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Kape Technologies

kape · LSE Technology
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Employees 201-500
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FY2017 Annual Report · Kape Technologies
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(Formerly: Crossrider plc)

Annual Report & 
Accounts 2017

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OVERVIEW

Kape is a cybersecurity company 
which utilises its proprietary 
digital distribution technology to 
optimise its reach and create 
a superb user experience. Kape 
offers products which provide 
online security, privacy and an 
optimal online experience. 
Kape’s vision is to provide online 
autonomy for a secure and 
accessible personal digital life.

STRATEGIC REPORT

FINANCIALS

Highlights 

Chairman’s statement 

Chief Executive Officer’s review 

Chief Financial Officer’s review 

1

2

4

8

Principal risks and uncertainties 

12 

GOVERNANCE

Independent auditor’s report  
to the members of  
Kape Technologies plc 

Consolidated statement of  
comprehensive income 

Consolidated statement of  
financial position 

23

28

29

Consolidated statement of changes  
in equity 

30

Board of Directors 

Corporate governance 

Remuneration Committee report 

Directors’ report 

14

16

18

20

Directors’ responsibility statement  22

Consolidated statement of  
cash flows 

Notes to the consolidated  
financial statements 

Shareholder information  
and advisors 

31

32

IBC

HIGHLIGHTS 2017

$8.3m

Adjusted EBITDA

$66.4m

Revenue

$69.5m

Cash balance 
and no debt

$7.6m

Adjusted cash flow  
from operations

92%

Conversion of 
adjusted EBITDA

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C
A
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Acquisition of CyberGhost, 
a leading SaaS cybersecurity 
provider

S
T
A
T
E
M
E
N
T
S

Significant growth in 
paying users

Substantial progress made 
in transitioning the business 
towards a pure SaaS model

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

1

 
 
 
 
 
CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT

DON ELGIE
NON-EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

2 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

2017 has been a pivotal year for 
our business in which we fully 
aligned our operations to focus 
on cybersecurity software.

Introduction
2017 has been a pivotal year for 
our business in which we fully 
aligned our operations to focus 
on cybersecurity software. 

Our management team has worked 
tirelessly to deliver on our stated 
growth objectives which has now 
culminated in the renaming and 
rebranding of the business to Kape 
Technologies plc (previously 
Crossrider plc), an important 
milestone in the repositioning of the 
business. Since October 2016, the 
Company has focused on both 
acquiring and developing 
cybersecurity software solutions for 
consumers, whilst utilising its 
proprietary digital distribution 
technology to grow its user base 
across the Company’s product suite. 

The Company’s management has 
deployed Kape’s in-depth expertise 
and technological capabilities within 
its digital marketing platform to 
support and grow our expanded 
customer base and promote our own 
products and services. This market 
leading digital pedigree has enabled 
the Group to accelerate the Company’s 
successful transformation during 2017. 

Products 
In the last year, management has 
taken great strides to broaden our 
product stack, which includes our 
Reimage software and DriverAgent 
solutions. In March 2017, we acquired 
CyberGhost, a cybersecurity SaaS 
provider with specific focus on the 
provision of virtual private network 
(“VPN”) solutions, as well as a sizeable 
customer base. With CyberGhost now 
fully integrated into the Group, I am 
pleased to report it has performed 
ahead of management’s expectations 
both on a revenue and profit level.

In addition, and as part of the 
expansion into new products, the 
Company has launched Reimage for 
Mac, expanding the product’s 
potential customer base. 

We continue to experience positive 
customer traction across all our 
products, further demonstrating our 
ability to successfully leverage our 
expertise and digital marketing platform 
in order to drive higher margins.

Strategic priorities 
Our management team remains 
committed to delivering sustainable 
growth and is therefore focused on 
the following key strategic priorities: 

•  to develop the Company’s product 
offering organically through internal 
R&D and to grow our user base across 
the Company’s growing portfolio of 
software products, leveraging Kape’s 
proprietary distribution technology 
and expertise; 

•  to continue to implement our plan 
for new acquisitions that expand 
both the Company’s product 
offering and reach, with the 
potential to enter additional 
complementary sector verticals; 
and

•  to grow the Company’s recurring 
revenue stream by gradually 
transitioning to a fully SaaS-based 
model, which will improve both the 
visibility and quality of earnings, as 
well as increasing the lifetime value 
of our customers. 

Board appointments 
In February 2017, the Company 
appointed Moran Laufer, Chief 
Financial Officer of Kape, to the Board 
of the Company. Moran has been a key 
member of the Company’s 
management, supporting its recent 
acquisitions as well as being part of 
the finance team since 2012, 
successfully supporting the Group’s 
admission to AIM in 2014. 

Looking forward
Kape’s management has been 
successful in demonstrating its ability 
to both drive organic growth initiatives 
alongside maximising the benefits 
from strategic acquisitions. 

The Board is therefore confident that 
with its new brand positioning, strategic 
growth priorities and ongoing focus 
on consumer cybersecurity, Kape will 
be able to continue to maximise 
shareholder value. 

The Board remains confident in 
delivering year-on-year growth in 2018.

Don Elgie
Non-Executive Chairman
12 March 2018

887,000

paying customers

82%

growth in premium 
subscriptions

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

3

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTCHIEF EXECUTIVE  
OFFICER’S REVIEW

IDO ERLICHMAN
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

172%

underlying Adjusted 
EBITDA

4 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Over the past 12 months we have 
delivered on our growth strategy. 
The group has made significant 
headway in developing our 
product suite, which has been 
greatly enhanced.

Introduction
When I joined Kape (formerly 
Crossrider plc) in May 2016, I did so 
with a clear vision of where I, with the 
full support of the Board, wanted to 
take this business. It was clear that 
despite our pedigree in digital marketing, 
our future laid beyond adtech. 

I am therefore delighted to look back at 
2017 as a year of significant strategic 
and operational progress. Over the 
past 12 months we have delivered on a 
number of key milestones and taken 
notable steps to becoming one of the 
leading next generation providers of 
consumer cybersecurity products.

We have built on our existing PC repair 
(Reimage) and device driver update 
(DriverAgent) solutions, through both the 
acquisition and internal development of 
new products during the year, which is a 
clear sign of our ambition.

Central to our strategy has been to 
shift our product focus to be B2C-driven 
and SaaS enabled thereby increasing 
our recurring revenue base, creating a 
more predictable sales platform from 
which to grow. 

We are therefore delighted to have 
delivered such a strong underlying 
EBITDA performance, up 172%, excluding 
the Web Apps and License segment, 
further demonstrating the excellent 
performance of our business model.

Operational update 
In March 2017, we acquired 
CyberGhost, a leading cybersecurity 
SaaS provider with a focus on the 
provision of virtual private network 
(“VPN”) solutions. The acquisition was 
successfully integrated into Kape by 
June 2017 and I am delighted to 
report, made a positive net profit 
contribution in the year of $1.5 million.

With CyberGhost now consolidated into 
the larger Kape operation, we have been 
successful in generating significant 
synergies and delivering superior 
customer traction post-integration with 
our digital user acquisition platform. This 
resulted in an increase in CyberGhost’s 
user base by over 30% compared to 
December 2016 and the last quarter of 
2017 saw record sales for the business 
in terms of volume and EBITDA. 

We have grown Kape’s product 
portfolio this year and it now consists 
of four main products: the CyberGhost 
VPN, a SaaS product, as well as the 
Reimage PC, DriverAgent and Reimage 
for Mac, which are purchased on a 
one-time and yearly unlimited use basis 
with a technical support component. 
We have started to implement a SaaS 
model in the Reimage PC and expect to 
see the results of this change towards 
the end of 2018 when the licences 
come up for renewal. In addition, 
we started to utilise the growth in our 
product offering and user base and we 
now offer to purchase CyberGhost and 
Reimage as a package, providing our 
customers the best in class products 
in one place. 

01

TARGET MARKET
User acquisition

03

EXISTING 
CUSTOMERS
Rent on/Upsell

02

PROSPECTIVE 
CUSTOMERS
Funnel expertise

01 TARGET 
MARKET

User acquisition
 › Advanced user acquisition 
technology and leveraging 
of digital marketing platform
 › Utilise extensive network to 
drive users to our products
 › Leverage wide user base 

for indirect user acquisition

 › Highly efficient method 

to drive traffic

02 PROSPECTIVE 
CUSTOMERS

03 EXISTING 
CUSTOMERS

Organic
 › High brand awareness 
drives users to our 
products

 › Referrals from existing 

customers

Funnel expertise
 › Proprietary data driven 

automatic funnel

 › Ongoing customisation 

of product

 › Automatic personalisation 

 › Consumers go directly 

of user journey

to our product websites 
or search for our product 
as a result of growing 
media presence

 › Proprietary targeting 
of purchase process

Rent on/Upsell
 › Once acquired, provide 
a subscription model 
to grow customer’s LTV
 › Provide servicing such 

as remote technician and 
24/7 support to increase 
customer retention

 › Convert users to 

additional Kape products 
by channelling customers 
to further owned 
software solutions
 › Increase the value of 

the user

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

5

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTCHIEF EXECUTIVE  
OFFICER’S REVIEW CONTINUED

To implement the change in business 
model and focus on profitability, growth 
and earning predictability, we have 
instated five key performance indicators 
which guide how we measure the success 
of our operations across the business: 

•  deferred income;
•  adjusted operating cash flow;
•  retention rate;
•  paying users; and 
•  premium subscriptions. 

Deferred income and adjusted 
operating cash flow are key measures 
as they demonstrate the true value of 
each product purchase from our 
customers, given that they recognise 
the benefits across the lifetime of the 
contract. Paying users and premium 
subscriptions represent our ability to 
grow our customer base and we expect 
these to grow over time. The retention 
rate is an indication of the quality of our 
service and products and our aim is for 
this to remain constant over time and 
improve in the medium term. 

Key Performance Indicators

Paying users (thousands)
Premium subscriptions (thousands)
Retention rate
Adjusted operating cash flow ($’000)

Deferred income ($’000)

We have also been successful in 
growing our paying user base for 
Reimage and DriverAgent by over 18% 
and introduced a subscription based 
payment model. We also launched a 
Mac version of Reimage in September 
2017 to complement our highly 
successful PC solution. We believe 
this new release will substantially 
grow our potential addressable 
market for this product.

Given our focus on further 
strengthening our SaaS business model, 
2018 will be the first year we are able to 
generate significant revenues from our 
existing customer base. Therefore, 
during 2018, we expect to deliver $8.0 
million of recurring income from existing 
users2, which greatly improves both the 
visibility and quality of our earnings.

2017

887
260
69%
7,641

4,014

2016

734
143
69%
7,873

2,1871 

6 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Cybersecurity market
Management identified the consumer 
cybersecurity space as presenting a 
significant opportunity for Kape, as a 
sizeable growth market with few nimble 
B2C focused-players that can easily 
adapt to the ever-changing digital 
landscape. As the internet has become 
increasingly central to people’s lives 
and concurrently hacking has also 
evolved significantly, the sharing of 
data online is posing an increasing 
threat to individuals’ online security. 

In 2004, the global cybersecurity market 
was worth $3.5 billion and in 2017 it was 
worth over $120 billion, representing 
growth of over 35 times in 13 years, with 
key growth drivers including:3

•  a growing number of internet users 

• 

to c. 3.17 billion globally; 
increased network and WiFi 
connectivity across the world; 
•  commercial entities increasingly 

collecting personal data; 

•  cybercrime targeting individuals, 
not just enterprise-level hacks; 
•  heightened regulatory uncertainty 
around privacy and online security; 
and

•  the emergence of the Internet 

of Things. 

The proliferation of internet users has led 
to a sizeable B2C cybersecurity 
marketplace, with the addressable 
market for personal digital safety in 2018 
estimated to be $10 billion. Kape is 
well-placed to capitalise on the increasing 
awareness of individuals to protect both 
their privacy and security online, as the 
Company has end-to end control over the 
user journey by leveraging its digital 
marketing technology and expertise. 

The Company’s renewed focus on the 
consumer cybersecurity market is 
increasingly coming to fruition, as 
evidenced by the strong performance 
of Kape’s core divisions and existing 
software solutions in 2017. This, 
coupled with the acquisition and 
successful integration and 
performance of CyberGhost, is a real 
testament to our ability to deliver in 
the cybersecurity space. 

Rebranding 
Given the extensive re-engineering of 
the business, we took the decision to 
rename and rebrand the Company to 
Kape Technologies plc. Kape will be 
the future umbrella for all our products 
and services as we focus on delivering 
upon the following strategic priorities:

•  strengthening and developing both 
our consumer and corporate brand 
globally;

•  better leveraging product cross-
selling opportunities within the 
cybersecurity arena;

•  growing our product offering 

through both organic growth and 
acquisitions;

•  developing and increasing our 

• 

marketing reach under a unified 
banner; and
further strengthening our SaaS 
business, thereby increasing our 
recurring revenue base. 

Kape’s core principles are to be 
proactive, accessible and bold. We 
believe there is a real need for innovative 
solutions for customers and a 
requirement for online privacy and 
security as individuals manoeuvre 
through today’s ever-changing online 
environment. It is this shift in buying and 
browsing behaviour that is ultimately 
driving demand for our products. 

Current trading and outlook
Over the past 12 months we have 
delivered on our stated growth strategy. 
The Group has made significant 
headway in developing our product suite, 
which has been greatly enhanced by the 
addition of CyberGhost. The launch of 
Reimage for Mac is a great example of 
our internal development capability and 
our unique ‘in-house’ digital user 
acquisition expertise has enabled Kape 
to expand our user base globally.

