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Escher Group Holdings plc
Annual report 2011
08
Overview
I am delighted to present the
inaugural full year results for Escher
Group Holdings as a public company.
We floated on AIM in August 2011
and since then we have continued
to build on our position as the
global market leader in digital point
of service. The Institutional Placing
we undertook, raising US$25 million
and listing on AIM, was a historic
moment in the company’s existence.
The capital raised in difficult economic
times shows strong investor support
for the ongoing development of
Escher as a successful company
which possesses the potential
to grow and succeed in other
industry sectors.
The proceeds of this fundraising
have been partially deployed to
provide development capital in
order to pursue the significant
growth opportunities available to
us. These include the expansion of
our sales and marketing capabilities,
new hires and the addition of Near
Field Communication (NFC) business.
All of these helped lead to new wins
with ‘Haypost’ and Saudi Post and,
subsequent to the year end, our most
significant contract win to date with
the United States Postal Service.
Background to our business
We supply technology, expertise
and professional services to 32
postal operators worldwide. On
a daily basis, our
Riposte
family
of products handles a range of diverse
transactions at point of service that
cross the boundaries of many
industries, from postal to retail,
to banking and e-Government.
Escher is ideally placed to
consolidate its position as the
number one supplier of counter
automation technology in the
postal sector, while diversifying
further into digital mail, NFC
service and vertical markets.
Our objectives
We are pursuing four main avenues
to grow the business:
—— incremental sales to
existing customers;
—— further penetration of the
outsourced postal counter
software market;
—— the adoption of Escher’s
revolutionary message based
communications software,
RiposteTrEx;
and
—— the application of Escher’s
existing technology to other
vertical markets.
In 2012, these are now supplemented
by opportunities offered to Escher
with the creation of a dedicated unit
to manage NFC service opportunities.
Escher Interactive Services will
provide complementary technology
that connects into our Retail
Software Division, offering managed
— Successful listing
on AIM of the London
Stock Exchange
— Re-financed
and consolidated
company debt
— Added two new postal
operators to our
customer base
— Establishment of Near
Field Communication
(NFC) business unit
— Opened fifth global
office – South Africa
— Expanded sales and
marketing capabilities
— Since the year end
announced a significant
contract win with
the United States
Postal Service
In summary
Liam Church,
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Executive Officer’s report