Crossword Cybersecurity Plc

Post Close Trading Update

Crossword 2021 income up 43% and forecasting circa 75% income growth for 2022

18 January 2022 - London, UK - Crossword Cybersecurity Plc (AIM:CCS, "Crossword", the "Company" or the "Group"), the technology commercialisation company focused on cyber security and risk, is pleased to confirm that it expects to report total income of £2.33m  (unaudited) for the year ended 31 December 2021. Further, the Company is confident of achieving income growth of circa 75% in 2022, in line with market expectations. 

Income of £2.33m represents growth of 43% in 2021, which includes revenue from now discontinued software development services to related parties.  Growth in our core cybersecurity consulting and product related was 57% in 2021.

Rizikon, Crossword's leading product, a SaaS platform that enables medium to large companies to assess and manage all risks from their suppliers, continued to attract users in H2 2021.  The 2021 closing number of users of Rizikon exceeded 500.  This was primarily due to the strength of the partnership campaigns model promoted by Crossword in 2021. 

Other product related income included grant income from a research project conducted in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University. The joint research project was undertaken to investigate the underlying problems and causes of failures in supply chain risk and assurance.  Additionally, Crossword worked with the University of Glasgow to support its PRC (Privacy Risk and Compliance) Project, in creating a new software product aimed at Privacy Governance.

Crossword had a strong H2 2021, with cybersecurity consulting and product related income growth of over 100% compared to H1 2021.  This provides Crossword with a strong launch pad into 2022, where Crossword is confident of achieving income of £4.1m, an implied growth rate of 75% for this financial year, broadly in line with analyst expectations.

The 2022 income growth will be driven by growth in both cybersecurity consulting and product related income.  Crossword expects to have continued traction with Rizikon, aiming for 1,000 users by the end of 2022, with the ongoing pursuit of the partnership campaigns.  The integration of Darkbeam's cyber risk ratings into Rizikon in November 2021 provides a more comprehensive overview of overall cyber risk, in real time, helping Rizikon customers further understand and manage the cyber risks that may exist in their supply chains.

In 2022, Crossword will continue with the ongoing development and commercialisation of Identiproof, the verifiable credentials suite of products, which Crossword acquired through its acquisition of Verifiable Credentials Limited in May 2021. 

Crossword's cybersecurity consulting division was expanded by the acquisition of Stega UK Limited ("Stega") in August 2021.  Stega brought additional capacity and circa thirty new clients, primarily financial sector organisations, to Crossword.  Cross sell opportunities which are actively being pursued are expected to contribute to 2022 income targets. 

In December 2021, Crossword announced that it had signed heads of terms to acquire a cyber threat company which, on completion, would complete Crossword's objective of having five cyber security SaaS products in its portfolio almost a year ahead of schedule, alongside its cyber security consulting business.  This acquisition is expected to complete early 2022.

A new subsidiary Crossword Cybersecurity LLC was formed in the Sultanate of Oman in 2021, following the Company's announcement on 18 May 2021 regarding the signed memorandum of understanding with Al Rawahy Holdings LLC of the Sultanate of Oman.  Crossword Cybersecurity LLC is 90% owned by Crossword Cybersecurity Plc with the remaining 10% owned by Al Rawahy Holdings LLC. Crossword Cybersecurity LLC will be the exclusive third-party distributor of Crossword's existing and future cyber security products, including Rizikon.  Crossword's full range of cyber security services will also be made available- helping companies in the region improve their cyber security posture to achieve best practices with the latest solutions.

Tom Ilube CBE, CEO at Crossword Cybersecurity PLC, said: "We are delighted to have ended 2021 in such a strong position.  With the pending completion of the acquisition of a cyber threat company which, on completion, would bring our portfolio to five cyber security offerings alongside our cyber security consulting business, Crossword is now focusing its full attention on marketing and selling its product portfolio and consulting services to scale up the business.  We are confident that we can harness our achievements in 2021 to achieve revenue growth of circa 75%, in 2022."

- Ends -

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the retained EU law version of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (the "UK MAR") which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The information is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of the UK MAR. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

Contacts

Crossword Cybersecurity plc - Tel: +44 (0) 333 090 2587

Email: info@crosswordcybersecurity.com

Tom Ilube, Chief Executive Officer

Mary Dowd, Chief Financial Officer

Grant Thornton (Nominated Adviser) - Tel: +44 (0) 20 7383 5100

Colin Aaronson / Daphne Zhang

Hybridan LLP (Broker) - Tel: +44 (0)203 764 2341

Claire Louise Noyce

For media enquiries contact:

Duncan Gurney, GingerPR

duncan@gingerpr.co.uk - Tel: +44 (0)1932 485 300

About Crossword Cybersecurity plc

Crossword Cybersecurity plc focuses on the development and commercialisation of university research-based cyber security and risk management related software and cyber security consulting. The Group's specialist cyber security product development and software engineering teams work with its university partners to develop the research concept into a fully-fledged commercial product that it will then take to market. The Group's aim is to build up a portfolio of revenue generating, intellectual property based, cyber security products. Rizikon Assurance, Crossword's leading product, is a SaaS platform that enables medium to large companies to assess and manage all risks from their suppliers. Nixer CyberML, another Crossword product, is a new tool for businesses that want to solve advanced security and cybercrime problems, such as detecting and dealing with compromised accounts, fraud, and in-application denial of service attacks. Identiproof, Crossword's most recent product, is the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) verifiable credentials compatible middleware and wallet technology. Crossword's team of expert cyber security consultants leverages years of experience in national security, defence and commercial cyber intelligence and operations to provide bespoke advice tailored to its clients' business needs, including threat monitoring.