We are motivated by the opportunities 
that exist within our growing portfolio 
of products and continue to constantly 
evaluate selective acquisition 
opportunities which could potentially 
broaden our software portfolio and 
accelerate our expansion into the 
global consumer cybersecurity market.

In 2018, we are focusing on two core 
growth initiatives:

•  to continue to grow organically 
against our key KPIs, including 
users and revenues from our 
existing product portfolio; and
•  to deliver on growth-enhancing 

acquisitions which incorporate the 
following criteria: 
 – a sizeable and growing user 

base;

 – an established recurring revenue 

model; and

 – the ability to deliver strong 
synergies with both Kape’s 
digital distribution capabilities 
and expertise.

We have made a strong start to 
2018, with record monthly sales, 
compared to the equivalent 
period in 2017, achieved across our 
products as we continue to reap 
the benefits of our renewed focus 
on the cybersecurity market. 

The Board therefore remains confident 
in delivering year-on-year growth in 
2018, in line with market expectations.

Special dividend
Following our robust performance 
this year and significant adjusted 
cash flow from operations of $7.6 
million, the Board has declared a 
special dividend of 4.93 US$ cents 
per share, amounting to a total of 
$7.0 million. This is the first special 
dividend the Company has issued; 
it follows the successful transition 
of the business, will contribute to 
maintaining balance sheet efficiency 
and reflects our confidence in the 
business. The dividend shall be paid 
in sterling and therefore it will be 
subject to a conversion exchange 
rate from US dollars based on a 
GBP/USD rate of 1.3887, being the 
rate at 4.30 pm on 12 March 2018; 
as a result shareholders will receive 
3.55 pence per share. The special 
dividend will become payable on 
13 June 2018 to those shareholders 
on the Company’s register as at the 
record date of 25 May 2018. The 
ex-dividend date is 24 May 2018.

Ido Erlichman
Chief Executive Officer
12 March 2018

1  On a proforma basis if CyberGhost was 
part of the Group on 31 December 2016.

2  Based on deferred revenue balance 

and current retention rate for existing 
subscriptions.

3  The Cybersecurity Market Report, Q2 2017 

edition by Cybersecurity Ventures. 

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

7

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTCHIEF FINANCIAL 
OFFICER’S REVIEW

MORAN LAUFER
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

35.7%

App Distribution 
margin

8 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Strong financial performance  
of the core App Distribution and 
Media segments show a significant 
increase of 23.0% in revenue and 
46.9% in combined segment results.

Overview 
Revenue for the year to 31 December 2017 increased by 17.4% to $66.4 million 
(2016: $56.5 million) and Adjusted EBITDA1 by 28.9% to $8.3 million (2016: $6.4 
million). The increase was driven by the strong financial performance of the core 
App Distribution and Media segments which, excluding the Web Apps and License 
segment, shows a significant increase of 23.0% in revenue and 46.9% in combined 
segment results. The increase in core activities was offset by the winding down of 
the Web Apps and License business that was completed in September 2017.

Kape remains a highly cash generative business, with cash generated from 
operations after adjusting for one-off non-recurring items of $7.6 million (2016: 
$7.9 million). This represents adjusted cash conversion of 92% (2016: 123%). The 
Group balance sheet remains strong with cash of $69.5 million at 31 December 
2017 (31 December 2016: $72.1 million) and no debt.

In March 2017, Kape completed the acquisition of CyberGhost S.A for a maximum 
consideration of €9.1 million ($9.6 million) out of which €3.1 million ($3.3 million) 
was in cash at closing, €3.0 million ($3.2 million) in nominal value share options, 
which are subject to the continued employment of the founder over the vesting 
period, and a deferred earn-out consideration capped at €3.0 million ($3.2 
million) million. €1.75 million ($1.9 million) was paid at closing as a prepayment 
of the deferred earn-out consideration. The fair value of the contingent 
consideration at acquisition was €1.4 million ($1.5 million). On 20 November 2017, 
the Company repurchased 3,810,667 options out of the 4,400,000 options 
granted to the founder for total cash consideration of €3.2 million ($3.8 million) 
following his reposition from Managing Director to Chairman and Corporate 
Development Manager of CyberGhost. Out of the total consideration, €1.6 million 
($1.9 million) was paid upon execution of the repurchase agreement, while the 
remaining amount is to be paid in eight equal instalments.

In April 2017, Kape increased its holding in Clearvelvet Trading Ltd (“Clearvelvet”), 
a programmatic video advertising company, from 16.67% to 50.01%, for an initial 
consideration of $1.7 million out of which $0.8 million was in cash and $0.9 million 
conversion of a loan balance. The cash balance of Clearvelvet at acquisition was 
$1.4 million. In addition, the sellers would have been entitled to receive up to a total 
of $1.4 million in earn-out consideration, to be satisfied in cash subject to their 
continued employment by Clearvelvet. The earn-out consideration was contingent 
on achieving EBITDA of $1.7 million in 2017 (pro-rated from 60% of target) and 
$2.2 million for 2018 (pro-rated from 67% of target). The 2017 EBITDA goal was not 
achieved, as a result no earn-out has been charged for 2017 and no accrual made 
for 2018 earn-out. The earn-out consideration is accounted for remuneration in the 
post-acquisition income statement rather than as part of the acquisition cost.

Segment result

Media

Revenue

Segment result

2017
$’000

2016
$’000

48,226
15,781

38,241
13,783

2017
$’000

17,207
4,464

2016
$’000

11,267
3,480

2,376

4,508

2,376

4,508

66,383

56,532

24,047

19,255

App Distribution
Media
Web Apps and 

License

Revenue

The segment result has been calculated using revenue less 
costs directly attributable to that segment. Cost of sales 
comprises commissions paid to publishers and payment 
processing fees. Direct sales and marketing costs comprise 
traffic acquisition costs.

App Distribution

Revenue 
Cost of sales
Direct sales and marketing costs

Segment result

Segment margin %

2017
$’000

15,781

(11,317)

4,464

28.3

2016
$’000

13,783
–
(10,303)

3,480

25.3

In the Media division, revenues increased by 14.5% and 
segment results increased by 28.3% to $4.5 million. The 
increase was driven by the contribution of the Clearvelvet 
programmatic video advertising activity that was 
consolidated, starting in April 2017 and compensating for 
a decrease in revenue from the mobile content and mobile 
apps marketing verticals.

Web Apps and License

Revenue 
Cost of sales
Direct sales and marketing costs

Segment result

Segment margin (%)

2017
$’000

2016
$’000

48,226
(4,572)
(26,447)

38,241
(2,360)
(24,614)

17,207

11,267

Revenue 
Cost of sales 
Direct sales and marketing costs

35.7

29.5

Segment result

Segment margin %

2017
$’000

2,376
–
–

2,376

100.0

2016
$’000

4,508
–
–

4,508

100.0

During the period, App Distribution margins significantly 
improved, reaching 35.7% compared to 29.5% in 2016. The 
improved return on marketing investment resulted in a $10.0 
million increase in revenues and $5.8 million increase in the 
segment result, which represents a 52.7% uplift. The increase 
is attributable to organic growth due to improvement in user 
acquisition processes and traffic quality which resulted in 
better conversion rates, and a decrease in average user 
acquisition cost as well as the addition of the DriverAgent 
and CyberGhost software products to the Company’s 
portfolio in October 2016 and March 2017 respectively.

In accordance with the Board’s decision to cease 
investment in the Web Apps and License segment, which 
Kape reported in 2016, revenue in the period came solely 
from a software licence and services agreement between 
Kape and Playtech Software pursuant to the terms of which 
Kape has granted to Playtech Software a licence to use 
certain software modules for Playtech Software’s licensees’ 
branded casino software. The agreement expired on 
18 September 2017. Following the expiration of the licence 
and services agreement, no further revenue is expected to 
be generated from this segment and as such it is expected 
this will be the last time we report it.

1  Adjusted EBITDA is a company specific measure which is calculated as operating loss before depreciation, amortisation, exceptional and non-recurring 

costs, employee share-based payment charges and impairment of intangible assets which are considered to be one-off and non-recurring in nature as set 
out in note 6. The Directors believe that this provides a better understanding of the underlying trading performance of the business.

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

9

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTCHIEF FINANCIAL 
OFFICER’S REVIEW CONTINUED

Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA for the year to 31 December 2017 was $8.3 
million (2016: $6.4 million). Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP 
company specific measure which is considered to be a key 
performance indicator for the Group’s financial performance. 
It excludes share-based payment charges and expenses 
which are considered to be one-off and non-recurring in 
nature and are excluded from the following analysis:

Revenue 
Cost of sales
Direct sales and marketing costs
Segment result
Indirect sales and marketing costs
Research and development costs
Management, general and 

administrative cost

Adjusted EBITDA

2017
$’000

66,383
(4,572)
(37,764)
24,047
(6,207)
(696)

2016
$’000

56,532
(2,360)
(34,917)
19,255
(4,265)
(1,299)

Loss before tax
Loss before tax has decreased to $2.9 million compared 
to $10.0 million in 2016. 

Loss after tax
Loss after tax was $3.4 million (2016: $10.7 million). The tax 
charge derives mainly from Group subsidiaries’ residual 
profits. The Group continues to recognise a deferred tax 
asset of $0.1m (2016: $0.2m) in respect of tax losses 
accumulated in previous years. 

Cash flow

Cash flow from operations
Exceptional and non-recurring payments

Adjusted cash flow from operations

2017
$’000

6,533
1,108

7,641

92%

2016
$’000

5,922
1,951

7,873

123%

(8,883)

(7,278)

% of Adjusted EBITDA

8,261

6,413

Operating loss
A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to operating loss is 
provided as follows:

Adjusted EBITDA
Employee share-based payment 

charge

Charge for repurchase of employee 

options

Exceptional and non-recurring costs
Depreciation and amortisation
Impairment of intangible assets

Operating loss

2017
$’000

2016
$’000

8,261

6,413

(340)

(716)

(3,176)
(899)
(6,445)
–

–
(862)
(9,884)
(4,683)

(2,599)

(9,732)

Exceptional and non-recurring costs for the full year 2017 
comprised $0.3 million of acquisition bonuses to 
employees, other non-recurring staff costs of $0.1 million, 
professional services related to business combination of 
$0.3 million and a $0.2 million expense from the repurchase 
of the founder of CyberGhost’s share options on 
20 November 2017. The charge for repurchase of employee 
options of $3.2 million is following the acceleration of the 
repurchased share options. 

Cash flow from operations was strong at $6.5 million (2016: 
$5.9 million). Adjusted cash flows from operations after 
adding back payments that are one-off in nature and 
deferred payment for past acquisition that was treated as 
a remuneration expense in previous years, was $7.6 million 
(2016: $7.9 million). This represents a cash conversion of 
92% of Adjusted EBITDA (2016: 123%). 

Tax paid net of refunds in the period was $0.1 million 
(2016: $0.9 million).

Cash spent in the period on capital expenditure of $2 
million (2016: $0.8 million) mainly comprises of capitalised 
development costs and purchase of fixed assets. Net cash 
paid for acquisitions in the period totalled $5.3 million 
(2016: $1.4 million), out of which the Company paid $5.7 
million in relation to the CyberGhost acquisition and $0.4 
million net inflow related to the acquisition of an additional 
33.3% in Clearvelvet and the consolidation of its cash 
balance in April 2017. As a result, net cash outflow from 
investing activities was $7.4 million (2016: $3.1 million). In 
addition, $0.2 million paid in the period for past acquisitions 
is included in the operational cash flow as it is treated as 
remuneration as required by IFRS (2016: $1.1 million)

In November 2017, the Company repurchased 3.8 million 
share options from CyberGhost’s founder for a total 
consideration of $3.8 million, out of which $1.9 million was 
paid in the year and the rest will be paid in eight equal 
quarterly instalments. 

10 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Financial position
At 31 December 2017, the Company had cash of $69.5 
million (31 December 2016: $72.1 million), net assets of 
$79.4 million (31 December 2016: $80.5 million) and is debt 
free. At 31 December 2017, trade receivables were $8.5 million 
(31 December 2016: $5.6 million) which represented 42 days 
outstanding, (31 December 2016: 44 days).

Early adoption of IFRS 15
In May 2014, the IASB issued IFRS 15 Revenue from 
Contracts with Customers (“IFRS 15”), a new standard 
related to revenue recognition. Under the standard, 
revenue is recognised when a customer obtains control of 
promised goods or services in an amount that reflects the 
consideration the entity expects to receive in exchange for 
those goods or services. The Company has adopted IFRS 
15 using the cumulative effect method applied to those 
contracts which were not completed as of 1 January 2017. 

Revenue recognition relating to most of our products and 
services remains substantially unchanged and, in 
consequence, the impact of the new standard on our 
opening balances (as at 1 January 2017) was immaterial.

On an ongoing basis, the most significant impact of the 
standard relates to our accounting for user acquisition 
costs associated with subscription sales of CyberGhost and 
auto renewal sales of Reimage which commenced in 2017. 
These costs, which relate to sales and marketing, are 
considered incremental in obtaining the contract, and 
therefore capitalised and amortised over the expected 
customer relationship period under the new standard. The 
adoption of the new standard had no impact to cash from 
or used in operating, financing or investing on our 
consolidated cash flow statements.

