Wishpond Achieves 90% Revenue Growth and Record Revenue in Third Quarter 2021

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Nov 25, 2021, 07:00 ET

Q3-2021 revenue growth driven by Wishpond's expanded sales team, new product introductions and the Company's acquisitions.
Wishpond returned to Adjusted EBITDA positive in Q3-2021.
The Company now exceeds $16M in annualized revenue run-rate

VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Wishpond Technologies Ltd. (TSXV: WISH) (OTCQX: WPNDF) (the "Company" or "Wishpond"), a provider of marketing-focused online business solutions, announces it has filed its interim consolidated financial statements (the "Interim Financial Statements") and management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A") for Q3-2021, representing the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021. Copies of the Interim Financial Statements and MD&A are available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

"Third quarter 2021 was an outstanding quarter for Wishpond which demonstrated that our organic and inorganic growth strategy is working," commented Ali Tajskandar, Wishpond's Chairman and CEO. "Wishpond's revenue in Q3 increased by 90% YoY driven by the success of our expanded sales team, new product introductions and the acquisitions of Invigo, PersistIQ and Brax. We are also very pleased to return to positive Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter of 2021. In the first half of the year, we made investments in our product development and sales teams, which are now paying off for the Company, as we are now exceeding $16M in annualized revenue run-rate."

Ali Tajskandar adds, "The Invigo, PersistIQ and Brax acquisitions have broadened our product portfolio and proven to be accretive to Wishpond's financial profile. We are beginning to witness the synergistic benefits of our acquisitions through cross selling the Company's products and services across the different parts of the growing organization. We continue to have a robust pipeline of potential acquisition opportunities and a strong balance sheet with an undrawn credit facility providing the Company with ample cash to continue to execute on our inorganic growth strategy."

Third Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights:

Wishpond achieved record quarterly revenue of $3,976,965 during Q3-2021, an increase of 90% compared to revenue of $2,095,933 generated in Q3-2020. The increase in revenue was primarily driven by higher organic growth from the Company's incremental investment in its sales team and inorganic growth from the positive contribution of its acquisitions. Wishpond generated 73% of its revenue in the United States, where the Company's growth remained remarkably strong with 104% year-over-year revenue growth in the US market.
Wishpond achieved Gross profit⁽¹⁾ of $2,760,709, representing an 82% increase from Q3-2020, driven by an increase in overall revenue. Wishpond achieved a Gross margin⁽¹⁾ percentage of 69% during Q3-2021, compared to 72% during Q3-2020. The Gross margin⁽¹⁾ achieved for Q3-2021 was within the historical range of 65% to 70%.
During Q3-2021, Wishpond had Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ of $204,322 compared to Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ of $175,653 in Q3-2020. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA is attributable to an increase in revenue from Wishpond and it's newly acquired subsidiaries, Invigo, PersistIQ, and Brax.
As at September 30, 2021, Wishpond had $7,758,720 in cash and no long-term debt.
As of September 30, 2021, the Company had 51,835,687 common shares issued and outstanding.

Third Quarter 2021 Business Highlights:

On September 29, 2021, the Company entered into a new credit facility agreement with National Bank of Canada's Technology and Innovation Banking Group for a $6 million dollar secured revolving operating line. The credit facility remains undrawn as of today's date.
On August 31, 2021, the Company completed the acquisition of certain assets and specific liabilities of AtlasMind Inc., doing business as Brax.io ("Brax"). Brax is a rapidly growing and profitable Software-as-a-Service business that offers a robust advertising platform for the management of a company's digital ads across multiple sources and is expected to be immediately accretive to Wishpond.
On July 14, 2021, the Company announced that the Depository Trust Company ("DTC") has made Wishpond common shares eligible for electronic deposit at DTC. The Company believes that the opportunity to clear and settle trades in its common shares on the OTCQX should provide a more seamless experience for its U.S. shareholders.

Events Subsequent to September 30, 2021:

On October 21, 2021, Wishpond launched its new integration of Zoom with Wishpond Appointments, and the availability of the Wishpond Zoom App in the Zoom App Marketplace. Wishpond Appointments now connects seamlessly with Zoom allowing Wishpond's customers to easily create virtual meetings for their next business call, customer meeting, or consultation.

