YPB Group makes important business advances during September quarter

YPB Group Ltd (ASX:YPB) made significant business achievements with technical and commercial advances in the third quarter of the current year despite ongoing impediments from COVID-19 restrictions. During the quarter, the company achieved a critical technical milestone of MotifMicro Android functionality along with important generational upgrades of MM app and Connect platform. The company’s channel partner strategy also advanced in China, India and Thailand during this period. During the quarter, the company’s business was impacted as cash usage in the business increased and customer ordering patterns were disrupted by COVID-19. “Q3 2020 was bitter-sweet” YPB chief executive officer John Houston said: “Q3 2020 was bitter-sweet for YPB. “Cash receipts were disappointing due primarily to ongoing COVID-19 impediments, however, the significant technical progress that was made was purely in expectation of revenue growth. “While we presently expect a better Q4 cash result, conditions make forecasting difficult. “The very pleasing aspects of Q3 were the critical technical advances that further enhance the commerciality of our solution suite and the addition of further quality channel partners. “We are building an increasingly powerful array of alliances to facilitate and speed the monetisation of our increasingly relevant and valuable technologies.” Android capability Despite facing COVID-19 challenges, the company achieved a critical technical milestone of MotifMicro Android functionality. This was a major achievement in the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning and has demonstrated YPB’s in-house capabilities in a field where talent is in high demand and scarce. Android capability was a critical commercial requirement for partners PanPass in China and OPP Gravure Printing in Thailand to begin selling MotifMicro to their clients. Unfortunately, despite the milestone achievement, it is now likely that the first earnings from MotifMicro likely to be delayed until H1 2021 due to ongoing COVID-19 impacts. Second generation MotifMicro app The second technical advance was the initial release of the 2nd generation of the MotifMicro app in late July. The second-generation app is a user-friendly, stable application able to work anywhere globally, including behind China’s great firewall. Funding During the quarter the company raised a total of $800,000, in two placements of $150,000 and $650,000. The company also issued new shares to an entity associated with chairman John Houston, as approved by shareholders at the annual general meeting, in relief of a $600,000 unsecured loan provided at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. Post quarter-end, the company raised a total of $3.6 million in new equity.