Cortex Business Solutions Reports Fiscal 2016 Financial Results

CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – Oct. 27, 2016) – Cortex Business Solutions Inc. (TSX VENTURE:CBX), the online network helping companies connect and interact with each other to transmit documents and grow their businesses, today announces its three months ended July 31, 2016 (Q4 F2016) and year ended July 31, 2016 (“F2016”) Management’s Discussion and Analysis and Consolidated Financial Statements.

“Fiscal 2016 has been an exciting year for everyone involved, and as we post the results of our first full fiscal year together as a management team; I am excited to share that phase one of our transformation plan is now complete” expressed Joel Leetzow, President and CEO of Cortex Business Solutions. “When I came aboard last year, our established oil and gas market was in the early stages of a major economic downturn. As a management team, it was clear that what we had to do, during F2016, would be difficult. While others began looking at how to merely survive this economic headwind, Cortex instead began to reshape our business to better position ourselves for continued success. The cost cutting measures Cortex undertook while working together with our customers to further reduce their costs has been mutually beneficial and will continue to pay off for years to come.”

F2016 was a year of ensuring the Company strategy and processes are aligned with a lower cost structure for future success. After the major restructuring in F2015, Cortex was prepared to move ahead with its ambitious plan of reshaping the business further in F2016. Part of that work included the improvement of internal processes, implementation of a proven sales strategy and a culture of organizational discipline. With companies facing hard financial decisions, the value proposition of a platform such as the Cortex Network has never been more appealing, and gives customers greater control over their costs. Cortex provides value to customers in an environment where cost reductions are necessary, through the automation and streamlining of their invoice processes, while preparing them for scalable growth when the economy recovers.

Sandra Fawcett, CFO of Cortex added, “Cortex is proud of the results realized over the past fiscal year. These results show not only the strength of our offering but also the Company’s ability to survive a tough economic environment. Although total revenue is down, it is minor compared to the severity of decline throughout the entire oil and gas industry.”

F2016 Highlights:

Revenue

  • Total revenue was down 7%,
  • Access and usage fees were down 3%:
    • Access fees grew 20%,
    • Usage fees declined 24%,
  • Integration and set up fees were down 31%, and
  • Project management fees were down 85%.

Expenses

  • Total expenses were down 32%,
  • Cost of sales down 14%,
  • Sales and marketing down 61%,
  • Research and development costs down 34%,
  • General and administrative costs were down 27%, and
  • Severance and termination charges were down 73%.

CashFlow

  • Net cash used in operating activities was down 81%. A reduction of $4,868,540.
  • Closed a bought deal financing in September 2015 for gross proceeds of $3,102,750.
  • Cash inflow for the year improved 129% from an outflow in F2015 or $5,560,711 to an inflow in F2016 of $1,634,885.

F2016 was a positive year for the Company. The cost savings realized did not impede the ability to continue to provide a quality product to the marketplace with the same level of customer support and quality our customers have been accustomed to. This transition year was required to align the processes internally to allow for future growth and success without the same level of costs of the past.

Q4 F2016 Highlights compared to Q4 F2015

Revenue

  • Total revenue declined 10%,
  • Access and usage fees declined 7%;
    • Access fees grew 17%,
    • Usage fees declined 31%,
  • Integration and set-up fees declined 45%, and
  • Project management fees declined 69%.

Expenses

  • Total expenses were down 34%,
  • Cost of sales were down 24%,
  • Sales and marketing were down 43%,
  • Research and development costs were down 29%,
  • General and administrative costs were down 31%, and
  • Severance and termination charges were down 98%.

Cashflow

  • Net cash used in operating activities improved 72% to $432,424 in Q4 F2016 (Q4 F2015 – $1,559,674),
  • Cash outflow for the quarter improved 49% or $1,032,966.

The introduction of the new VP of Sales in Q4 F2016 has refocused the sales organization. The new sales leadership is putting together a solid, senior experienced salesforce to help take us into F2017 and beyond. The upcoming year will see growth in our sales and marketing expenditures as the new sales team is put into place and continues to work through and refine the existing sales pipeline.

Cortex management will host a conference call, followed by a question and answer period.

The details of the conference call are as follows:

Date: Friday, October 28, 2016
Time: 10:00 a.m. Eastern time (8:00 a.m. Mountain time)
Toll-free dial-in number: 1-866-225-0198
International dial-in number: 1-416-340-2219

Please call the conference telephone number ten minutes prior to the start time. An operator will register your name and organization. If you have any difficulty connecting with the conference call, please contact Cortex Business Solutions at 403-219-2838.

A replay of the conference call will be available after the call through November 4, 2016

Toll-free replay number: 1-800-408-3053
Toll replay number: 1-905-694-9451
Replay ID: 5357320

About Cortex Business Solutions

Cortex Business Solutions Inc. (TSX VENTURE:CBX) is a business-to-business network that enables electronic invoicing for buying and supplying organizations. The Cortex network offers flexible connection methods to reduce the time required to process invoices and tools that leverage existing customer technologies and processes. Access to the Cortex Network enhances the exchange of documents allowing companies to connect and interact with each other to grow their businesses.

For more information, please visit www.cortex.net.