The impact of the adoption on our consolidated income 
statement and balance sheet for the period ended 
31 December 2017 was as follows:

Income statement

Selling and marketing 

expenses

Operation loss
Adjusted EBITDA

Total comprehensive loss 

2017 as 
reported 
under 
IFRS 15 
$’000

2017 
according 
to previous 
policy under 
IAS 18 
$’000

Effect of the 
application 
of IFRS 15 
$’000

(44,117)
(2,599)
8,261

(45,508)
(3,990)
6,870

1,391
1,391
1,391

for the year

(2,503)

(3,894)

1,391

Basic earnings per share

Diluted earnings per share

(2.4)

(2.4)

(3.4)

(3.4)

1

1

Balance sheet 

Balance at  
31 December 
2017 as 
reported 
under 
IFRS 15 
$’000

Balance at 
31 December 
2017 under  
IAS 18 
$’000

Effect of 
adjustment 
of IFRS 15 
$’000

347

1,044

1,391

–

–

–

347

1,044

1,391

Assets recognised for 

costs incurred to obtain 
a contract

Non-current assets – 

contract assets
Current assets –  
contract assets

Dividends 
Following our strong cash flow from operations and cash 
balance as of 31 December 2017, the Board has 
recommended a special dividend of 4.93 US$ cents per 
share (2016: nil) being a total payout of $7 million.

Moran Laufer
Chief Financial Officer
12 March 2018

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

11

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTPRINCIPAL RISKS  
AND UNCERTAINTIES

There are a number of potential risks and uncertainties 
that could have a material impact on the Group’s long-term 
performance and could cause results to differ materially 
from expected and historical results. The risks to which 
the business is exposed are set out below.

Risks

Background

Mitigating controls

Regulatory, legislative 
or self-regulatory 
developments regarding 
internet privacy matters 
could adversely affect 
the Group’s ability to 
conduct its business.

International regulatory bodies are increasingly 
focused on online privacy issues and user data 
protection. In particular, GDPR was approved 
by the European Union (EU) and takes effect 
from May 2018. It intends to strengthen and 
unify data protection for all individuals within 
the EU. It also addresses the export of personal 
data outside the EU. The GDPR aims primarily 
to give control back to citizens and residents 
over their personal data and to simplify the 
regulatory environment for international business 
by unifying the regulation within the EU.

•  All the information that the Group 
obtains regarding users and their 
profiling is information that may 
correspond to a particular person, 
account or profile, but does not 
identify, allow contact or enable 
Kape to locate the person to 
whom such information pertains. 
As a consequence, the Group is 
not regulated by any regulator or 
subject to any regulatory approval 
for its day-to-day operations. 

•  Whilst not externally regulated, 

the Group adheres to a strict set 
of controls with its partners. 
Partners, developers, publishers 
and advertisers are required to 
comply with these contractually 
imposed controls, which have 
been jointly created by the Group 
and its legal advisers.

•  The Group actively monitors the 
developments of the large and 
established internet, Antivirus and 
technology companies to identify 
any threats that may impair the 
Group’s ability to operate.

Large and established 
internet, Antivirus and 
technology companies 
may be able to significantly 
impair the Group’s 
ability to operate.

Large and established internet, Antivirus and 
technology companies such as Symantec 
Corporation, Amazon.com, Inc. (“Amazon”), AOL, 
Inc., Apple, eBay Inc., Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”), 
Google and Microsoft, may have the power to 
significantly change the very nature of the 
app-distribution and internet display advertising 
marketplace. These changes could materially 
disadvantage the Group. For example, Amazon, 
Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft have 
substantial resources and control a significant 
share of widely adopted industry platforms such 
as web browsers, mobile operating systems and 
advertising exchanges and networks. Changes to 
their web browsers, mobile operating systems, 
platforms, exchanges, networks or other 
products or services could be significantly 
harmful to the Group’s business. Such companies 
could also seek to replicate all or parts of the 
Group’s business.

12 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Risks

Background

Mitigating controls

If the Group fails to innovate 
and respond effectively to 
rapidly changing 
technology, the Group’s 
solution may become less 
competitive or obsolete.

To remain competitive, the Group’s future 
success will depend on its ability to continuously 
enhance and improve its solutions to meet client 
needs, add functionality to its product portfolio 
and address technological advancements.

•  The Group invests in research and 
development resources to ensure 
that the Group’s technology 
platforms are continually enhanced 
through evolution and innovation.

•  The Group also invests in 
acquisitions to expand its 
technology platforms and adapt 
to the rapidly changing 
technology environment.

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Failures in the Group’s IT 
systems and infrastructure 
supporting its solution could 
significantly disrupt its 
operations and cause it to 
lose clients.

In addition to the optimal performance of the 
Kape Engine, the Group’s business relies on the 
continued and uninterrupted performance of 
its software and hardware infrastructures. 
Sustained or repeated system failures of its 
software and hardware infrastructures, which 
interrupt its ability to deliver its software 
products and services or advertisements 
quickly and accurately, could significantly 
reduce the attractiveness of its solution to 
advertiser clients and publishers, reduce its 
revenue and affect its reputation.

•  The Group outsources hosting 

services, holding minimal server 
infrastructure itself. This allows 
the Group to flex and grow its 
operations efficiently.

•  Kape uses third party content 

distribution network services in 
order to offload traffic served 
directly from its own 
infrastructure and minimise 
network latency.

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The Group is a multinational 
organisation faced with 
increasingly complex tax 
issues in many jurisdictions, 
and it could be obliged to 
pay additional taxes in 
various jurisdictions as a 
result of new taxes, laws or 
interpretation, including sales 
taxes, which may negatively 
affect its business.

As a multinational organisation, operating in 
multiple jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man, 
Cyprus, Israel, Romania and the United 
Kingdom, the Group may be subject to taxation 
in several jurisdictions around the world with 
increasingly complex tax laws, the application 
of which can be uncertain. The amount of taxes 
it pays in these jurisdictions could increase 
substantially as a result of changes in the 
applicable tax principles, including increased 
tax rates, new tax laws or revised interpretations 
of existing tax laws and precedents, which 
could have a material adverse effect on its 
liquidity and results of operations.

•  The Group uses advisers to 
review its tax position and 
ensure compliance with local 
tax legislation.

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

13

 
 
 
 
 
BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DON ELGIE
NON-EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

IDO ERLICHMAN
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

MORAN LAUFER
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Don has many years’ experience in 
marketing services including 
developing companies organically and 
by acquisition. Don retired as Group 
CEO of Creston plc, which was listed on 
the Main Market of the London Stock 
Exchange, at the end of March 2014. He 
founded Creston as a digitally focused 
communications and insight group in 
2001 and built it into an international 
group which generated £75m revenue, 
£12m EBITDA and employed over 800 
people as at March 2014. He is 
Chairman of Kape’s Nominations 
Committee. He is also Non-Executive 
Chairman of The Marketing Group plc, 
which is listed on the Nasdaq First 
North market in Sweden.

Moran joined Kape as Group Financial 
Controller in 2012. He was a key 
member of the finance team that 
successfully supported the Group’s 
admission to AIM in September 2014. 
Prior to joining Kape, Moran was a 
Divisional Controller at SafeCharge 
International Ltd (AIM: SCH), a global 
provider of payments services, 
technologies and risk management 
solutions for online and mobile 
businesses. Previously Moran worked 
for Ernst & Young as a senior auditor 
of London Stock Exchange and 
NASDAQ traded companies primarily 
focused on the technology sector. 
Moran is a Certified Public Accountant, 
who graduated in Accounting and 
Economics and received an MBA 
from Tel Aviv University.

Ido joined Kape plc in May 2016 as 
Group Chief Executive Officer. Ido has 
more than nine years’ experience in the 
technology sector garnered through 
roles in private equity, consulting and 
finance. Prior to joining Kape, Ido was 
acting Joint Chief Executive Officer of 
VisualDNA (which was acquired by The 
Nielsen Company), a leading 
psychographic data business, where 
he led its geographic expansion and 
oversaw significant EBITDA growth. 
Prior to VisualDNA, Ido worked as a 
Senior Associate within KPMG’s private 
equity deal advisory practice in London 
and as a Senior Manager within KPMG’s 
Transaction Services practice focusing 
on technology deals in Israel and with 
the Israeli Ministry of Finance. Ido is the 
author of the bestselling book ‘Battle 
of Strategies’, published in Israel by 
Yediot Books. Ido is a Certified Public 
Accountant, having graduated magna 
cum laude in Accounting and 
Economics from The Hebrew University 
of Jerusalem. He also obtained his 
Masters degree in Law from Bar-Ilan 
University, and has received an MBA 
from the University of Cambridge’s 
Judge Business School.

14 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

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DAVID COTTERELL
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

MARTIN BLAIR
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

David has over 30 years’ experience in 
the information technology software 
and service sector. He has held senior 
management roles with firms such as 
ACT Financial Systems, DST, Advent 
and SQS Group Plc and has led and 
successfully integrated many trade 
sales of technology companies. 
Between 2006 and 2011 David served 
as the CEO of UKIISA Region (UK, 
Ireland, South Africa and India) and as 
Board Director at SQS Group plc 
(LSE:SQS). David is currently Non-
Executive Chairman of SyQic plc. 
Additionally, David is Chairman of IT 
services company Qualitest UK. David 
is Kape Group’s Senior Independent 
Director and also Chairman of the 
Company’s Remuneration Committee.

Prior to joining the Board of Kape, 
Martin acted as CFO of Pilat Media 
Global plc, a company which previously 
traded on both AIM and the Tel Aviv 
Stock Exchange and developed, 
marketed and supported new 
generation business management 
software solutions for content and 
service providers in the media industry. 
Martin joined Pilat Media in 2001, 
ahead of its admission to AIM in 2002. 
Pilat Media was acquired by 
SintecMedia Ltd for £63.3 million in 
April 2014. Martin qualified as a 
chartered accountant with Ernst & 
Young in 1982 and between 1983 and 
1986 worked for PwC. Martin is 
Chairman of Kape’s Audit Committee. 
Martin is also currently a Non-Executive 
Director and Chairman of the Audit 
Committees at both The Marketing 
Group and Green Biologics Ltd.

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

15

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORT 
 
 
 
 
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The Board of Directors of the Company 
(“the Board”) are responsible for the Group’s 
system of corporate governance. 

Overview
The current policies and procedures as adopted by the 
Group are set out below.

Role of the Board
The Board is responsible for the overall strategy and 
direction of the Group. It provides robust leadership of the 
Company within a framework of effective controls which 
enables risk to be assessed and managed. The Board, in 
setting the Company’s aims, ensures that the necessary 
financial and human resources are in place to meet its 
objectives. It regularly reviews management performance 
and upholds the Company’s values and standards so that 
its obligations to shareholders and others are understood 
and met. 

The Board is supplied with information in a quality form and 
in a timely manner to enable it to discharge its duties. The 
Board also reviews arrangements under which employees 
can raise concerns in confidence about possible improprieties 
in matters of financial reporting or other areas.

Division of responsibilities
During 2017, the Chairman, Donald (Don) Elgie had a clear 
and distinct responsibility for running the Board whilst the 
executive responsibility for running the Company’s business 
was delegated to the Chief Executive Officer, Ido Erlichman. 

Moran Laufer was appointed to the Board on 6 February 
2017 having been appointed to the position of Chief 
Financial Officer on 27 October 2016.

As at 31 December 2017, the Board comprised five 
Directors, three of whom were Non-Executive Directors.

The Non-Executive Directors normally do not have any 
day-to-day involvement in the running of the business but 
are responsible for scrutinising the performance of 
management in meeting agreed goals and objectives and 
monitoring the reporting of performance. All Board 
members are considered to be able to allocate sufficient 
time to the Company to discharge their responsibilities as 
Directors effectively.

The Board meets at regular scheduled intervals and follows 
a formal agenda; it also meets as and when required. No 
one individual has unfettered powers of decision. The 
Directors may take independent professional advice at the 
Group’s expense.

Board Committees
The Group has an Audit Committee, a Nominations 
Committee, and a Remuneration Committee, each 
consisting of three Non-Executive Directors. Each 
Committee has written terms of delegated responsibilities 
which will be available for review at the end of the 2018 
Annual General Meeting and are available for review in the 
Investor Relations section of the Group’s website 
www.kape.com. The Board and its Committees are 
considered to have an appropriate balance of skills, 
experience, independence and knowledge of the Company 
to enable them to discharge their respective duties and 
responsibilities effectively.

Remuneration Committee
The Remuneration Committee is comprised of David 
Cotterell (Chair of the Committee), Don Elgie and Martin 
Blair, all of whom are Non-Executive Directors. It is 
responsible for making recommendations to the Board on 
remuneration policy as applied to the Company’s Executive 
Directors. The Remuneration Committee also considers 
grants of options under the Company’s share option 
schemes. The policy of the Remuneration Committee is to 
grant share options to employees as part of a remuneration 
package to motivate them to contribute to the growth of 
the Group over the medium to long term. 

The Chief Executive may, at the Remuneration Committee’s 
invitation, attend meetings except where his own 
remuneration is discussed. The Remuneration Committee 
met twice during the past financial year. The Remuneration 
Committee’s terms of reference, which can be found on the 
Company’s website www.kape.com, are reviewed on an 
annual basis and updated as required.

The Remuneration Committee Report, which includes 
details of Directors’ remuneration, pension entitlements 
and Director’s interests, together with information on 
service contracts, is set out on pages 18 to 19.