Normal Course Issuer Bid:

On June 7, 2021, the TSX Venture Exchange accepted a notice of the Company's intention to commence a normal course issuer bid ("NCIB") for its common shares. The board of directors of the Company believes that the recent market prices of the Company's common shares (the "Shares") do not properly reflect the underlying value of such Shares, and that the purchase of the Shares would be a desirable use of corporate funds in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. During the three months ended September 30, 2021, the Company purchased 63,500 common shares under the NCIB for cancellation, for aggregate consideration of $81,282. Since approval of the NCIB on June 7, 2021, to November 16, 2021, the Company has purchased a total of 126,400 common shares for cancellation at an average trade price of $1.24 per share.

Outlook:

Wishpond is on track to achieve strong revenue growth in Q4-2021 driven by increased capacity in the Company's sales team, positive contribution from its acquisitions and new product related revenues. The investments made in the first half of the year in expanding Wishpond's sales and product development teams are already beginning to have a beneficial effect on the Company's financial performance. As such the Company expects to achieve positive Adjusted EBITDA in the second half of the year. In addition, Wishpond has developed a robust pipeline of potential acquisition opportunities that are expected to add revenue and EBITDA growth as well as expand the Company's product and market capabilities.

Selected Financial Highlights:

The tables below set out selected financial information relating to Wishpond and should be read in conjunction with Wishpond's annual consolidated financial statements, including the notes thereto, and MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2020, copies of which can be found under Wishpond's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

	Three- months ended September 30, 2021 $	Three- months ended June 30, 2021 $	Three- months ended September 30, 2020 $	Nine- months ended September 30, 2021 $	Nine- months ended September 30, 2020 $
Revenue	3,976,965	3,226,877	2,095,933	10,094,422	5,627,247
Gross profit	2,760,709	2,238,143	1,519,047	6,795,788	3,773,624
Gross margin	69%	69%	72%	67%	67%
Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾	204,322	(320,027)	175,653	(434,484)	373,751
Net increase(decrease) in cash during the period	(2,306,673)	(1,142,712)	416,212	453,174	994,820
Cash - end of the period	7,758,720	10,065,393	1,264,356	7,758,720	1,264,356

Reconciliation to Adjusted EBITDA

	Three- months ended September 30, 2021 $	Three- months ended June 30, 2021 $	Three- months ended September 30, 2020 $	Nine- months ended September 30, 2021 $	Nine- months ended September 30, 2020 $
Income (Loss) before income taxes	(1,281,849)	(1,517,758)	88,081	(3,994,376)	(55,298)
Depreciation and amortization	228,459	199,919	97,648	587,479	288,671
Interest expense	1,442	2,520	6,461	7,546	21,116
EBITDA	(1,051,948)	(1,315,319)	192,190	(3,399,351)	254,489
Stock based compensation expense	589,266	573,610	23,220	1,724,819	82,703
Remeasurement of contingent consideration liability²	458,605	234,933	-	693,538	-
Other expenses (income)	141,883	71,524	(5,912)	258,583	48,017
Acquisition related expenses	-	53,953	-	160,203	-
Earn-out remuneration³	43,528	52,266	-	95,794	-
Foreign currency losses (gains)	22,988	9,006	(33,845)	31,930	(11,458)
Adjusted EBITDA	204,322	(320,027)	175,653	(434,484)	373,751

Footnotes:

1	EBITDA, EBITDA margin, adjusted EBITDA, monthly recurring revenue, annualized run rate, gross profit and gross margin are not financial measures recognized by generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities. See "Cautionary Statements - Non-GAAP Financial Measures".
2	The PersistIQ Earn Out Payments constituted consideration for the business combination as defined by IFRS 3 Business Combinations and is to be recorded as a contingent consideration liability. The contingent consideration liability will be remeasured to fair value at each reporting date, until such time as the earn-out period is over, with changes to fair value included in the consolidated statements of loss and comprehensive loss.
3	The Invigo Earn Out Payments constituted remuneration as defined by IFRS 3 Business Combinations and will be recorded as non-operating expense on the consolidated statement of loss and comprehensive loss.

