BIO-key Reports 223% YoY Revenue Increase in Q2 Update

BIO-key has achieved staggering year-over-year revenues increases, thanks in part to its acquisition of the PortalGuard Single-Sign On solution, suggest figures from the company’s latest quarterly update.

Revenues were up 223 percent year-over-year, jumping from about $307k in the second quarter of 2020 to $992k in the latest quarter. In a statement, the company attributed much of the increase to license fee revenues, noting that such revenues from its PortalGuard acquisition, which closed on June 30 of 2020, were not in included in the results from a year ago. COVID-19 disruptions had also depressed revenues in that period.

BIO-key’s acquisition of PortalGuard, via its purchase of the solution’s maker, PistolStar, marked a significant strategic shift for the company. Whereas BIO-key had previously focused primarily on fingerprint-based authentication solutions, PortalGuard brought an extensive non-biometric authentication platform into its portfolio, and promptly delivered a number of new contracts for BIO-key.

BIO-key announced a cloud-based version of the platform, dubbed “PortalGuard Identity-as-a-Service”, in late November of 2020, and added new passwordless authentication features to the platform earlier this year.

Meanwhile, BIO-key has remained focused on biometric solutions as well. Earlier this year, the company launched a palm-scanning app called BIO-key MobileAuth with PalmPositive, as part of the PortalGuard IDaaS platform. And in a statement announcing BIO-key’s latest results, CEO Michael DePasquale indicated that the company plans to ad support for facial recognition and voice recognition to its MobileAuth solution in the future.

Other important business developments for BIO-key include the continuing expansion of its Channel Alliance Partner program, which saw over 40 new members in the first half of this year; and its biometric ID projects in Africa. Commenting on the latter, DePasquale explained that activities have been delayed due to the impact of COVID-19, but that his firm anticipates “a reacceleration of activity” in the remainder of the year.

BIO-key’s bottom line for the latest quarter was a net loss of $1.2 million – a significant improvement over its net loss of $1.6 million in Q2 of 2020. Looking ahead, the company says it’s on track with respect to its full-year revenue guidance of $8 million to $12 million, with DePasquale noting that the company could “potentially achieve profitability,” depending on customer order activity and other variables.

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August 17, 2021 – by Alex Perala