16 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Audit Committee
The Audit Committee is comprised of Martin Blair (Chair of 
the Committee), David Cotterell and Don Elgie, all of whom 
are Non-Executive Directors. 

The Committee meets at least twice a year and at other 
times as agreed between the members of the Committee. 
Executive Directors and the Group’s auditors may be 
invited to attend all or part of any meetings. The 
Committee also meets with the Group’s external auditor 
without the presence of the Executive Directors.

Nominations Committee
The Nominations Committee is comprised of Don Elgie 
(Chair of the Committee), Martin Blair and David Cotterell, 
all of whom are independent Non-Executive Directors. The 
Committee meets when appropriate and considers the 
composition of the Board, retirements and appointments 
of additional and replacement Directors and makes 
appropriate recommendations to the Board. The objective 
of the Committee is to review the composition of the Board 
and to plan for its progressive refreshing, with regard to 
balance and structure. The Committee is responsible for: 

 › Reviewing the structure of the Board;
 › Evaluating the balance of skills, knowledge, experience and 

diversity of the Board;

 › Advising the Board on any areas where further recruitment 

may be appropriate; and

 › Succession planning for key executives at Board level 

and below.

Where necessary and appropriate, recruitment consultants 
are used to assist the Committee in delivering its objectives 
and responsibilities. The Committee leads the process for 
the identification and selection of new Directors and makes 
recommendations to the Board in respect of such 
appointments. The Committee also makes recommendations 
to the Board on membership of its Committees. The 
Committee terms of reference, which can be found on the 
Company’s website www.kape.com, are reviewed on an 
annual basis and updated as required.

The Committee’s terms of reference, which can be found on 
the Company’s website www.kape.com, are reviewed on an 
annual basis and updated as required.

Risk management and internal controls
During the year, the Audit Committee has reviewed the 
scope and effectiveness of systems to identify and address 
financial and non-financial risks. The review identified the 
key risks, risk control measures and the implementation 
status of the risk control measures. The report was 
presented to the Committee by the Chief Financial Officer.

Audit of the Group’s Annual Report Financial 
Statements
In advance of the audit of the Group’s Annual Report 
Financial Statements the Audit Committee reviewed the 
plans as presented by the Group’s external auditor, BDO 
LLP. The plan set out the proposed scope of work, audit 
approach, materiality and identified areas of audit risk.

The Audit Committee also reviewed the Annual Report and 
Financial Statements along with the audit findings report 
presented by BDO LLP.

Auditor independence
The Audit Committee monitors the independence of the 
Group’s external auditor. During the year BDO LLP provided 
the Group with the following non-audit services:

 › Taxation compliance services; and
 › Taxation advisory services.

The Audit Committee considered the threats to the 
independence of BDO LLP created by the provision of the 
non-audit services and concluded that sufficient 
safeguards were in place. 

BDO was appointed as auditor of the Group for the year 
ended 31 December 2013. The Audit Committee will keep 
under review, in consultation with major shareholders, the 
decision as to whether to conduct a tender in respect of 
the audit in line with the recommendations of the Financial 
Reporting Council.

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

17

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTREMUNERATION COMMITTEE 
REPORT (UNAUDITED)

The Remuneration Committee (for the purpose of the Remuneration Committee report, “the Committee”) is comprised of 
David Cotterell (Chair of the Committee), Don Elgie and Martin Blair, all of whom are Non-Executive Directors. 

The Directors (other than alternate Directors) shall be entitled to receive by way of fees for their services as Directors (in 
addition to fees paid for employment or executive services) such sum as the Board may from time to time determine, 
provided that such amount shall not exceed in aggregate £500,000 per annum or such greater sum as the Company in 
general meeting shall from time to time determine by ordinary resolution. Any fees payable shall be distinct from any 
salary, remuneration or other amounts payable to a Director.

Each Director is entitled to be repaid all reasonable travelling, hotel and other expenses properly incurred by him in or 
about the performance of his duties as a Director, including any expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board or 
any Committee of the Board or general meetings or separate meetings of the holders of any class of shares or of 
debentures of the Company.

Directors emoluments
Directors’ emoluments for the 2017 financial year are set in Pounds Sterling. These are set out in the tables below along 
with the US Dollar equivalent cost to the Company:

Name

Ido Erlichman
Don Elgie
David Cotterell
Martin Blair
Moran Laufer

Base 
Salary/Fees 
GBP£

300,000
80,000
50,000
50,000
97,030

Benefits 
GBP£

Pension 
GBP£

Bonus 
GBP£

Total 
GBP£

41,000
–
–
–
33,004

9,000
–
–
–
–

200,000
–
–
–
60,000

550,000
80,000
50,000
50,000
200,034

The US Dollar equivalent cost to the Company has been calculated using a USD/GBP rate of 1.29

Name

Ido Erlichman
Don Elgie
David Cotterell
Martin Blair
Moran Laufer

Base 
Salary/Fees 
$

387,000
103,200
64,500
64,500
125,168

Benefits 
$

Pension 
$

Bonus 
$

Total 
$

52,890
–
–
–
42,525

11,610
–
–
–
–

258,000
–
–
–
77,400

709,500
103,200
64,500
64,500
258,044

The beneficial interests of the Directors who held office at 31 December 2017, together with that of persons connected 
with the Directors, in the share capital of the Company were as follows:

Directors’ interests in shares

2017

2016

Percentage 
of issued 
share 
capital

Number of 
ordinary 
shares

Percentage 
of issued 
share capital

Number of 
ordinary 
shares

0.07% 100,000
97,087
0.07%
19,417
0.01%
48,544
0.03%
50,000
0.04%

0.07% 100,000
97,087
0.07%
19,417
0.01%
48,544
0.03%
–
–

Name

Ido Erlichman
Don Elgie
Martin Blair 
David Cotterell
Moran Laufer

18 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Directors’ interests in share options

Name

Ido Erlichman1
Moran Laufer1

Number of ordinary 
shares under option at 
31 December 
2016

Date of grant

Exercise price

2,000,000
241,931
50,000
634,946

1 June 2016
29 May 2014
5 January 2016
26 October 2016

£0.275
£0.380
£0.555
£0.365

Number of ordinary 
shares under option at 
31 December 
2017

2,000,000
241,931
50,000
634,946

1.  Vesting schedule: 25% one year from date of grant and then in 12 equal quarterly instalments thereafter.

Annual bonus
The bonuses for the Executive Directors for 2018 will be based on Adjusted EBITDA and non-financial and strategic 
objectives. The level of bonus payable by reference to the financial performance of the Company will be determined on a 
sliding scale based on the Company’s budget for the forthcoming financial year.

Service contracts
Executive Directors
The service agreements of the Executive Directors are for an indefinite term and provide for formal notice of six months for 
the Chief Executive Director and three months for the Chief Financial Officer to be served to terminate the agreement, either 
by the Company or by the Director. In addition to their annual salaries, the Executive Directors are entitled to annual pension 
contributions of 3 per cent as well as other benefits commensurate with their positions including health-related benefits. 

Non-Executive Directors
Fees for Non-Executive Directors are set with reference to time commitment, the number of Committees chaired and 
relevant external market benchmarks. 

The Non-Executive Directors each have specific letters of appointment, rather than service contracts. Non-Executive 
Directors are appointed for an initial term of three years and under normal circumstances would be expected to serve for 
additional three-year terms, up to a maximum of nine years, subject to satisfactory performance and re-election at the 
Annual General Meeting as required. 

David Cotterell
Chairman, Remuneration Committee 
12 March 2018

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

19

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTDIRECTORS’ REPORT

The Directors present their Annual Report on the affairs of 
the Group, together with the financial statements and 
independent auditor’s report for the year ended 
31 December 2017. The Corporate Governance Statement 
set out on pages 16 to 17 forms part of this report. 

The Company’s full name is Kape Technologies plc, 
domiciled in the Isle of Man with company number 011402V. 
Kape Technologies plc is a public listed company, listed on 
the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (“AIM”).

Principal activity
Kape develops and distributes a variety of digital products 
in the online security space. The Company utilises its 
proprietary digital distribution technology to optimise its 
reach and distribute its software products to consumers. 
The Company offers products which provide online security, 
privacy and optimisation tools for the consumer system. 
A detailed overview of the Group’s activities is set out on 
pages 4 to 7.

Review of business and future developments
Details of the Group’s performance during the year under 
review and expected future developments are set out in 
the Strategic Report on pages 1 to 13. A description of the 
principal risks and uncertainties facing the Group is set out 
on pages 12 to 13.

Dividends
The Board has declared the payment of a special dividend 
of 4.93 US$ cents per share, being a total payout of $7 
million (2016: nil), which will be paid to shareholders on the 
register as at 25 May 2018. 

Directors
The Directors who served during the period were as follows:

Active
Ido Erlichman
Donald (Don) Elgie Active
Active
David Cotterell
Active
Martin Blair
Active, appointed 06 February 2017
Moran Laufer

20 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Re-election of Directors
The articles of association require that at each Annual 
General Meeting one-third of the Directors (excluding any 
Director who has been appointed by the Board since the 
previous Annual General Meeting) or, if their number is not 
an integral multiple of three, the number nearest to 
one-third but not exceeding one-third shall retire from 
office (but so that if there are fewer than three Directors 
who are subject to retirement by rotation one shall retire).

Any Director who is not required to retire by rotation but 
who has been in office for three years or more since his 
appointment or his last reappointment or who would have 
held office at not less than three consecutive Annual 
General Meetings of the Company without retiring shall 
retire from office.

Appointment of a Director
The articles of association require that any Director appointed 
by the Board shall, unless appointed at such meeting, hold 
office only until the dissolution of the Annual General 
Meeting of the Company next following such appointment.

Directors’ responsibility statement
The statement of Directors’ responsibility is set out on 
page 22.

Directors’ indemnities
The Directors have been granted an indemnity from the 
Company to the extent permitted by law in respect of 
liabilities incurred as a result of their office which remains 
in force at the date of this report.

Employee policies
At 31 December 2017, the Group employed 128 people, 
(31 December 2016: 74 people). The Group is committed 
to attracting and retaining personnel with the requisite 
technical skills and experience to implement its growth 
strategy and maintain its position in the competitive 
industry in which it operates. Kape therefore places 
significant emphasis on ensuring that it has a strong 
recruitment team as well as appropriate remuneration 
and bonus policies which are set by reference to 
appropriate objectives and include share-based incentive 
schemes, details of which are set out in note 18 to the 
financial statements.

Financial instruments
The Group does not currently use derivative financial 
instruments. A summary of the Group’s financial 
instruments, changes in share capital and related 
disclosures are set out in notes 15 and 17 to the financial 
statements. The Group has no material exposure to price, 
liquidity, or cash flow risk that would impact its objectives.

Capital structure
Under the IOM Companies Act, the Company is not required 
to have an authorised share capital. The ordinary shares in 
issue at 31 December 2017 have been created pursuant to 
the BVI Companies Act and the articles of association of 
the Company in place prior to the re-domiciliation of the 
Company from the BVI to the IOM on 13 August 2014 and 
are ordinary shares of USD 0.0001 par value.

Details of the issued share capital as at 31 December 2017 
of 148,496,073 ordinary shares of USD 0.0001 par value, 
together with details of the movements in the Company’s 
issued share capital during the year are shown in note 15 to 
the financial statements. The Company has one class of 
ordinary shares, which carry no right to fixed income. Each 
share carries the right to one vote at general meetings of 
the Company.

There are no specific restrictions on the size of a holding 
nor on the transfer of shares, which are both governed by 
the general provisions of the articles of association and 
prevailing legislation. Save as provided by the terms of 
certain lock-in agreements entered into between the 
Company, the Directors and certain shareholders, the 
Directors are not aware of any agreements between 
holders of the Company’s shares that may result in 
restrictions on the transfer of securities or on voting rights. 

As at 31 December 2017 the Company held 6,644,738 
shares in treasury and no shares in the capital of the 
Company are held by or on behalf of the Company or by 
any of the Company’s subsidiaries.

Details of employee share schemes are set out in note 18 
to the financial statements. 

Related party transactions
Details of all related party transactions are set out in note 22 
to the financial statements.

Research and development
The Group maintains an integrated global research and 
development team which has a staff of 44 (2016: 14). In the 
opinion of the Directors, continuity of investment in this 
area is essential for the maintenance of the Group’s market 
position and for future growth. The amount of research and 
development costs capitalised in the year was $1,432,000 
(2016: $744,000).

Going concern
The Directors, having considered the Group’s resources 
financially and the associated risks with doing business in 
the current economic climate, believe the Group is capable 
of successfully managing these risks. The Board has 
reviewed the cash flow forecast and business plan as 
provided by management which includes the rate of revenue 
growth, margins and cost control. As such, the Directors 
are satisfied that the Group has adequate resources to 
continue in operational existence for the foreseeable 
future. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going 
concern basis in preparing these financial statements.

Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting for 2018 will be held at 12 
noon on Thursday, 17 May 2018. The notice convening the 
Annual General Meeting for this year, and an explanation of 
the items of non-routine business, are set out in the circular 
that accompanies the Annual Report.

Auditor
A resolution to reappoint BDO LLP as the Company’s auditor 
will be proposed at the 2018 Annual General Meeting.

