ContextVision AB (publ) (CONTX) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Welcome to this fourth quarter Q&A with Ola Lindblad, CEO of ContextVision; and Fredrik Palm, CEO of INIFY Laboratories. But first, Ola, congratulations, new CEO of ContextVision.

Thank you very much.

Well, how do you feel?

Well, I'm very excited. It's great to take on this opportunity.

But how will this demerger of INIFY affect ContextVision?

Well, before I answer that question, I want to just thank Fredrik for all your contribution to ContextVision and wish you good luck with INIFY Laboratories.

Thank you.

And then coming back to your question, [ Olaf ]. One of the things we see is, obviously, it's going to be sad to see some colleagues leave the company. That's obviously going to be one of the effects. However, I think it's -- this split is going to also affect very positively on ContextVision because we will have a chance to focus solely on our business model. So our main business. So that's going to be positive.

And what's you're main business? What's the [ core business ]?

Well, our core business is -- I mean, we're a B2B company and we're a software company focusing on medical imaging. And our customers or the companies we are supporting are the system manufacturers of ultrasound, x-ray and MR systems. And we help them providing the best possible imaging coming out of their systems. And we've been doing this for 35-plus years, and we are the leading independent provider doing this in the world.

Before the pandemic, you had steady, steady revenue growth. How was the fourth quarter?

Well, I can just report that it's been the third consecutive quarter with growing revenue. So it's -- this leads back up or leads up to a record year in 2021. So we're up to a 4% increase compared to last year.

Well, congratulations again. But you also delivered fantastic margins. We're talking about 30% to 40% before the pandemic.

Yes.

Will that continue?

Well, yes, it will continue, although we will have a slight dent in the increase due to the spin-off here. Because we -- now when we're only one business unit, we'll obviously have to carry all the overhead costs. So we will have a slight dent, but we see also that it's going to be a quick going down and then it's going to pop up again. And we see that going back to the normal, if you wish, markets here going forward.

Okay. That's good. But Fredrik, you're now starting on a brand-new journey with INIFY Laboratories. Feels good?

Yes. Sure. I mean, first, I would like to say that it's been a true pleasure to be a part of and lead ContextVision for 10 years. I'm just -- my opinion, I mean, stars are aligned for further growth and success, and I'm sure that Ola and his new management team are sharing that view. So I will follow you closely, of course, going forward. Coming to INIFY Laboratories, I've been working with the analysis and the preparation for this for quite some time. And it is truly a beginning of something that have an extensive potential to become the future of pathology services. So how I feel? Excited and I'm inspired.

Yes. But can you describe more about the business?

Yes, sure. Our vision is to build the best pathology service in the world for selected cancer types. And we start off with prostate cancer, as been communicated before. It is extremely motivating to build and establish a company addressing an alarming need such as diagnosing cancer, of course. We have a cross professional team with us already from the start, spanning from corporate management to laboratory operations to application expertise. It is a modular setup, fully standardized. So it's scalable in volume across diagnosis and prepared for geographical expansion. It is important for us to provide our high-quality diagnostic service to as many patients as possible with efficient and predictable turnaround times. So it will add value to patients, medical professionals and, of course, create shareholder value.

Talking about shareholder value. How is the capitalization of the company now?

We have initial funds with us in the company from the start, but we are also working to get additional funding in place that will take us to a solid proof of concept.

And finally, what are the crucial success factors for INIFY?

Well, I mean, first of all, we have one of the, if not the, most powerful AI technology with us into the company as a cornerstone and a start. But if I shall pick one isolated success factor going forward, I would say, this -- the team. And as mentioned already now, we are plus 15 professionals, plus consultants within the organization, working with full speed towards the opening of our Center of Excellence lab in Stockholm.

But it's all about the team. We're talking about R&D going forward. We're talking about sales internationally. So without a good team, it wouldn't work.

Sure, sure. And you can add medical professionals, you can add laboratory operation expertise and so on. So for sure, but the team is what's going to make this become real.

Yes. Back to you, Ola. You delivered a record quarter in the fourth quarter last year.

Yes, we sure did.

We're glad that you did.

It will. And you will probably ask why.

Yes, exactly. Why?

Yes. So I see this is going to happen because of 3 things. So number one is we have a very solid customer base. And we work with a lot of customers. But the main thing is we work with the largest customers or many of the largest customer in the market, which provides us with a base which we then can grow upon. So that's number one. Number two is that due to the spinoff here, we can actually have a full focus with our R&D, with our product portfolio, everything can focus on would we do best, which is the image quality business. So that's where we can focus on and we can then couple the 35-plus years of experience with the latest AI and machine learning. So those coupled together is really going to help us move forward. And then last but not least, and coming back to Fredrik's point is, I mean, it's all about the team. I mean we have a great team together. And those 3 things is really going to make the difference and it's going to make us continue on the growth path.

Well, exciting times for both companies.

Yes.

Thank you, Ola. Thank you, Fredrik. And good luck.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.