Cortex Business Solutions Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Financial Position
(Prepared in Canadian dollars)
July 31 July 31
2016 2015
Assets
Current assets
Cash $ 5,621,835 $ 3,986,950
Short-term investments 60,000 60,000
Accounts receivable 866,142 868,452
Prepaid expenses 145,823 154,861
6,693,800 5,070,263
Deposits 35,061 35,061
Property and equipment 292,791 413,961
Intangible assets 42,882 1,763,804
$ 7,064,534 $ 7,283,089
Liabilities
Current liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 1,086,380 $ 948,311
Deferred revenue 46,854 230,989
Current portion of rebate provision 294,145 695,207
Income tax provision 59,647 57,148
1,487,026 1,931,655
Rebate provision 77,557
1,487,026 2,009,212
Shareholders’ Equity
Share capital 60,291,515 57,640,393
Accumulated other comprehensive income 640,232 580,502
Warrants 980,941
Contributed surplus 9,126,948 7,848,559
Deficit (64,481,187 ) (61,776,518 )
5,577,508 5,273,877
$ 7,064,534 $ 7,283,089
Cortex Business Solutions Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Loss and Comprehensive Loss
For the years ended July 31, 2016 and 2015
(Prepared in Canadian dollars)
2016 2015
Revenue
Access and usage fees $ 9,376,298 $ 9,712,870
Integration fee and set-up fees 404,062 583,056
Project management and other revenue 43,158 291,029
9,823,518 10,586,955
Cost of Sales 5,462,248 6,371,620
Gross Profit 4,361,270 4,215,335
Expenses
Sales and marketing 1,429,838 3,634,172
Research and development 1,990,361 3,008,873
General and administrative 3,412,059 4,655,259
Severance and termination charges 213,445 789,325
7,045,703 12,087,629
Loss before finance expense (2,684,433 ) (7,872,294 )
Finance expense (7,249 ) (1,103 )
Income tax expense (12,987 ) (52,401 )
Net loss $ (2,704,669 ) $ (7,925,798 )
Other comprehensive earnings
Items that may be reclassified subsequently to net loss:
Foreign exchange gain on foreign operations 59,730 657,787
Comprehensive loss $ (2,644,939 ) $ (7,268,011 )
Net loss per share – basic and diluted $ (0.31 ) $ (1.08 )
Cortex Business Solutions Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity
(Prepared in Canadian dollars)
Number of Common Shares Share Capital Number of Warrants Warrants Value Contributed Surplus Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) Deficit Total Shareholders’ Equity
Balance – July 31, 2014 7,233,949 $ 56,778,460 447,580 $ 980,941 $ 7,500,703 $ (77,285 ) $ (53,850,720 ) $ 11,332,099
Net loss (7,925,798 ) (7,925,798 )
Issued during the period 192,400 865,800 865,800
Issuance cost (3,867 ) (3,867 )
Translation of foreign operations 657,787 657,787
Stock based compensation 347,856 347,856
Balance – July 31, 2015 7,426,349 57,640,393 447,580 980,941 7,848,559 580,502 (61,776,518 ) 5,273,877
Net loss (2,704,669 ) (2,704,669 )
Issued during the period 1,558,355 3,116,710 3,116,710
Issuance costs (364,366 ) (364,366 )
Expiration of warrants (447,580 ) (980,941 ) 980,941
Translation of foreign operations 59,730 59,730
Stock based compensation 196,226 196,226
Compensation units issues in conjunction with private placement (101,222 ) 101,222
Balance – July 31, 2016 8,984,704 $ 60,291,515 $ $ 9,126,948 $ 640,232 $ (64,481,187 ) $ 5,577,508
Cortex Business Solutions Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
For the years ended July 31, 2016 and 2015
(Prepared in Canadian dollars)
2016 2015
Cash provided by (used in)
Operating activities
Net loss $ (2,704,669 ) $ (7,925,798 )
Items not affecting cash
Stock-based compensation 196,226 347,856
Amortization 1,841,521 1,860,171
Salaries paid in shares 865,800
Accretion on rebate provision 15,924 31,180
Loss on disposal of equipment 3,494
(647,504 ) (4,820,791 )
Rebate payment (494,543 ) (536,403 )
Changes in non-cash working capital (34,719 ) (688,112 )
Net cash used in operating activities (1,176,766 ) (6,045,306 )
Financing activity
Proceeds from issuance of shares 3,102,750
Share issuance costs (364,366 ) (3,867 )
Proceeds on exercise of compensation units for cash 13,960
Net cash used in provided by financing activities 2,752,344 (3,867 )
Investing activities
Acquisition of property and equipment (2,924 ) (158,781 )
Software development costs and third party software purchases (14,512 )
Net cash used in investing activities (2,924 ) (173,293 )
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents held in foreign currency 62,231 661,755
Cash inflow (outflow) 1,634,885 (5,560,711 )
Cash, beginning of year 3,986,950 9,547,661
Cash, end of year $ 5,621,835 $ 3,986,950
Supplemental cash flow information:
Interest received during the year $ 8,675 $ 30,077
Non-cash transactions:
Issuance of shares in lieu of salaries and bonuses including prior years amounts accrued in accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ $ 540,058
Investor Relations Contacts:
Joel Leetzow
President and CEO
[email protected]
403-219-2838

Sandra Fawcett (formerly Weiler)
CFO
[email protected]
403-219-2838

Andrew Stewart
Director, Marketing & Investor Relations
[email protected]
403-219-2838
www.cortex.net