Each of the persons who are Directors at the date of 
approval of this Annual Report confirms that:

 › So far as the Director is aware, there is no relevant audit 

information of which the Company’s auditor is unaware; and 

 › The Director has taken all the steps that he ought to have 
taken as a Director in order to make himself aware of 
any relevant audit information and to establish that the 
Company’s auditor is aware of that information.

Signed on behalf of the Board by:

Don Elgie
Non-Executive Chairman
12 March 2018

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

21

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTDIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITY
STATEMENT

The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual 
Report and the financial statements in accordance with 
applicable law and regulations.

Isle of Man company law does not require the Directors to 
prepare financial statements for each financial year, however 
the Group is required to do so to satisfy the requirements of 
the AIM Rules for Companies. Under company law, when 
preparing the financial statements, the Directors are 
required to prepare the Group financial statements in 
accordance with an appropriate set of generally accepted 
accounting principles or practice. The Directors have elected 
to use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as 
adopted by the European Union.

Under company law the Directors must not approve the 
accounts unless they are satisfied that they give a true and 
fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of the 
profit or loss of the Company for that period. 

In preparing these financial statements, International 
Accounting Standard 1 (revised) requires that directors: 

 › Properly select and apply accounting policies; 
 › Present information, including accounting policies, in a 

manner that provides relevant, reliable, comparable and 
understandable information; 

 › Provide additional disclosures when compliance with the 
specific requirements in IFRSs are insufficient to enable 
users to understand the impact of particular transactions, 
other events and conditions on the entity’s financial position 
and financial performance; and 

 › Make an assessment of the Company’s ability to continue as 

a going concern.

The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate 
accounting records that correctly explain the transactions 
of the Company, enable the financial position of the 
Company to be determined with reasonable accuracy at 
any time and allow financial statements to be prepared. 
They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of 
the Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the 
prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and 
integrity of the corporate and financial information included 
on the Company’s website. The Directors’ responsibility 
also extends to the continued integrity of the financial 
statements contained therein.

Signed on behalf of the Board by: 

Don Elgie
Non-Executive Chairman
12 March 2018

22 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS  
OF KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

Conclusions relating to going concern
We have nothing to report in respect of the following 
matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to 
report to you where:
 › the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting 

in the preparation of the financial statements is not 
appropriate; or

 › the directors have not disclosed in the financial statements 

any identified material uncertainties that may cast 
significant doubt about the group’s or the parent company’s 
ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of 
accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the 
date when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our 
professional judgment, were of most significance in our 
audit of the financial statements of the current period and 
include the most significant assessed risks of material 
misstatement (whether or not due to fraud) we identified, 
including those which had the greatest effect on: the 
overall audit strategy, the allocation of resources in the 
audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team. 
These matters were addressed in the context of our audit 
of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our 
opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion 
on these matters.

Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Kape 
Technologies Plc for the year ended 31 December 2017 
which comprise the consolidated statement of 
comprehensive income, the consolidated statement of 
changes in equity, the consolidated statement of financial 
position, the consolidated cash flow statement and notes 
to the financial statements, including a summary of 
significant accounting policies. 

The financial reporting framework that has been applied in 
the preparation of the financial statements is applicable law 
and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as 
adopted by the European Union as applied in accordance 
with the provisions of the Isle of Man Companies Act 2006 
and any other applicable laws and regulations. 

In our opinion:

 › the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state 
of the group’s affairs as at 31 December 2017 and of the 
group’s loss for the year then ended; and

 › the group financial statements have been properly prepared 
in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union.

Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International 
Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. 
Our responsibilities under those standards are further 
described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of 
the financial statements section of our report. We are 
independent of the group in accordance with the ethical 
requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial 
statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard 
as applied to listed entities, and we have fulfilled our other 
ethical responsibilities in accordance with these 
requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have 
obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for 
our opinion.

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

23

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTINDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS  
OF KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC CONTINUED

Key audit matter

Mitigating controls

Revenue recognition and the transition to IFRS 15
Revenue recognition has historically been applied in 
accordance with IAS 18. However, the group have elected 
to early adopt IFRS 15 – Revenue from Contracts with 
Customers effective from 1 January 2017. 

We assessed whether the revenue recognition policies 
adopted by the Group comply with IFRS as adopted by the 
European Union and Industry standard. The relevant IFRS 
is International Financial Reporting Standard 15 Revenue 
from Contracts with Customers. 

The new revenue standard requires significant 
consideration as to the adoption of the new “5 step 
model” and as such, significant emphasis has been placed 
on this transition throughout the audit, resulting in the 
recognition of this key audit matter. 

The group has a number of revenue streams for which the 
accounting must be individually considered. International 
Standards on Auditing note that there is a presumed 
significant audit risk arising from inappropriate or 
incorrect recognition of revenue unless conditions exist 
that permit the rebuttal of that risk. Due to the different 
nature of agreements entered into by the group, and the 
fact that revenue is recognised both point in time and 
over a period of time, there is a key risk of material 
misstatement arising from both the recognition of 
revenue around the year end (cut-off) and the revenue 
recognition policy itself, as detailed in note 2 to these 
financial statements.

Noting the above, including revenue streams where an 
agency presentation is adopted, as well as a new revenue 
stream in respect of an acquired entity in the year, we feel 
it is inappropriate to rebut the presumed risk. 

With the exception of the CyberGhost revenue stream, we 
tested revenue through substantive procedures, including 
confirmation of cash receipts over material revenue streams. 

In respect of the newly acquired subsidiary CyberGhost, we 
performed cut-off procedures including recalculations 
around the year-end in order to g et comfort over 
subscription revenues. 

We have further reviewed the requirements of the IFRS 15 
transition and reviewed the assessment of expected 
impacts against the disclosure adjustments proposed by 
the group. 

Alongside discussions held with management, our work 
involved the audit of supporting documentation through 
to source data for all IFRS 15 adjustments, for which the 
most significant impact relates to the capitalisation of 
incremental customer acquisition costs.

By critically challenging the group’s proposed adoption of 
the new revenue standard we have been able to assess 
the reasonableness of this adoption. 

24 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Key audit matter

Mitigating controls

Business combinations
See accounting policy in note 2, and the intangibles assets 
note (note 10) and the business combinations note (note 21) 
on pages 54 to 56.

The Group completed the following principal acquisitions 
in the year:

•  On 1 April 2017, the Company increased its holding 

in Clearvelvet Trading Limited to 50.01% by acquiring an 
additional 33.34% of its issued share capital. 

•  On 14 March 2017, the Group acquired 100% of the share 
capital of CyberGhost S.A. Prior to the acquisition date, 
CyberGhost acquired Mobile Concept, a software 
development company based in Germany.

There are risks present as a result of management’s 
requirement to make significant judgements in assessing 
the fair values of consideration including contingent 
consideration (whether arising on acquisitions made in the 
current year or previous years) and of the assets and 
liabilities acquired. Management have engaged external 
valuations experts to undertake the purchase price 
allocation exercise required.

We focused on this area because the fair value 
adjustments, which included the creation of intangible 
assets and associated deferred tax liabilities, were 
judgmental in nature and also material.

The two acquisitions resulted in the group holding, on 
consolidation, goodwill and intangible assets of $5.69m 
and $1.829m respectively. 

Goodwill should be allocated to each of the groups cash 
generating units (“CGU’s”). Further, an annual impairment 
review is required by management to ensure the level of 
goodwill and intangibles are supported by the 
performance and position of the underlying group where 
impairment indicators exist. Given the judgement involved 
surrounding the inputs for the impairment review, a risk 
arises with respect to the recoverable amount of goodwill 
and intangibles.

We challenged the assumptions underpinning the 
significant judgements and estimates used by 
management in the assessment of the fair values of the 
assets and liabilities acquired and consideration paid 
including; underlying cash flow projections, royalty rates, 
discount rates applied and the long term growth rates.

Our testing focused on both material and more 
judgmental fair value adjustments that were recorded. 
Particular adjustments we tested were: 

Intangible assets – intangible assets in CyberGhost and 
Clearvelvet of $1.829m and $204,000 respectively were 
valued, representing customer relationships, brand and 
domain names and technology. The directors obtained 
external valuations for the acquired intangible assets. 
Utilising our own valuations expertise, we evaluated the 
valuation methodologies used for each type of asset and 
satisfied ourselves that the methodology was appropriate 
and consistent with market practice. We also examined 
the key assumptions used as inputs to the valuation 
models to assess whether these were consistent with our 
understanding of the businesses acquired, their historical 
performance and the markets in which they operate. 
These assumptions included revenue and profit forecasts, 
discount rates, customer attrition rates, technology 
obsolescence rates and royalty rates. We found that the 
key valuation assumptions were within our expected 
range and that the valuation methodologies applied were 
appropriate.

We challenged management’s assessment of the fair 
value of contingent consideration in respect of 
acquisitions made in the current year and previous 
periods, including principally the level of expected 
profitability over the forecast period.

In accordance with accounting standards, the creation of 
these intangible assets resulted in the creation of 
deferred tax liabilities on acquisition of $366,000. We 
examined and satisfied ourselves with the methodology 
and tax rates used to calculate these liabilities. This 
involved reference to the tax jurisdictions in which the 
group operates, levels of business in those jurisdictions 
and the manner in which profits are expected to be 
repatriated and taxed.

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

25

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTINDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS  
OF KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC CONTINUED

Our application of materiality
We determined materiality for the financial statements as 
a whole to be $646,000 (2016 – $596,000) which represents 
approximately 1% of revenues (2016 – 1% of revenues). We 
agreed with the audit committee that we would report to 
them misstatements identified during our audit above 
$32,300 (2016 – $29,800).

Revenue

Revenue has been concluded as the most relevant 
performance measure to the stakeholders of the group, 
while also providing a more stable measure year on year 
when compared to the group loss before tax. 

Individual component audits were carried out using 
component materialities of between 25-50% of overall 
financial statement materiality.

Adjusted EBITDA

Total Assets

An overview of the scope of our audit
We tailored the scope of our audit to ensure that we 
performed enough work to be able to give an opinion on 
the financial statements as a whole, taking into account the 
geographic structure of the Group, the accounting 
processes and controls, and the industry in which the 
Group operates. 

In establishing the overall approach to the Group audit, we 
assessed the audit significance of each reporting unit in the 
Group by reference to both its financial significance and 
other indicators of audit risk, such as the complexity of 
operations and the degree of estimation and judgement in 
the financial results. We also considered the changes to the 
overall Group as a result of the acquisitions of CyberGhost 
SA and Clearvelvet Trading Limited and where the key 
business activities and transactions reside. 

We instructed BDO Romania and BDO Cyprus as 
component auditors, to perform full scope audits of 
financial information of the significant components 
accounted for locally in those territories. BDO Romania 
performed a full scope audit of CyberGhost SA, and BDO 
Cyprus performed full scope audits of Reimage Limited, 
Crossrider Technologies Limited, Blueroad Trading Limited 
and Frontbase Trading Limited. We visited these locations 
during the year to ensure we obtained a full understanding 
of the operational activities and appropriately scoped risks 
and agreed responses to those risks. We also attended 
audit clearance meetings in these locations and took an 
active part in reviewing the work undertaken by our 
component auditors. We also instructed BDO Israel as 
component auditors, to perform specific procedures of 
financial information of the non-significant reporting unit 
accounted for locally in the territory. This, together with the 
additional procedures performed at Group level over the 
acquisition accounting and consolidation process gave us 
the evidence we needed for our opinion on the financial 
statements as a whole. 

26 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Full scope audit
Specific procedures
Group level procedures

Full scope audit
Specific procedures
Group level procedures

Full scope audit
Specific procedures
Group level procedures

Classification of components
We identified two individually significant (determined as 
those that were greater than 15% revenue) components, 
which make up 63% of Group revenue.

A further four components have been scoped in as 
significant to ensure sufficient coverage was obtained 
across the group. This includes both of the newly acquired 
entities in the year, CyberGhost SA and Clearvelvet Trading 
Limited which together make up a further 28% of Group 
revenue. 

Specific procedures have been performed over Definiti 
Media Limited by BDO Israel. This included reporting over 
material movements in the year, taxation and related party 
transactions. 

The remaining components not subject to full scope audit 
or specific procedures have been reviewed for group 
reporting purposes, using analytic procedures to 
corroborate the conclusions reached that there are no 
significant risks of material misstatement of the 
aggregated financial information of those components. 

Summary of audit scope 
Based on the above scope we were able to conclude that 
sufficient and appropriate audit evidence had been 
obtained as a basis to form our opinion on the group 
financial statements as a whole.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the 
financial statements
This report is made solely to the company’s members, as a 
body, in accordance with the Isle of Man Companies Act 
2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we 
might state to the company’s members those matters we 
are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for 
no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we 
do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other 
than the company and the company’s members as a body, 
for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we 
have formed.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about 
whether the financial statements as a whole are free from 
material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and 
to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. 
Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is 
not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance 
with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement 
when it exists.

Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are 
considered material if, individually or in aggregate, they 
could reasonably be expected to influence the economic 
decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial 
statements.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of 
the financial statements is located on the Financial 
Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/
auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our 
auditor’s report.

Iain Henderson (Senior Statutory Auditor)
For and on behalf of BDO LLP, Statutory Auditor
London
12 March 2018

BDO LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in 
England and Wales (with registered number OC305127).

