the GlobeSurfer® III.
This firmware updater cannot be run on a MAC running Safari browser. Please use Firefox or Chrome.
This firmware updater cannot be used for devices purchased through a network operator. Please contact your network operator for further information.
Please read 'What is new in firmware R1N89' document for updates in this firmware revision.
Note: The firmware upgrade process can take up to 20 minutes. Interrupting the process might lead to permanent failure of the device. Note: this update cannot be used with devices purchased through a network operator. Please contact your network operator directly for assistance.
Please read document for new features in this firmware R1N89
This application is the interface between the GlobeSurfer® III device and your personal desktop. It allows you to see incoming messages, phone calls, etc. on your desktop.
Frequently Asked Questions
GlobeSurfer III+ Firmware update procedure
Revised version to include watchdog and SMS control features.
This document provides a description of how to configure an IPSec tunnel on
the GlobeSurfer® III.
This document provides a description of how to configure Port Forwarding rules on the GlobeSurfer® III.
This document provides a description of how to configure the ADSL Failover functionality on the GlobeSurfer® III.
This document provides a description of how to configure a print server and a file server connected to the USB port of the GlobeSurfer III.
GlobeTrotter Connect 3.1 for Windows 2000, XP and Vista
Supports up to MAC OSX 10.6
Windows 7 Legacy Mode certified drivers.
Note: For use in 5.0.x.x driver upgrade only (e.g. GlobeTrotter Connect). Driver is used in Legacy Mode only. Mobile Broadband features is not supported
uCAN® Connect Standard software for Apple Mac OS X 10.7, OS X 10.6 (64-bit; recommended version 10.6.4), Apple Mac OS X 10.6 (32-bit; recommended version 10.6.4) and Apple Mac OS X 10.5 (recommended version 10.5.8)
uCAN® Connect software for Windows XP 32bit (SP3 recommended), Windows Vista 32 & 64bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
GlobeTrotter Connect 3.1 for Windows 2000, XP and Vista
Supports up to MAC OSX 10.6
Windows 7 Legacy Mode certified drivers.
Note: For use in 5.0.x.x driver upgrade only (e.g. GlobeTrotter Connect). Driver is used in Legacy Mode only. Mobile Broadband features is not supported
uCAN® Connect Standard software for Apple Mac OS X 10.7, OS X 10.6 (64-bit; recommended version 10.6.4), Apple Mac OS X 10.6 (32-bit; recommended version 10.6.4) and Apple Mac OS X 10.5 (recommended version 10.5.8)
uCAN® Connect software for Windows XP 32bit (SP3 recommended), Windows Vista 32 & 64bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
The GlobeTrotter Express 7.2 will be updated to:
Firmware 2.5.2
GlobeTrotter Connect for Windows 2.2.0.536
GlobeTrotter Connect for MAC 1.3.0.159
For MAC OSX 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7
For Windows XP 32 bit (SP3 recomended), Windows Vista 32 & 64 bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
For MAC OSX 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7
For Windows XP 32 bit (SP3 recomended), Windows Vista 32 & 64 bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
The GlobeTrotter Express HSUPA device will be updated to :
Firmware 2.12.3Hd
Windows software : GlobeTrotter Connect 3.0.0.866
MAC software : GlobeTrotter Connect for MAC 1.3.0.164
For MAC OSX 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7
For Windows XP 32 bit (SP3 recomended), Windows Vista 32 & 64 bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
The GlobeTrotter Express HSUPA device will be updated to :
Firmware 2.12.3Hd
Windows software : GlobeTrotter Connect 3.0.0.866
MAC software : GlobeTrotter Connect for MAC 1.3.0.164
uCAN® Connect Standard software for Apple Mac OS X 10.7, OS X 10.6 (64-bit; recommended version 10.6.4), Apple Mac OS X 10.6 (32-bit; recommended version 10.6.4) and Apple Mac OS X 10.5 (recommended version 10.5.8)
GlobeTrotter GT Max 7.2 will be updated to:
Firmware 2.5.11
GlobeTrotter Connect for Windows 2.3.0.630
GlobeTrotter Connect for MAC 1.3.0.164
For MAC OSX 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7
For Windows XP 32 bit (SP3 recomended), Windows Vista 32 & 64 bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
GlobeTrotter GT Max 7.2 will be updated to:
Firmware 2.5.11
GlobeTrotter Connect for Windows 2.3.0.630
GlobeTrotter Connect for MAC 1.3.0.164
