SEOUL, South Korea, March 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- I-ON Communications Co., Ltd.("I-ON" or the "Company"), www.i-on.net, a wholly-owned subsidiary of I-ON Communications Corp. (OTCQB: IONI), a Seoul, South Korea based global enterprise software company focused on delivering leading digital experience, CMS, unstructured data management and digital marketing solutions and services to mid and large private and public sector enterprises, is pleased to announce preliminary financial results for the year ended December 31, 2018. Further details will be available in I-ON's Annual Report on Form 10-K which it expects to be filed on or about March 30, 2019.
Total revenue for the fiscal year came in at $6.6 million, which was comprised of higher licensing revenue contribution versus last year or roughly 24% of total revenue, while customized solutions and system integration made up a bulk of the remainder. Gross income was approximately $1.7 million and the company was once again earnings positive and profitable for the year. This was despite the significant year over year ramp in sales and marketing spend associated with international expansion and new solution rollouts related to DXP and sports ICT, as well as higher year over year public company related costs, which is expected to continue going forward. While all geographies and solution offerings contributed to revenue, 2018 was a year during which I-ON´s focus on growth as a new and innovative public company was partially offset by revenue recognition and customer implementation delays experienced domestically throughout the year as cited in recent quarters. Despite decelerating economic growth felt across East Asia in 2018, recent data suggests overall economic conditions are stabilizing.
The Company notes that its backlog into 2019 remained healthy at over $3 million, while its pipeline of engagements stood at approximately $6 million, comprising of a more diversified mix of PaaS, SaaS and sports ICT potential, in tandem with I-ON's newly forged alliances. Key customers added during the latter part of 2018 and into 2019 included a major cosmetics company, Samsung Life, DB Insurance, CJ Digital Music and the KLPGA. More recently, the Company announced Pacific Pro Football League as its first prospective US client, opening up a wide spectrum of sports software and digital marketing focused opportunities beyond South Korea.
Balance Sheet
I-ON's balance sheet as of the end of December remained healthy with cash and equivalents of over $3 million, total assets of $8 million and shareholders' equity of over $5.5 million. I-ON continues to have available lines of credit with financial institutions for up to $3.6 million, of which there were no outstanding balances as of the end of December. More recently in 2019, I-ON paid off the principal and interest related to previously announced convertible note financing consummated during 3Q18. The Company will continue to opportunistically explore all growth financing alternatives suitable to fund long-term growth and goals and is in discussions with financial institutions and middle market investment banking firms to assist with our financing strategies.
Outlook
Chairman and CEO, Jae Cheol James Oh commented, "Despite some macro-economic headwinds domestically, we continue to remain focused on growing all facets of our business and will continue to invest accordingly. In our first year as a public company, we have achieved concrete milestones including establishing new distribution channels and clients in newly targeted markets such as Singapore and U.S., as well as initiating strategies to launch our new digital experience platform (DXP), which will increase our clients' cloud capabilities and enable them to keep up with new features, services and devices for their marketing audiences. We are also pleased to reaffirm that our current balance sheet remains healthy and we will continue to pursue growth financing avenues as necessary, subject to the right market conditions while looking out in the best interest of shareholders. Growth through R&D driven solutions and key acquisitions remain core tenets of attaining our previously stated revenue goal of $25 million by 2020."
I-ON's rolling twelve-month pro forma revenue guidance of $15 million remains unchanged, which assumes the consummation of at least one acquisition in the current half of 2019 and modest organic growth across existing its existing solutions offerings. As previously noted, the Company continues to implement a multi-faceted strategy to attain a revenue run-rate goal of $25 million by 2020, which would likely reflect more international contribution and an improving revenue mix of PaaS and SaaS revenue, yielding higher y/y gross, and operating margins well above 45% and 15%, respectively.
About I-ON Communications Corp.
I-ON Communications Corp. (www.i-on.net/eng) is a Seoul, South Korea-based software and solutions developer as well as provider founded in 1999.After being awarded its first of six key patents by 2003, I-ON has sold to over 1,600 clients across numerous verticals in both the private and public sectors, primarily throughout South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia. The Company's core offerings include DXP (Digital Experience Platform) and revolve around unstructured data management, sports software and energy ICT solutions.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this document contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are based on many assumptions and estimates and are not guarantees of future performance. These statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Our actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, without limitation those set forth as "Risk Factors" in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). There may be other factors not mentioned above or included in the Company's SEC filings that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or developments, except as required by securities laws.
Press/IR Contact:
Bruce S. Lee
I-ON Communications Co., Ltd.
ir@i-on.net
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