Other information
The directors are responsible for the other information. The 
other information comprises the information included in the 
annual report, other than the financial statements and our 
auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial 
statements does not cover the other information and, 
except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our 
report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion 
thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our 
responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing 
so, consider whether the other information is materially 
inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge 
obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially 
misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or 
apparent material misstatements, we are required to 
determine whether there is a material misstatement in the 
financial statements or a material misstatement of the 
other information. If, based on the work we have 
performed, we conclude that there is a material 
misstatement of this other information, we are required to 
report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Responsibilities of directors
As explained more fully in the directors’ responsibilities 
statement set out on page 22, the directors are responsible 
for the preparation of the financial statements and for 
being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for 
such internal control as the directors determine is 
necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements 
that are free from material misstatement, whether due to 
fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the directors are 
responsible for assessing the group’s ability to continue as 
a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related 
to going concern and using the going concern basis of 
accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate 
the group or to cease operations, or have no realistic 
alternative but to do so.

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

27

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTCONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2017

Revenue 
Cost of sales

Gross profit

Selling and marketing costs
Research and development costs
Management, general and administrative costs
Depreciation and amortisation
Impairment of intangible assets

Total operating costs

Operating loss

Adjusted EBITDA 
Employee share-based payment charge
Charge for repurchase of employee options
Exceptional and non-recurring costs
Depreciation and amortisation
Impairment of intangible assets

Operating loss

Share of results of equity accounted associates
Finance income

Finance costs
Loss before taxation 
Tax charge

Loss for the year 
Other comprehensive income: 
Foreign exchange differences on translation of foreign operations
Total comprehensive loss for the year 

Total profit/(loss) for the year attributable to:
Owners of the parent
Non-controlling interests

Total comprehensive income/(loss) attributable to:
Owners of the parent
Non-controlling interests 

Basic earnings per share (cents)
Diluted earnings per share (cents)

Note

4

4a

10,11
10

2017
$’000

2016
$’000

66,383
(4,572)

56,532
(2,360)

61,811

54,172

(44,117)
(1,016)
(12,832)
(6,445)
–

(39,915)
(1,661)
(7,761)
(9,884)
(4,683)

(64,410)

(63,904)

6

(2,599)

(9,732)

18
18
6
10,11
10

8

9

19
19

8,261
(340)
(3,176)
(899)
(6,445)
–

6,413
(716)
–
(862)
(9,884)
(4,683)

(2,599)

(9,732)

(40)
277

(532)
(2,894)
(467)

47
4

(332)
(10,013)
(665)

(3,361)

(10,678)

858
(2,503)

–
(10,678)

(3,561)

200
(2,703)
200

(2.4)
(2.4)

–

–
–
–

(7.6)
(7.6)

28 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2017

Non-current assets
Intangible assets
Property, plant and equipment 
Investments in equity accounted associates
Non-current investments
Deferred contract costs
Deferred tax asset

Current assets
Software licence inventory
Deferred contract costs
Trade and other receivables
Cash and cash equivalents

Total assets

Equity
Share capital
Additional paid in capital
Foreign exchange differences on translation of foreign operations
Retained earnings

Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent

Non-controlling interests

Total equity

Non-current liabilities
Contract liabilities
Deferred tax liabilities
Deferred consideration 

Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Contract liabilities
Deferred consideration 

Total equity and liabilities

Note

2017
$’000

2016
$’000

10
11
16

4c
9

4c
12
13

4b
9
25

14
4b
25

12,350
815
–
50
406
97

13,718

65
1,386
11,071
69,502

7,113
591
859
–
–
166

8,729

–
–
7,950
72,064

82,024

80,014

95,742

88,743

15
130,728
852
(53,200)

14
130,292
(6)
(49,747)

78,395

80,553

977

–

79,372

80,553

892
349
993

2,234

10,094
3,120
922

14,136

–
691
160

851

7,096
–
243

7,339

95,742

88,743

The financial statements were approved by the Board and authorised for issue on 13 March 2018.

Ido Erlichman
Chief Executive Officer

Moran Laufer
Chief Financial Officer

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

29

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORT 
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2017

At 1 January 2016
Loss for the year
Other comprehensive income:
Foreign exchange differences on translation of 

foreign operations

Total comprehensive loss for the year
Transactions with owners:
Share-based payments
Exercise of employee options (note 15)
Purchase of own shares (note 15)

At 31 December 2016

At 1 January 2017
Loss for the year 
Other comprehensive income:
Foreign exchange differences on translation of 

foreign operations

Total comprehensive loss for the year
Non-controlling interest from acquisition of 

subsidiary

Transactions with owners:
Share-based payments
Exercise of employee options (note 15)
Purchase of own share options (note 15)

Foreign 
exchange 
differences 
on translation 
of foreign 
operations
$’000

Equity 
attributable 
to equity 
holders of 
the parent
$’000

Retained 
earnings
$’000

Non–
controlling 
interests
$’000

(6)
–

(39,785)
(10,678)

91,510
(10,678)

–

–

–
–
–

(6)

(6)

–

–

(10,678)

(10,678)

716
–
–

716
–
(995)

(49,747)

 80,553

(49,747)
(3,561)

80,553
(3,561)

–
–

–

–

–
–
–

–

–
200

Share 
capital
$’000

Additional 
paid in 
capital
$’000

14
–

131,287
–

–

–

–
–
–

–

–

–
–
(995)

14

14
–

130,292

130,292
–

Total
$’000

91,510
(10,678)

–

(10,678)

716
–
(995)

80,553

80,553
(3,361)

–

–

–

–
1
–

–

–

–

–
436
–

858

858

–

–
–
–

–

858

–

858

(3,561)

(2,703)

200

(2,503)

–

–

777

777

3,516
–
(3,408)

3,516
437
(3,408)

–
–
–

3,516
437
(3,408)

At 31 December 2017

15

130,728

852

(53,200)

78,395

977

79,372

30 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS 
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2017

Cash flow from operating activities
Loss for the year after taxation
Adjustments for:
Amortisation of intangible assets 
Impairment of intangible assets
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment
Loss on sale of property, plant and equipment
Tax charge
Interest income
Interest expenses
Share-based payment charge
Share of results of associates
Movement in deferred and contingent consideration
Remeasurement gain on equity interest in associate
Expense from repurchase of employee share options
Interest received
Unrealised foreign exchange differences

Operating cash flow before movement in working capital
Decrease in trade and other receivables
Increase in software licences inventory 
Decrease in trade and other payables
Decrease in other current liabilities
Increase in deferred contract costs
Increase in contract liabilities

Cash flow from operations
Tax paid net of refunds

Cash generated from operations
Cash flow from investing activities
Purchases of property, plant and equipment
Sale of property, plant and equipment
Net cash paid on business combination
Intangible assets acquired 
Net cash paid on investment in associates
Capitalisation of development costs

Net cash used in investing activities
Cash flow from financing activities
Repurchase of employee share options 
Exercise of options by employees
Net payment for purchase of own shares

Net cash generated from financing activities

Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents
Revaluation of cash due to changes in foreign exchange rates
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

Note

2017
$’000

2016
$’000

(3,361)

(10,678)

10
10
11
11
9

8
18
16

16

11

21
10
16
10

5,18
15
15

6,046
–
399
101
467
(277)
411
3,516
40
(90)
(52)
208
277
240

7,925
967
(65)
(2,113)
(209)
(1,330)
1,358

6,533
(109)

6,424

(540)
39
(5,337)
(115)
–
(1,432)

9,421
4,683
463
35
665
(4)
51
716
(47)
–
–
–
–
4

5,309
8,327
–
(6,625)
(1,089)
–
–

5,922
(904)

5,018

(108)
24
(1,089)
(850)
(350)
(744)

(7,385)

(3,117)

(1,914)
437
–

(1,477)

(2,438)
(124)
72,064

–
–
(995)

(995)

906
(178)
71,336

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

13

69,502

72,064

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

31

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTNOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

1 Basis of preparation
The financial information provided is for Kape Technologies plc (“the Company”) and its subsidiary undertakings 
(together the “Group”) in respect of the financial years ended 31 December 2017 and 2016. The Company is incorporated 
in the Isle of Man.

The financial information has been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), 
International Accounting Standards (IAS) and interpretations (collectively IFRS) as adopted by the European Union (EU).

Going concern
The Directors have, at the time of approving the financial statements, a reasonable expectation that the Company and the 
Group have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. They therefore continue to 
adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements. 

Adoption of new and revised standards
New standards and amendments to existing standards that have been published and are mandatory for the first time for 
the financial year beginning 1 January 2017 have been adopted but had no significant impact on the Group.

In May 2014, the IASB issued IFRS 15 Revenue from Contract with Customers (“IFRS 15”), a new standard related to revenue 
recognition. Under the standard, revenue is recognised when a customer obtains control of promised goods or services in 
an amount that reflects the consideration the entity expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. In 
addition, the standard requires disclosure of the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising 
from contracts with customers. The Company has early adopted IFRS 15 for the financial year beginning 1 January 2017, as 
set out in note 4.

Standards issued but not yet effective
IFRS 16 ‘Leases’ is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019 subject to EU endorsement. IFRS 16 
provides a single lessee accounting model, requiring lessees to recognise right of use assets and lease liabilities for all 
applicable leases. IFRS 16 is not expected to have a significant impact on the amounts recognised in the Group’s 
consolidated financial statements. On adoption of IFRS 16 the Group will recognise within the balance sheet a right of use 
asset and lease liability for all applicable leases. Within the income statement, rent expense will be replaced by 
depreciation and interest expense. This will result in a decrease in management, general and administrative costs and an 
increase in finance costs. The standard will also impact a number of statutory measures such as operating profit and 
alternative performance measures used by the Group. The full impact of IFRS 16 is currently under review, and the 
Company will provide an estimate of the full financial effect on the annual results for the year ending at 31 December 2018.

IFRS 9 ‘Financial instruments’ replaces IAS 39 ‘Financial instruments: Recognition and Measurement’ with the exception of 
macro hedge accounting. The standard is effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018. The 
standard covers three elements:

•  Classification and measurement: changes to a more principle-based approach to classify financial assets as either held 

at amortised cost, fair value through other comprehensive income (FVOCI) or fair value through profit or loss, 
dependent on the business model and cash flow characteristics of the financial asset;
Impairment: moves to an impairment model based on expected credit losses based on a three-stage approach; and

• 
•  Hedge accounting: the IFRS 9 hedge accounting requirements are designed to allow hedge accounting to be more 

closely aligned with the Group’s underlying risk management. A new International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) 
project is in progress to develop an approach to better reflect dynamic risk management in entities’ financial statements.

The full impact of IFRS 9 is currently under review, and the Company will provide an estimate of the full financial effect of 
the interim results for the period ending at 30 June 2018.

32 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

2 Significant accounting policies
Basis of consolidation
The Group consolidated financial statements comprise the financial statements of the Parent Company Kape Technologies 
Plc and the financial statements of the subsidiaries as shown in note 20 of the consolidated financial statements.

The Group has been partly formed from a series of common control transactions. 

The financial statements of all the Group companies are prepared using uniform accounting policies. All transactions and 
balances between Group companies have been eliminated on consolidation.

Business combinations and goodwill
Acquisitions of businesses not under common control are accounted for using the acquisition method. The consideration 
transferred in a business combination is measured at fair value, which is calculated as the sum of the acquisition date fair 
values of the assets transferred by the Group, liabilities incurred by the Group to the former owners of the acquiree and 
the equity interests issued by the Group in exchange for control of the acquiree. Acquisition-related costs are recognised 
in profit or loss as incurred.

Contingent consideration that is classified as an asset or a liability is initially recognised at fair value and subsequently at 
fair value thorough profit and loss in accordance with IAS 39 as appropriate.

At the acquisition date, the identifiable assets acquired and the liabilities assumed are recognised at their fair value at the 
acquisition date.

Goodwill is measured as the excess of the sum of the consideration transferred and the fair value of the acquirer’s 
previously held equity interest in the acquiree (if any) over the net of the acquisition date amounts of the identifiable 
assets acquired and the liabilities assumed. 

Consideration which is contingent on completion of a service period by an employee of the Group is treated as 
remuneration and is expensed over the service period.

Common control transactions
Common control transactions have been accounted for using merger accounting. 

Under merger accounting, the assets and liabilities of both entities are recorded at book value, not fair value (although 
adjustments are made to achieve uniform accounting policies), intangible assets and contingent liabilities are recognised 
only to the extent that they were recognised by the legal acquiree in accordance within applicable IFRS, no goodwill is 
recognised, any expenses of the combination are written off immediately to the income statement and comparative 
amounts, if applicable, are restated as if the combination had taken place at the beginning of the earliest accounting 
period presented.

The result is that the merged groups are treated as if they had been combined throughout the current and comparative 
accounting periods. 

Non-controlling interests
For business combinations, the Group initially recognises any non-controlling interest in the acquiree at the non-controlling 
interest’s proportionate share of the acquiree’s net assets.

The total comprehensive income of non-wholly owned subsidiaries is attributed to owners of the parent and to the 
non-controlling interests in proportion to their relative ownership interests.

Foreign currencies
(a)  Presentational currency

Items included in the Group’s financial statements are measured using the currency of the primary economic environment 
in which each entity of the Group operates (the “functional currency”). The financial statements are presented in United 
States Dollars ($000).

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

33

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTNOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
CONTINUED

2 Significant accounting policies continued
(b)  Transactions and balances
Foreign currency transactions are translated into the functional currency using the exchange rates prevailing at the dates 
of the transactions. Foreign exchange gains and losses resulting from the settlement of such transactions and from the 
translation at year end exchange rates of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are recognised 
in profit or loss. Exchange rates gains and losses are recognised net within Finance cost. 

