Safeguard Scientifics Announces First Quarter 2017 Financial Results

RADNOR, Pa., April 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE:SFE) today announced financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2017, as well as continued achievement of developmental milestones for its 28 partner companies. For the three months ended March 31, 2017, Safeguard's net loss was $22.1 million, or $1.08 per share, compared with a net loss of $15.5 million, or $0.76 per share, for the same period in 2016.

"Safeguard's key objective for 2017 is to increase the number of exit transactions at meaningful cash-on-cash returns to drive shareholder value," said Stephen T. Zarrilli, Safeguard President and CEO. "We continue to build momentum and value in our partner companies. We believe there are a number of additional opportunities for further value creation events this year."

FIRST QUARTER 2017 HIGHLIGHTS

• Received $15.5 million in cash and a three-year $10.5 million note at 9.5% interest per annum for its 38% primary ownership position in Beyond.com which was sold back to the former partner company.
• Deployed $10.1 million in follow-on funding to support the growth of six existing partner companies.

AGGREGATE PARTNER COMPANY REVENUE

Aggregate partner company revenue for 2017 is projected to be between $370 million and $390 million, which includes revenue for all partner companies in which Safeguard had an interest at January 1, 2017, except Beyond.com, which was sold during the first quarter of 2017. Aggregate revenue for the same partner companies was $321 million for 2016 and $305 million for 2015. Aggregate revenue for all years reflects revenue on a net basis. Revenue data for certain partner companies pertain to periods prior to Safeguard's involvement with those companies and are based solely on information provided to Safeguard by those companies. Safeguard reports the revenue of its equity and cost-method partner companies on a one-quarter lag basis.

PARTNER COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS

The following section includes highlights of significant accomplishments achieved by Safeguard's partner companies during the first quarter of 2017. For a detailed overview of all milestones achieved during the first quarter of 2017, please visit www.safeguard.com/companies.

~ Product Launches / Regulatory Approvals ~

Cask Data released Cask Data Application Platform 4.1, featuring enhancements for secure, resilient integration and management of enterprise-grade big-data analysis. The latest platform upgrade enables developers, data scientists and citizen integrators to quickly build and deploy applications, data pipelines, plug-ins, and use case recipes on Hadoop and Spark.

Good Start Genetics added Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas to its network of healthcare payors and now covers genetic testing, counseling and other family genetics services for more than 130 million lives in the U.S. The new contract coincides with an update of medical guidelines by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that recommends screening for additional disorders through tests that can be performed by the Good Start Genetics platform.

Spongecell announced the integration of Grapeshot vertical-specific keyword targeting technology into the Spongecell platform, offering advertisers the potential of increased engagements and click-through rates through enhanced personalized marketing at scale.

~ Major Customer Wins / Strategic Partnerships ~

Apprenda and IBM are partnering to streamline the transfer, development and modification of data and .NET applications in the cloud. The integration of Apprenda and IBM Bluemix capabilities offers developers broad .NET support and access to Watson, Blockchain and IoT services.

CloudMine is partnering with Infor to offer healthcare providers improved access to electronic health records within secure, compliant digital health applications. Integrating features of CloudMine and Infor platforms is expected to enhance real-time capture and display of patient information through mobile and IoT enabled devices.

MediaMath is now operating in India through an agreement with Zirca Digital Solutions, its exclusive partner for the country where digital ad spend in 2017 is projected to exceed $1 billion. MediaMath operations are now active in 42 countries.

Sonobi announced the integration of Facebook's Audience Network with its header-based digital advertising technology to offer publishers greater yield without sacrificing user experience. Sonobi, GroupM and LinkedIn are now collaborating with other members of the IAB Tech Lab to develop new standard metrics for evaluating viewability of display and video advertising. Currently, advertisers can use about 200 different metrics each for determining the effectiveness of display and video ads.

~ Industry Awards ~

Clutch Holdings was profiled in the latest cross-channel campaign management evaluation by The Forrester Wave, a list of promising B2C vendors monitored by the business advisory firm. Clutch CEO Ned Moore received the Fox IT Innovator Award from Temple University's Fox School of Business for "innovation in the application of IT to create business opportunity."

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