Strong IP, hundreds of patents secure future growth for Lleida.net

Portfolio of patents, IP revenue set to drive ongoing growth for the best performing listed company in Europe in 2020. New patents drive continued growth in face of a complex business environment.

NEW YORK, Dec. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent study drafted by Coller IP a Mathys Squire company, has valued Lleida.net's SaaS IP portfolio at as much as EUR14.1 million, a conservative valuation of a single family of the company's key intangible assets. 

Nowadays, the company's current patent portfolio encompasses 17 patent families respectively aimed at different aspects of the company's technologies and developments.

Each patent family comprises granted patents as well as pending patent applications with a grant ratio above 90%, the company's IP strategy is clearly focused on quality over quantity since the first patent filed in January 2012 and the first allowance being notified in 2013. 

New solutions are produced on a monthly basis and the IP department along with the R&D teams overviews the new solutions crafted in the light of the technological problems arising in this digital society. 

This ensures a company's presence in every technological achievement relevant for the fields of certification, verification and telecommunications for the forthcoming 20 years due to the life cycle of the already granted patents and those new applications filed as a result of the company's IP policies.

This value is based upon the revenues generated from the IP for SaaS business.

As the global economic and business environment becomes more complicated and difficult to navigate, Lleida Networks Serveis Telematics S.A. (Lleida.net) is securing future growth and stability on a solid foundation of world-class intellectual property (IP) and multiple families of patents that ensure rapid growth in revenue. 

Lleida.net (OTCQX:LLEIF) (EPA:ALLLN) (BME:LLN) is a sophisticated technology company that has built its business on strong intellectual property. 

This foundation of IP, helped Lleida.net generate growth of 940% in 2020 and emerge as the top performing listed company in Europe that year, capping 20 straight quarters of growth. And this same foundation ensures the company continues performance going forward, as Lleida.net's products and services – strengthened by its powerful IP – ensure many more quarters and years of profitable performance.

The company is now building on that banner year with further revenue growth and the ongoing expansion of its family of patents, which further strengthens its powerful and valuable IP. 

The latest patent received by the company by the South Korean authorities , which refers to its EIDAS-certified sourcing method.

This newest patent is valid for 20 years, giving the company's business in the Middle East a deep level of security for two decades. Lleida.net now has four patents in the region, a developing economy that it first entered 10 years ago.

Business roots strengthened by IP

After more than 25 years in the market, Lleida.net has built a comprehensive business that derives a significant amount of value and ongoing revenue from its family of 218 patents that have been either granted or are in process in 64 countries around the world. 

The company's family of patents represents an important benefit for clients, stakeholders and investors and secures the future development for the medium and long term. The multiple layers of protection that these patents give to the company's intellectual property assure future growth and stability.

Lleida.net has revenue streams that stem from its powerful and sophisticated IP generating tens of millions of euros in turnover. The hundreds of patents granted to the company can be grouped into different patent families covering different business lines. 

One family of patents covers the company's SaaS business, which is poised to generate significant growth going forward being in line with current market trends and demand. A recent study valued Lleida.net's IP based on revenue generated by its Saas business line. 

The study done by Coller IP, a Mathys Squire company, put the value of the company's SaaS IP at as much as EUR14.1 million, a conservative valuation of a single family of the company's key intangible assets. This value is based upon the revenues generated from the IP for SaaS business.

Another parallel study considered the revenues that Lleida.net generates directly from IP related to its "Click & Sign" family of products. Coller IP put the fair market value of this IP at as much as EUR2.8 million. 

The value of the patents encompasses the historic cost of developing IP, market value based on transactions that can be used as thresholds and forthcoming revenue patents may generate.

In 2020, Lleida generated turnover of EUR16.4 million, representing growth of 10.48%. Sales of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) accounted for 30.2% of turnover that year. Revenue from certified email services in 2020 added up to EUR1.7 million and is expected to grow at between 25%-30% per year through the rest of this decade to generate revenue of EUR21.9 million by 2030.