(c)  Consolidation
The functional currency of the Company, and the presentation currency for the consolidated financial statements is United 
States Dollars. For the purpose of the consolidated financial statements, the assets and liabilities of the Group’s foreign 
operations with a functional currency other than United States Dollars are translated into United States Dollars using 
exchange rates prevailing on the reporting date. Income and expense items (including comparatives) are translated at the 
exchange rates at the dates of the transactions. Exchange differences arising, if any, are recognised directly in equity.

Goodwill and fair value adjustments arising on the acquisition of a foreign operation are treated as assets and liabilities of 
the foreign operation and translated at the closing rate. 

Associates
Where the Group has the power to participate in (but not control) the financial and operating policy decisions of another 
entity, it is classified as an associate. Associates are initially recognised in the consolidated statement of financial position 
at cost. Subsequently associates are accounted for using the equity method, where the Group’s share of post-acquisition 
profits and losses and other comprehensive income is recognised in the consolidated statement of profit and loss and 
other comprehensive income (except for losses in excess of the Group’s investment in the associate unless there is an 
obligation to make good those losses).

Revenue recognition
Revenue is measured based on the consideration specified in a contract with customer and excludes amounts collected on 
behalf of third parties. The Company recognises revenue when it transfers control over a product or service to a customer.

Sales from App Distribution 
The Company sells products to customers in a B2C model. 

•  The CyberGhost product is a SaaS product which contains one performance obligation that is satisfied over time. 

Since the service is being provided evenly across the contract period, revenue is recognised on a straight-line basis. 
All payments from customers are received upfront. Some of these contracts’ term are greater than one year, mostly 
for 24 and 36 months. The Company determined that the upfront payments are for reasons other than providing a 
financing benefit to the Company and thus there are no significant financing components in its contracts. The following 
factors were considered in the analysis: 

•  The intent of the payment terms that require all payments in advance is to preserve the customers, and to make it 

economically unlikely for them to stop using the Company’s services. 

1.  The Company has no need for financing and it charges its customers with an upfront payment, since otherwise it 

would incur high administration costs related to renewals and collection of payments. 

2.  An upfront payment of the entire consideration is in accordance with the typical payment terms in the industry.

•  The Reimage PC and DriverAgent products contain three performance obligations: one-time repair, unlimited use of the 
repair software for one year and technical support for one year. Revenue for performing the one-time repair obligation is 
recognised at the time of the sale. For the unlimited use package, customers benefit from the use of the repair software 
and technical support for one year, revenues are recognised in line with the pattern of usage of the products and technical 
support, which is substantially within the first 30 days of the 12-month period. In the fourth quarter of 2017 the Company 
started to sell the CyberGhost and Reimage products as a bundle. For software bundles, the Company allocates revenue 
to each of the performance obligations based on their relative stand-alone selling price. The stand-alone selling prices are 
determined based on the prices charged to customers who acquire software packages individually.

In respect of the App Distribution CGU, customers are provided with a 30-60 day refund period in which they can receive a 
full refund. Historical experience and information post year-end allows management to estimate the value of products that 
will be returned which are not material to the Group and a refund liability has therefore not been recognised.

34 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Sales from advertising
The Company provides advertisers with the ability to manage and monetise publishers’ inventory and manage advertisers’ 
campaigns. These services represent one performance obligation and are recognised in the accounting period in which 
the services are rendered based on clicks/views/impressions as detailed below. 

The determination of whether revenue should be reported on a gross or net basis is based on an assessment of whether 
the Company controls the specified services before the transfer to its customers. In determining this, the Company follows 
the accounting guidance for principal-agent considerations. This determination involves judgement and is based on an 
evaluation of the terms of each arrangement. The Company determined that it is the principal in these transactions and 
therefore revenue is recognised on a gross basis since it is primarily responsible for fulfilling of the services. The Company 
also bears inventory risk as it pays the majority of publishers according to cost per mille impressions (CPM) but charges 
the payment from the customer according to cost per acquisition (CPA)/cost per click (CPC)/DCPC/or cost per install (CPI). 
Stated differently, an impression can be purchased from a publisher with no corresponding sale to an advertiser if the final 
user does not click on the advertisement delivered. Moreover, the Company has the discretion in establishing the prices.

Sales from Ajillion – Ad-exchange
The Company provides ad-exchange services which allow the Company’s partners to seamlessly buy and sell from each other 
through a real-time bidding process. Revenue is recognised in the accounting period in which the services are rendered.

In this case, the Company determined that it is acting as an agent and therefore revenue is recognised on a net basis. 
While the Company is primarily responsible for the connectivity services, it does not bear inventory risk nor has discretion 
in establishing the prices. The customer chooses the inventory to purchase on a real-time basis, the amount spent on the 
campaign is determined by the customer through a real-time bidding process and the amount earned by the Company is 
based on a fixed percentage. 

Sales from licence of web apps platform
The Company licence its web apps platform to customers on a SaaS basis. The benefits simultaneously provided to and 
consumed by the customers therefore revenues were recognised on a straight-line basis over the period of the contract.

The following policy was applied before adoption of IFRS 15:

Revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for 
goods and services provided in the normal course of business, net of discounts, VAT and other sales-related taxes. 

(a)  Revenue from advertising
The Group generates revenues from its customers’ advertising campaigns on fixed bases such as cost per mille 
impressions (“CPM”), cost-per-acquisition (‘‘CPA’’), cost-per-sale (‘‘CPS’’), cost-per-lead (‘‘CPL’’), cost-per-download (‘‘CPD’’) 
and cost-per-install (‘‘CPI’’). These revenues are recognised only when the amount of revenue can be measured reliably, it 
is probable that the economic benefits associated will flow to the Group, the transactions are complete and the related 
costs can be measured reliably. 

(b)  Revenue from sale of software tools
Revenue from sales of software tools is recognised at electronic point of sale when payment is identified by the respective 
credit card payment processor and rights to use the software have been granted. 

(c)  Presentation of net revenues
Revenues are recognised net when it is identified that the Group is acting as an agent and gross when it is identified that 
the Group is acting as a principal in accordance with the terms of the arrangement.

Costs to obtain and fulfil a contract
According to IFRS 15, Incremental costs of obtaining a contract are those costs that the entity would not have incurred if 
the contract had not been obtained (for example, sales commissions). Incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a 
customer are recognised as assets if they are recoverable. The Company recognises an asset in relation to marketing 
costs to obtain a contract. The costs include fees paid to marketing partners on behalf of subscription sales of CyberGhost 
or Reimage to customers referred by the partners. The Company believes that the costs are recoverable as the proceeds 
from the customer over the expected relationship period exceed the costs to obtain the contract. The asset is amortised 
on a systematic basis over the expected customer relationship period including expected contract renewals by customers. 
The expected customer relationship period is an estimation, which is based on historical renewal data. 

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

35

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTNOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
CONTINUED

2 Significant accounting policies continued
In addition, the Company recognises an asset for fulfilment costs that is considered directly attributable in fulfilling a 
contract. The fulfilment costs comprised of processing fees paid to third party processing service providers. This asset is 
amortised on a systematic basis over the contract period. 

Assets recognised from the costs to obtain or fulfil a contract are subject to impairment testing. An impairment loss 
should be recognised in profit or loss to the extent that the carrying amount of an asset exceeds:

a.  The remaining amount of consideration that the entity expects to receive in exchange for the goods or services to 

which the asset relates, less

b.  The costs that relate directly to providing those goods or services and that have not been recognised as expenses. 

Intangible assets 
Amortisation for all classes of intangible assets is included within amortisation and depreciation costs in the income statement. 

(a)  Externally-acquired intangible assets 
Externally-acquired intangible assets comprise intellectual property (“IP”), customer lists, trademarks and internet domains. 
All such intangible assets are stated at cost less any accumulated amortisation and any accumulated impairment losses. 
Amortisation of these intangible assets is calculated using the straight-line method over their useful economic lives. 

Where intangible assets are acquired as part of a business combination they are recorded initially at their fair value.

The useful economic life of IP, customer lists and trademarks is three to seven years.

Internet domains are generally considered to have an indefinite useful economic life. They are purchased due to the 
marketability of the related domain name, are not specific to a particular product, brand, market or service and therefore 
are not expected to diminish in value or use as a function of time.

An intangible asset is derecognised on disposal, or when no future economic benefits are expected from use or disposal. 
Gains or losses arising from derecognition of an intangible asset, measured as the difference between the net disposal 
proceeds and the carrying amount of the asset, are recognised in profit or loss when the asset is derecognised.

Internally-generated intangible assets (development costs)

(b) 
An internally-generated intangible asset arising from the Group’s e-business development is recognised only if all of the 
following conditions are met:

•  An asset is created that can be identified (such as software and new processes);
It is probable that the asset created will generate future economic benefits; and
• 
•  The development cost of the asset can be measured reliably.

Internally-generated intangible assets are amortised on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, which is two 
to three years. Amortisation commences when the asset is available for use.

Where no internally-generated intangible asset can be recognised, development expenditure is charged to profit or loss in 
the period in which it is incurred.

An intangible asset is derecognised on disposal, or when no future economic benefits are expected from use or disposal. 
Gains or losses arising from derecognition of an intangible asset, measured as the difference between the net disposal 
proceeds and the carrying amount of the asset are recognised in profit or loss when the asset is derecognised.

(c)  Goodwill
Goodwill is initially recognised as an asset at cost and is subsequently measured at cost less any accumulated impairment losses. 
The Group tests goodwill annually for impairment, or more frequently if there are indicators that goodwill might be impaired. 

Intangible assets are tested separately from goodwill only where impairment indicators exist.

36 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment are stated at historical cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated 
impairment losses.

Depreciation is calculated on the straight-line method so as to write off the cost of each asset to its residual value over its 
estimated useful life. The annual depreciation rates used are as follows:

•  Computer equipment: 2–3 years
•  Furniture, fixtures and office equipment: 6–15 years
•  Leasehold improvements: 10 years or the term of the lease if shorter
•  Cars: 4 years

The assets residual values and useful lives are reviewed and adjusted, if appropriate, at each reporting date. 

Where the carrying amount of an asset is greater than its estimated recoverable amount, the asset is written down 
immediately to its recoverable amount. 

Expenditure for repairs and maintenance of property, plant and equipment is charged to profit or loss in the year in which 
it is incurred. 

An item of property, plant and equipment is derecognised upon disposal or when no future economic benefits are 
expected to arise from the continued use of the asset. Any gain or loss arising on the disposal or retirement of an item of 
property, plant and equipment is determined as the difference between the sales proceeds and the carrying amount of 
the asset and is recognised in profit or loss. 

Impairment of property, plant and equipment and internally-generated intangible assets
Assets that have an indefinite useful life are not subject to depreciation or amortisation and are tested annually for 
impairment. Assets that are subject to depreciation or amortisation are reviewed for impairment whenever events or 
changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. An impairment loss is recognised for 
the amount by which the asset’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount. The recoverable amount is the higher 
of an asset’s fair value less costs to sell and value in use. For the purposes of assessing impairment, assets are grouped at 
the lowest levels for which there are separately identifiable cash flows (cash generating units).

Trade receivables
Trade receivables are measured at initial recognition at fair value and are subsequently measured at amortised cost using 
the effective interest rate method. Appropriate allowances for estimated irrecoverable amounts are recognised in profit or 
loss when there is objective evidence that the asset is impaired. The allowance recognised is measured as the difference 
between the asset’s carrying amount and the present value of estimated future cash flows discounted at the effective 
interest rate computed at initial recognition.

Cash and cash equivalents
For the purpose of the consolidated cash flow statement, cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at bank and short-
term bank deposits.

Trade payables
Trade payables are initially measured at fair value and are subsequently measured at amortised cost, using the effective 
interest rate method.

Current and deferred tax
Income tax expense represents the sum of the tax currently payable and deferred tax.

Current tax
Current tax liabilities and assets are measured at the amount expected to be paid to or recovered from the taxation 
authorities, using the tax rates and laws that have been enacted, or substantively enacted, by the reporting date.

Deferred tax
Deferred tax is provided in full, using the liability method, on temporary differences arising between the tax bases of 
assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts in the financial statements. 

Deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profit will be available against 
which the temporary differences can be utilised. Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply 

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

37

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTNOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
CONTINUED

2 Significant accounting policies continued
in the period when the liability is settled or the asset realised, based on tax rates that have been enacted or substantively 
enacted by the period end date, and is not discounted.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to set off current tax assets against 
current tax liabilities and when the deferred taxes relate to the same fiscal authority.

Operating leases
Leases where a significant portion of the risks and rewards of ownership are retained by the lessor are classified as 
operating leases. Payments made under operating leases are charged to profit or loss on a straight-line basis over the 
period of the lease.

Share-based payments
Kape operates equity-settled, share-based compensation plans, under which the entity receives services from employees 
as consideration for Kape equity instruments (options). The fair value of the options and share awards is recognised as an 
employee benefit expense. The total amount to be expensed over the vesting period is determined by reference to the fair 
value of the options granted, excluding the impact of any non-market vesting conditions (for example, profitability and 
sales growth targets). Non-market vesting conditions are included in assumptions about the number of options that are 
expected to vest. 