On Behalf of the Board of Wishpond
"Ali Tajskandar"
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

About Wishpond Technologies Ltd.

Based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Wishpond is a provider of marketing-focused online business solutions. Wishpond's vision is to become the leading provider of digital marketing solutions that empower entrepreneurs to achieve success online. The Company offers an "all-in-one" marketing suite that provides companies with marketing, promotion, lead generation, and sales conversion capabilities from one integrated platform. Wishpond replaces entire marketing functions in an easy-to-use product, for a fraction of the cost. Wishpond serves over 3,000 customers who are primarily small-to-medium size businesses (SMBs) in a wide variety of industries. The Company has developed cutting-edge marketing technology solutions and continues to add new features and applications with great velocity. The Company employs a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business model where substantially all the Company's revenue is subscription-based recurring revenue which provides excellent revenue predictability and cash flow visibility. Wishpond is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker "WISH". For further information, visit: www.wishpond.com.

Cautionary Statements - Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In this press release, Wishpond has used the following terms ("Non-GAAP Financial Measures") that are not defined by International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), but are used by management to evaluate the performance of Wishpond and its business: earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA"), adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("Adjusted EBITDA"), gross profit and gross margin. These measures may also be used by investors, financial institutions and credit rating agencies to assess Wishpond's performance and ability to service debt. Non-GAAP Financial Measures do not have standardized meanings prescribed by GAAP and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Securities regulations require that Non-GAAP Financial Measures are clearly defined, qualified and reconciled to their most comparable GAAP financial measures. Except as otherwise indicated, these Non-GAAP Financial Measures are calculated and disclosed on a consistent basis from period to period. Specific items may only be relevant in certain periods. See the disclosure under the heading "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" in Wishpond's most recent Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for a discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures and certain reconciliations to GAAP financial measures. The intent of Non-GAAP Financial Measures is to provide additional useful information to investors and analysts, and the measures do not have any standardized meaning under IFRS. The measures should not, therefore, be considered in isolation or used in substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Other issuers may calculate Non-GAAP Financial Measures differently. Non-GAAP Financial Measures are identified and defined as follows:

Gross profit and Gross margin: The Company defines "gross profit" as revenue less cost of sales and "gross margin" as gross profit as a percentage of revenue. Gross profit and gross margin should not be construed as an alternative for revenue or net loss determined in accordance with IFRS. The Company believes that gross profit and gross margin are meaningful metrics in assessing the Company's financial performance and operational efficiency.
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA: EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as alternatives to net earnings, cash flow from operating activities or other measures of financial results determined in accordance with GAAP as an indicator of Wishpond's performance. The Company defines "Adjusted EBITDA" as EBITDA less foreign currency losses (gains), net other expenditures (income), and stock-based compensation. The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA is a meaningful financial metric as it measures cash generated from operations which the Company can use to fund working capital requirements, service future interest and principal debt repayments and fund future growth initiatives.
EBITDA margins: EBITDA margin is a profitability ratio that measures earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, as a percentage of total revenue.
Monthly recurring revenue: Normalized measure of predictable monthly revenue.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements that are not reported financial results or other historical information are forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). This press release includes forward-looking statements regarding the Company, its subsidiaries and the industries in which they operate, including statements about, among other things, expectations, beliefs, plans, future operations, origination of additional targets in which the Company may hold an interest and acquisition opportunities for the Company, business and acquisition strategies, opportunities, objectives, prospects, assumptions, including those related to trends and prospects, and future events and performance. Sentences and phrases containing or modified by words such as "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "intend", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targets", "projects", "is designed to", "strategy", "should", "believe", "contemplate" and similar expressions, and the negative of such expressions, are not historical facts and are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, such forward-looking statements have been based on expectations, factors and assumptions concerning future events which may prove to be inaccurate and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control, including, but not limited to, the risk factors discussed in the continuous disclosure materials of the Company which are available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and are made as of the date hereof. The Company disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Wishpond Technologies Ltd.