A PATENT PORTFOLIO THAT KEEPS ON GROWING

Going forward, Lleida.net plans to continue generating more IP and adding items to its patent portfolio to create ongoing value for investors and shareholders. 

Lleida.net is a top global player in one of the fastest-growing markets in the post-COVID-19 economy. The company has become a key global player in rapidly growing business segments like eSignature, eNotification and eContracting. The company is already on the path to become the main European player in these areas over the next decade by speeding up international growth, research and development (R&D), proprietary technology, and transparent investor relations. 

The pandemic supercharged the market for Lleida.net products, services, and IP, including the e-certification services the company provides. The e-certification market was worth US$1.5 billion in 2017 and is now projected to be worth US$25.2 billion by 2030, almost 17 times larger. Already, 75 countries recognize the validity of eSignatures and there is increasing legislative support for e-Signature technology across all the major markets in which Lleida.net operates. 

Another growth driver is rising demand to ensure security of financial, bureaucratic, and regulatory transactions, not only in developed markets but also in developing markets looking to leapfrog ahead by digitalising services. This includes the three largest developing markets in the world of India, China, and Brazil. 

Lleida.net is the European leader in the registered electronic signature, notification, and contracting industry. With more than 218 patents received from more than 60 countries worldwide, it holds one of the largest Intellectual Property portfolios in its field in the world.

So far, it has received patents from markets such as the European Union, the United States, China, Russia, India, Mexico, Japan, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, South Africa, Nigeria, Australia and New Zealand.

Lleida.net is listed on the OTCQX index in New York, on Euronext Growth in Paris and on BME Growth in Madrid.

The company has more than 2,500 investors.

INCREASE IN SALES IN ALL BUSINESS LINES

In the first nine months of 2022, all of the company's business lines saw an increase in their turnover volumes, attesting to the solidity of the company's business model.

SaaS sales now account for 39 percent of the group's total sales, and sales of hybrid products have soared by 134 percent.

The contract line (which includes both standard products such as Click & Sign Standard, contact email and contract SMS, and more complex products such as Click & Sign Pro) grew by four percent in the first nine months of 2022, compared with the same period in 2021, to €2.4 million.

The notification line sales (including the registered email and registered SMS products) increased by 15 percent through September 30, to €1.76 million - and by 24 percent in the third quarter, to €642,000.

The recently announced renewal agreement with the Colombian postal services company, 4-72, and the acquisition of new accounts, will be the focus of growth in both the notification and contract lines.

SMS sales have reached 2.8 million euros in cumulative figures, a 38 percent growth compared to 2021. The higher volume of SMS traffic drove the change. In the third quarter, the increase was four percent due to the seasonal nature of this type of sales, boosted by commercial campaigns.

Similarly, Wholesale line sales followed the same growth trend, with a 15 percent increase in cumulative figures and a 14 percent increase in the third quarter of the year, compared to the same quarter of 2021.

Traffic has been boosted thanks to the events being organized, and the destinations and the quality of service offered by Lleida.net makes a difference in an increasingly competitive market.

INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS

Lleida.net has managed in these three quarters to increase the number of different customers to whom an invoice has been sent, with an increase of 9 percent of the customer portfolio, compared to the same quarter of 2021.

Likewise, the average billing invoice continues to increase by 11 percent compared to the accumulated data as of the third quarter of 2021.

In geographical terms, the international percentage of the company's sales continues to grow. Sales outside Spain now account for 57 percent of turnover, particularly relevant in the European and Latin American markets, where the company has a strong presence in Colombia and Peru.

In the third quarter, Net Financial Debt increased by 312,000 euros, following the signing of a new loan agreement for 700,000 thousand euros, at variable interest. In addition, the group has reduced the remaining debt positions with financial institutions due to the periodic amortization of loans.