Technology company Compulab is making another attempt to go public. Three years ago, it gave up on an IPO on Nasdaq. Now, it has filed a prospectus with the Israel Securities Authority for an offering on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. In response, the share price of TechnoPlus Ventures (TASE: TNPV), which holds 14.6% of Complulab and which notified the stock exchange of the filing of the prospectus, rose strongly. The size of the offering and the company valuation have not yet been reported.
Compulab develops, manufactures, and sells computing systems without fans, and it has two main product lines: single-board computers on modules (CoM), and feature-rich miniature PCs.
According to the figures released by TechnoPlus in its notification, in the first half of 2020 Compulab had revenue of NIS 62 million. In 2019 as a whole, revenue totaled NIS 107 million, 11% more than in 2018, although growth in 2018 over 2017 was higher, at 32.8%.
The figures indicate continuing improvement in Compulab's operating profitability, from just 0.5% of sales in 2017 to 6.3% in 2019 and 16.9% in the first half of 2020. Net profit in the first half of this year was nearly double that of the whole of 2019: NIS 10.6 million versus NIS 5.5 million. At the end of the first half of 2020, Compulab had current assets of NIS 57.7 million and current liabilities of NIS 33.1 million, and its shareholders'' equity was NIS 40.7 million.
In 2017, Compulab sought to raise $24 million on Nasdaq, but withdrew after failing to agree a company valuation with its underwriters. Now, it is exploiting the positive atmosphere on the local stock market surrounding technology company flotations, and trying its luck in Tel Aviv. Figures recently released by the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange show that a record 19 technology companies (five of them R&D partnerships) have listed on the exchange in 2020.
Compulab is located in Yokne'am, and has been run since it was founded in 1992 by its founder Gideon Yampolsky, who is the main shareholder in the company. It is recorded on TechnoPlus Ventures' books at a value of $6.5 million, and at the end of 2019 it was the largest company in TechnoPlus Ventures' portfolio. TechnoPlus Venture bought a stake in Compulab in 2012, together with other investors. It invested $1.25 million at that time, and later exercised an option to buy further shares for $250,000. TechnoPlus Ventures is entitled to receive management fees from Compulab, and in 2019 it received $89,000 and a loan of $62,500.
According to TechnoPlus Ventures, Compulab's products "represent the foundation stone for products that require computing power, and are intended for integration into customer products in many areas of industry, such as medical devices, communications systems, transport systems, military systems, robotics, aviation, space, and more."
The report also states that Comulab's high-performance computing systems are based on heat dispersal technology developed by the company, and facilitate passive cooling of powerful computing systems without the use of fans, making them suitable for work in harsh conditions, such as in industrial and military applications.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 29, 2020
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