For MAC OSX 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7
For Windows XP 32 bit (SP3 recomended), Windows Vista 32 & 64 bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
The GlobeTrotter GT Max HSUPA device will be updated to :
Firmware 2.12.3Hd
Windows software to GlobeTrotter Connect 3.0.0.866
MAC software to GlobeTrotter Connect for MAC 1.3.0.164
For MAC OSX 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7
For Windows XP 32 bit (SP3 recomended), Windows Vista 32 & 64 bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
The GlobeTrotter GT Max HSUPA device will be updated to :
Firmware 2.12.3Hd
Windows software to GlobeTrotter Connect 3.0.0.866
MAC software to GlobeTrotter Connect for MAC 1.3.0.164
For MAC OSX 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7
For Windows XP 32 bit (SP3 recomended), Windows Vista 32 & 64 bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
GlobeTrotter GT Max 7.2 will be updated to:
Firmware 2.5.11
GlobeTrotter Connect for Windows 2.3.0.630
GlobeTrotter Connect for MAC 1.3.0.164
Version 3.0.0.866
Connection software for Windows 2000, XP and Vista
Supports Windows 7 only: - NDIS connection mode: Mobile Broadband - GPS mode: legacy + Sensor and Location Platform
No support for Windows 2K / Windows XP / Windows Vista
Supports Windows 7 only: - NDIS connection mode: Mobile Broadband - GPS mode: legacy + Sensor and Location Platform
No support for Windows 2K / Windows XP / Windows Vista
Supports Windows 7 only: - NDIS connection mode: Mobile Broadband - GPS mode: legacy + Sensor and Location Platform
No support for Windows 2K / Windows XP / Windows Vista
Supports Linux kernel versions 2.6.27 to 3.2
Supports Windows 7 only: - NDIS connection mode: Mobile Broadband - GPS mode: legacy + Sensor and Location Platform
No support for Windows 2K / Windows XP / Windows Vista
Windows 7 support: - NDIS connection mode : legacy - GPS mode : legacy
Supports Windows 2K / Windows XP / Windows Vista and Windows 7
Supports Linux kernel versions 2.6.27 to 3.2
Supports Windows 7 only: - NDIS connection mode: Mobile Broadband - GPS mode: legacy + Sensor and Location Platform
No support for Windows 2K / Windows XP / Windows Vista
Windows 7 support: - NDIS connection mode : legacy - GPS mode : legacy
Supports Windows 2K / Windows XP / Windows Vista and Windows 7
Supports Linux kernel versions 2.6.27 to 3.2
Supports Windows 7 only: - NDIS connection mode: Mobile Broadband - GPS mode: legacy + Sensor and Location Platform
No support for Windows 2K / Windows XP / Windows Vista
Windows 7 support: - NDIS connection mode : legacy - GPS mode : legacy
Supports Windows 2K / Windows XP / Windows Vista and Windows 7
Supports Windows 2K / Windows XP / Windows Vista and Windows 7
Supports Linux kernel versions 2.6.27 to 3.2
This upgrader will upgrade the iCON 225 to firmware version 2.5.24
Note: This flasher can only upgrade Option standard iCON 225 devices.
For MAC OSX 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7
For Windows XP 32 bit (SP3 recomended), Windows Vista 32 & 64 bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
Windows 7 Legacy Mode certified drivers.
Note: For use in 5.0.x.x driver upgrade only (e.g. GlobeTrotter Connect). Driver is used in Legacy Mode only. Mobile Broadband features is not supported
GlobeTrotter Connect 3.0 for Windows 2000, XP and Vista
GlobeTrotter Connect for MAX OSX 10.3, 10.4, 10.5
For MAC OSX 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7
For Windows XP 32 bit (SP3 recomended), Windows Vista 32 & 64 bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
Firmware upgrader to version 2.12.0
This upgrader is designed for Option standard device only. For devices purchased through a network operator, please contact your operator for assistance.
For MAC OSX 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7
For Windows XP 32 bit (SP3 recomended), Windows Vista 32 & 64 bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
Windows 7 Legacy Mode certified drivers.
Note: For use in 5.0.x.x driver upgrade only (e.g. GlobeTrotter Connect). Driver is used in Legacy Mode only. Mobile Broadband features is not supported
Supports up to MAC OSX 10.6
Upgrade firmware to version 2.12.0Hd and software to GlobeTrotter Connect 3.1.0.1086 for Windows and 3.1.19 for MAC OSX
This upgrader is designed for Option standard device only. For devices purchased through a network operator, please contact your operator for assistance.
Windows 7 Legacy Mode certified drivers.
Note: For use in 5.0.x.x driver upgrade only (e.g. GlobeTrotter Connect). Driver is used in Legacy Mode only. Mobile Broadband features is not supported
uCAN® Connect Standard software for Apple Mac OS X 10.7, OS X 10.6 (64-bit; recommended version 10.6.4), Apple Mac OS X 10.6 (32-bit; recommended version 10.6.4) and Apple Mac OS X 10.5 (recommended version 10.5.8)
uCAN® Connect software for Windows XP 32bit (SP3 recommended), Windows Vista 32 & 64bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
Supports up to MAC OSX 10.6
Connection software for Windows XP, Vista, and 7 (Legacy mode only)
Upgrade firmware to version 2.12.0Hd and software to GlobeTrotter Connect 3.1.0.1162 for Windows and 3.1.78 for MAC OSX
This upgrader is designed for Option standard device only. For devices purchased through a network operator, please contact your operator for assistance.
Windows 7 Legacy Mode certified drivers.
Note: For use in 5.0.x.x driver upgrade only (e.g. GlobeTrotter Connect). Driver is used in Legacy Mode only. Mobile Broadband features is not supported
uCAN® Connect Standard software for Apple Mac OS X 10.7, OS X 10.6 (64-bit; recommended version 10.6.4), Apple Mac OS X 10.6 (32-bit; recommended version 10.6.4) and Apple Mac OS X 10.5 (recommended version 10.5.8)
uCAN® Connect software for Windows XP 32bit (SP3 recommended), Windows Vista 32 & 64bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
Supports up to MAC OSX 10.6
Connection software for Windows XP, Vista, and 7 (Legacy mode only)
Upgrade firmware to version 2.12.0Hd and software to GlobeTrotter Connect 3.1.0.1162 for Windows and 3.1.78 for MAC OSX
This upgrader is designed for Option standard device only. For devices purchased through a network operator, please contact your operator for assistance.
Windows 7 Legacy Mode certified drivers.
Note: For use in 5.0.x.x driver upgrade only (e.g. GlobeTrotter Connect). Driver is used in Legacy Mode only. Mobile Broadband features is not supported
uCAN® Connect Standard software for Apple Mac OS X 10.7, OS X 10.6 (64-bit; recommended version 10.6.4), Apple Mac OS X 10.6 (32-bit; recommended version 10.6.4) and Apple Mac OS X 10.5 (recommended version 10.5.8)
uCAN® Connect software for Windows XP 32bit (SP3 recommended), Windows Vista 32 & 64bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
Enables the user to activate or deactivate the GPS port
Enables the user to activate or deactivate the GPS port
Windows 7 Legacy Mode certified drivers.
Note: For use in 5.0.x.x driver upgrade only (e.g. GlobeTrotter Connect). Driver is used in Legacy Mode only. Mobile Broadband features is not supported
uCAN® Connect Standard software for Apple Mac OS X 10.7, OS X 10.6 (64-bit; recommended version 10.6.4), Apple Mac OS X 10.6 (32-bit; recommended version 10.6.4) and Apple Mac OS X 10.5 (recommended version 10.5.8)
uCAN® Connect software for Windows XP 32bit (SP3 recommended), Windows Vista 32 & 64bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
GlobeTrotter Connect 3.1 for MAC OSX 10.5, 10.6
GlobeTrotter Connect 3.1 for Windows 2000, XP and Vista
Upgrade frimware to version 3.19.0 (HSDPA category to 14.4 mbps) and software to uCan Connect version 2.2.3.230.
uCAN® Connect Standard software for Apple Mac OS X 10.7, OS X 10.6 (64-bit; recommended version 10.6.4), Apple Mac OS X 10.6 (32-bit; recommended version 10.6.4) and Apple Mac OS X 10.5 (recommended version 10.5.8)
uCAN® Connect software for Windows XP 32bit (SP3 recommended), Windows Vista 32 & 64bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
GlobeTrotter Connect 3.1 for MAC OSX 10.5, 10.6
GlobeTrotter Connect 3.1 for Windows 2000, XP and Vista
Windows 7 Legacy Mode certified drivers.
Note: For use in 5.0.x.x driver upgrade only (e.g. GlobeTrotter Connect). Driver is used in Legacy Mode only. Mobile Broadband features is not supported
uCAN® Connect Standard software for Apple Mac OS X 10.7, OS X 10.6 (64-bit; recommended version 10.6.4), Apple Mac OS X 10.6 (32-bit; recommended version 10.6.4) and Apple Mac OS X 10.5 (recommended version 10.5.8)
uCAN® Connect software for Windows XP 32bit (SP3 recommended), Windows Vista 32 & 64bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
The download contains a document on how to use the iCON 711 in Linux.
This driver installer can only be used in Windows 7 Mobile Broadband mode. After installation, connection of the Option device can be made through Windows Mobile Broadband instead of using Option connection managers.
Important note: This driver CANNOT be installed on any other Microsoft OS than on the Windows 7.
If you already have installed the GlobeTrotter Connect, this driver package CANNOT be installed on top. This will create a driver conflict.
Windows 7 Legacy Mode certified drivers.
Note: For use in 5.0.x.x driver upgrade only (e.g. GlobeTrotter Connect). Driver is used in Legacy Mode only. Mobile Broadband features is not supported
uCAN® Connect Standard software for Apple Mac OS X 10.7, OS X 10.6 (64-bit; recommended version 10.6.4), Apple Mac OS X 10.6 (32-bit; recommended version 10.6.4) and Apple Mac OS X 10.5 (recommended version 10.5.8)
uCAN® Connect software for Windows XP 32bit (SP3 recommended), Windows Vista 32 & 64bit (SP2 recommended) and Windows 7 32 & 64 bit
How to manually add an APN or disable the PIN code of your SIM card
Frequently Asked Questions and answers
Quick and easy set up (also details LED status indicators)
Frequently Asked Questions and answers
Frequently Asked Questions and answers
Special Report of the Board of Directors - art. 602
Auditor Special Report - art. 602
Option NV - Auditer Special Report: Uitgifte van Converteerbare Obligaties met opheffing van het voorkeurrecht. Verslag van de Commissaris in het kader van artikel 596 en artikel 598 van het Wetboek van Vennootschappen
Special Report of the Board of Directors: Bijzonder verslag van de Raad van Bestuur overeenkomstig artikelen 583 en 596 juncto 598 van het Wetboek van Vennootschappen over de uitgifte van Converteerbare Obligaties
Download here
The articles of association stipulate that the Board of Directors is composed of a minimum of three and a maximum of nine members, who are appointed by the general shareholders meeting for a maximum period of six years. The Board of Directors has to contain at least three independent directors.
The Board of Directors is currently composed of three members, namely: Eric Van Zele (Chairman of the Board of Directors), Raju Dandu and Pieter Bourgeois (Representing Crescemus Bvba)
Eric Van Zele
Mr. Eric Van Zele currently serves as Chairman of Reynaers Aluminium and Crescent NV. He was recently appointed chairman of the E17 network of hospitals and of the Hermes decision committee of The Flemish agency for Innovation and entrepreneurship. He continues to serve as a director of Barco NV. Prior to his current mandates Eric served as president and Ceo of Barco NV in Kortrijk from 2009 thru 2016. He served as CEO of Pauwels International (from 2004 thru 2008) and of Telindus nv (2000 thru 2003). Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Raychem Corporation in Menlo park, CA, USA and as Managing Director of Raychem nv in Leuven, Belgium. (1972 thru 1999). He was nominated “Manager of the Year in 2012” and “ICT Personality of 2013”. Eric holds a masters degree in electrical and mechanical engineering from the KUL in Leuven (1972) and postgraduate degrees in management from Stanford University (1992 CA, USA).
Raju Dandu
Mr. Raju S. Dandu is the Founder-Chairman of Danlaw Inc. USA. He is also the Managing Director of Danlaw Technologies India Ltd. He is responsible for strategic planning and corporate management of both companies. Prior to founding Danlaw Inc., he held positions at the University of Iowa hospitals, Ford Motor Company, Dana Corporation and worked as an independent consultant at General Motors. He holds a bachelors’ degree in electronics engineering from Kakinada, India, a masters in electronics from University of Iowa and an MBA from University of Detroit.
Pieter Bourgeois
Mr. Pieter Bourgeois, is an Investment Manager at Alychlo NV, the investment firm of Belgian entrepreneur Marc Coucke. Prior to this, Mr. Bourgeois worked as CFO (and in other financial roles) focusing on M&A and strategic projects, gaining business acumen in a variety of sectors and different sizes of companies. Mr. Bourgeois holds a Masters Degree in Industrial Engineering and is an MBA from the Solvay Brussels School of Economics & Management.
Guy Sips
Equity Analyst
KBC Securities
E-mail: guy.sips@kbcsecurities.be
Address:
Havenlaan 12 SMK 8374, B-1080 Brussels
Gert De Mesure
Analyst
Vlaamse Federatie van Beleggingsclubs en Beleggers
E-mail: gert.de.mesure@skynet.be
Address:
Langestraat 221, B-2240 Zandhoven
Information about the Option share price can be found on several websites:
We welcome spontaneous applications.
Apply via recruitment@option.com.