At each balance sheet date, the entity revises its estimates of the number of options that are expected to vest. It 
recognises the impact of the revision of original estimates, if any, in the income statement, with a corresponding 
adjustment to equity. The proceeds received net of any directly attributable transaction costs are credited to share capital 
(par value) and share premium when the options are exercised.

Cancellation or settlement is accounted for as an acceleration of the vesting period, and therefore the amount that 
otherwise would have been recognised for services received over the remainder of the vesting period is recognised 
immediately. Repurchase of cancelled or settled share-based compensation plan, is accounted for as a deduction from 
equity, except to the extent that the payment exceeds the fair value of the equity instruments granted, measured at 
purchase date. Such excess is accounted as expense.

Share capital
Ordinary shares are classified as equity. The difference between the fair value of the consideration received by the Group 
and the nominal value of the share capital being issued is classified as additional paid in capital.

Critical accounting estimates and judgements
The preparation of consolidated financial statements under IFRS requires the Group to make estimates and judgements 
that affect the application of policies and reported amounts. Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are 
based on historical experience and other factors including expectations of future events that are believed to be 
reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The following accounting policies cover areas that the Directors consider require estimates and assumptions which have a 
significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities within the next financial year:

(a)  Capitalisation of development expenses
Research and development costs which create identifiable assets and are expected to generate future economic benefits 
are capitalised, and the remainder is expensed to the income statement. This requires the Group to perform judgements 
in apportioning costs to identifiable assets and making judgements about which assets are expected to give rise to future 
economic benefits.

(b)  Presentation of net revenues
The Group makes judgements in assessing whether it has acted as a principal or agent in transactions for selling and 
acquiring advertising media space, and therefore whether it reports its revenues gross or net respectively. The Group 
assesses a number of criteria in making these judgements, including the party, who is responsible for price setting and 
credit risk of the transaction, the losses the Group would suffer for non-delivery of service as well as the perceived and 
contractual relationship between the media publisher and seller or ad network.

38 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

3 Financial risk management
The Group is exposed to interest rate risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, currency risk, and capital risk management arising 
from the financial instruments it holds (see also note 17). The risk management policies employed by the Group to manage 
these risks are discussed below:

Interest rate risk
Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of financial instruments will fluctuate due to changes in market interest rates. 
The Group has no material interest-bearing financial instruments and is therefore not exposed to changes in market rates 
of interest or fair value interest rate risk.

Credit risk
Credit risk arises when a failure by counterparties to discharge their obligations could reduce the amount of future cash 
inflows from financial assets on hand at the reporting date. The principal credit risk is considered to result from new 
relationships with customers with which the Group does not have a long working relationship and for which reliable 
information as to their credit ratings cannot be obtained. In such cases the Group limits the initial credit facility afforded to 
these customers. Cash balances are held with high credit quality financial institutions and the Group has policies to limit 
the amount of credit exposure to any financial institution or customer.

Liquidity risk
Liquidity risk is the risk that arises when the maturity of assets and liabilities does not match. An unmatched position 
potentially enhances profitability, but can also increase the risk of losses. The Group has procedures with the object of 
minimising such losses such as by having available an adequate amount of committed credit facilities from the ultimate 
shareholder and related parties, and maintaining sufficient cash and other highly liquid current assets. 

Currency risk
Currency risk is the risk that the value of financial instruments will fluctuate due to changes in foreign exchange rates. 
Currency risk arises when future commercial transactions and recognised assets and liabilities are denominated in a 
currency that is not the Group’s measurement currency. The Group is exposed to foreign exchange risk arising from 
various currency exposures primarily with respect to the Israeli New Shekel, British Pound, Euro, Australian Dollar and 
Romanian Leu. The Group’s management monitors the exchange rate fluctuations on a continuous basis and acts 
accordingly and also avoids engaging in a significant level of transactions in currencies which are considered volatile 
or exposed to risk of significant fluctuations.

4 Revenue

Revenue from advertising
Sale of software licence 

2017
$’000

2016
$’000

18,157
48,226

18,291
38,241

66,383

56,532

Revenues from sales of software tools and provision of virtual private network (“VPN”) solutions are generated from the 
App Distribution CGU, while revenues from advertising are generated mainly from the Media CGU. 

On January 1, 2017, the Company adopted IFRS 15 using the cumulative effect method applied to those contracts which 
were not completed as of January 1, 2017. The impact of the new standard on our opening balances was immaterial.

On an ongoing basis, the most significant impact of the standard relates to our accounting for marketing costs of the 
Reimage and CyberGhost products which commenced as of FY 2017. These costs are considered incremental in obtaining the 
contract, and therefore capitalised and amortised over the expected customer relationship period under the new standard.

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

39

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTNOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
CONTINUED

4 Revenue continued
Revenue recognition related to most of our products and services remains substantially unchanged. 

(a)  Disaggregation of revenue
The following table presents our revenues disaggregated by the timing of revenue recognition in accordance with our 
reporting segments: 

Revenue recognised over a period
Revenue recognised at a point in time

6,454
41,772

App 
Distribution

2017 (USD, in thousands)

2016 (USD, in thousands)

Web Apps 
and License

2,376

Media

–
15,781

Total

8,830
57,553

App 
Distribution

–
38,241

Media

–
13,783

Web Apps 
and License

4,508

Total

4,508
52,024

Total

48,226

15,781

2,376

66,383

38,241

13,783

4,508

56,532

In accordance with the new revenue standard requirements, the disclosure of the impact of adoption on our consolidated 
income statement and balance sheet for the period ended December 31, 2017 was as follows:

Income statement

Costs and expenses
Selling and marketing expenses
Total operations cost
Operation loss
Adjusted EBITDA

Total comprehensive loss for the year

Basic earnings per share
Diluted earnings per share

Balance sheet

Assets recognised for costs incurred to obtain a contract
Non-current assets – deferred expenses
Current assets – deferred expenses

Fiscal year ended  
31 December 2017 as 
reported under IFRS 15
(USD, in thousands)

Fiscal year ended  
31 December 2017  
under IAS 18 
(USD, in thousands)

Effect of adjustment 
of IFRS 15
(USD, in thousands)

(44,117)
(64,410)
(2,599)
8,261

(2,503)

(2.4)
(2.4)

(45,508)
(65,801)
(3,990)
6,870

(3,894)

(3.4)
(3.4)

1,391
1,391
1,391
1,391

1,391

1
1

Balance at 
31 December 2017
as reported 
under IFRS 15
(USD, in thousands)

347
1,044

1,391

Balance at 
31 December 2017
 under IAS 18 
(USD, in thousands)

Effect of adjustment 
of IFRS 15
 (USD, in thousands)

–
–

–

347
1,044

1,391

The marketing costs to obtain a contract include fees paid to marketing partners on behalf of subscription sales of 
CyberGhost or Reimage to customers referred by the partners.

(b)  Contract liabilities
The Company has recognised the following revenue-related contract liabilities:

Contract liabilities1 

Total 

1.  The balance is relating to CyberGhost, which was purchased on March 2017. 

31 December 2017 
(USD, in thousands)

4,012

4,012

40 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Significant changes in relation to contract liabilities
The following table shows the significant changes in the current reporting period which relate to carried-forward contract liabilities.

Significant changes in the contract liabilities balances during the period are as follows:

Business combination 
Revenue recognised that was included in the contract liability balance from business combination
Increases due to cash received, excluding amounts recognised as revenue during the period
Revaluation of contract liabilities in foreign currency

31 December 2017 
(USD, in thousands)

(2,324)
2,181
(3,537)
(332)

Management expects that 77.8% of the transaction price allocated to the unsatisfied contracts (which represent to 
contract liabilities) as of 31 December 2017 ($3,120,000), 12.5% and 4.6% ($500,000 and $185,000) will be recognised as 
revenue during the next annual reporting period and will be primarily recognised in the 2019 and 2020 financial years, 
respectively. The remaining 5.2% ($207,000) will be primarily recognised in the following financial years.

(c)  Assets recognised from costs to obtain and fulfil a contract
The Company recognises an asset in relation to marketing costs to obtain a contract. The asset is recognised as the Company 
expects to recover the cost over the expected relationship period with the customer which includes the initial contract period 
and expected renewals. The expected relationship period with the customer is estimated based on historical contract 
renewals data. The asset is amortised on a straight-line basis over the expected relationship period with the customer.

In addition, the Company recognised an asset for fulfilment costs that are considered directly attributable in fulfilling a 
contract. The fulfilment costs comprised of processing fees paid to third party processing service providers. This asset is 
amortised on a systematic basis over the initial contract period. 

Asset recognised from marketing cost to obtain a contract
Asset recognised from fulfilment cost to fulfil a contract
Amortisation recognised during the period – marketing costs 
Amortisation recognised during the period – fulfilment cost

31 December 2017 
(USD, in thousands)

1,386
406
(294)
(804)

5 Segmental information
Segments’ revenues and results
Based on the management reporting system, the Group operates three reportable segments:

•  App Distribution – comprising the Group’s own software and SaaS products and distribution platform;
•  Media – comprising the Group’s ad network activities and associated technology platforms; and
•  Web Apps and License – comprising revenue generated from monetising web apps and licencing the associated technology

Year ended 31 December 2017

Revenue
Cost of sales
Direct sales and marketing costs

Segment result
Central operating costs

Adjusted EBITDA(1)
Depreciation and amortisation
Employee share-based payment charge
Charge for repurchase of employee options
Exceptional and non-recurring costs

Operating loss
Share of results of associates
Finance income
Finance costs

Loss before tax
Taxation

Loss after taxation

App 
Distribution 
2017
$’000

 Media 
2017
$’000

Web Apps 
and License 
2017
$’000

48,226
(4,572)
(26,447)

15,781
–
(11,317)

17,207

4,464

2,376
–
–

2,376

Total 
2016
$’000

66,383
(4,572)
(37,764)

24,047
(15,786)

8,261
(6,445)
(340)
(3,176)
(899)

(2,599)
 (40)
277
(532)

(2,894)
(467)

(3,361)

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

41

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTNOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
CONTINUED

5 Segmental information continued
Exceptional and non-recurring costs in 2017 comprised $0.3 million of acquisition bonuses to employees, other non-
recurring staff costs of $0.1 million, professional services related to business combination of $0.3 million and a $0.2 million 
expense from repurchase of CyberGhost’s founder’s share options on 20 November 2017. 

Year ended 31 December 2016

Revenue
Cost of sales
Direct sales and marketing costs

Segment result
Central operating costs
Adjusted EBITDA1
Depreciation and amortisation
Impairment of intangible assets
Employee share-based payment charge
Exceptional and non-recurring costs

Operating loss
Share of results of associates
Finance income
Finance costs

Loss before tax
Taxation

Loss after taxation

App 
Distribution 
2016
$’000

Media 
2016
$’000

Web Apps 
and License 
2016
$’000

38,241
(2,360)
(24,614)

13,783
–
(10,303)

11,267

3,480

4,508
–
–

4,508

Total 
2016
$’000

56,532
(2,360)
(34,917)

19,255
(12,842)
6,413
(9,884)
(4,683)
(716)
(862)

(9,732)
47
4
(332)

(10,013)
(665)

(10,678)

Exceptional and non-recurring costs in 2016 comprised non-recurring staff restructuring costs of $0.6 million and a $0.3 
million one-time onerous contract written-off in the period. The decrease in the employee share-based payment charge is 
due to reversal of charges from previous periods for employees that left the Company during the year. 

The impairment of intangible assets charge of $4,683,000 relates to the Media segment. After allocating this charge to the 
Media segment, the segment result is $1,203,000 loss.

1  Adjusted EBITDA is a company specific measure which is calculated as operating loss before depreciation, amortisation, exceptional and non-recurring 

costs, employee share-based payment charges and impairment of intangible assets which are considered to be one-off and non-recurring in nature as set 
out in note 6. The Directors believe that this provides a better understanding of the underlying trading performance of the business.

Information about major customers
In 2017 and 2016 there were no customers contributing more than 10% of total revenue of the Group. 

Geographical analysis of revenue
Revenue by origin

Europe
British Virgin Islands
Asia

2017
$’000

48,800
9,878
7,705

2016
$’000

17,297
27,520
11,715

66,383

56,532

Reimage Limited was re-domiciled from British Virgin Islands to Isle of Man on 8 September 2016.

42 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Geographical analysis of non-current assets

Europe
British Virgin Islands
Asia

Total intangible assets and property, plant and equipment

6 Operating loss
Operating loss has been arrived at after charging:

Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as follows:

Operating loss
Depreciation and amortisation
Impairment of intangible assets
Employee share-based payment charge
Exceptional and non-recurring costs:

Non-recurring staff and restructuring costs

Adjusted EBITDA
Excluding Web Apps and License segment 

2017
$’000

10,364
1,954
847

13,165

2016
$’000

3,990
–
3,714

7,704

2017
$’000

(2,599)
6,445
–
3,516

899
8,261
(2,062)

2016
$’000

(9,732)
9,884
4,683
716

862
6,413
(4,139)

Adjusted EBITDA excluding Web Apps and License segment

6,199

2,274

Exceptional and non-recurring costs
Non-recurring staff costs
Professional services related to business combination
Expenses from repurchase of employee share options 

Auditor’s remuneration:

Audit
Taxation services

Amortisation of intangible assets
Depreciation
Impairment of intangible assets (note 10)
Employee share-based payment charge (note 7)
Rent payable under operating leases

Operating costs
Operating costs are further analysed as follows:

Direct sales and marketing costs
Indirect sales and marketing costs
Selling and marketing costs

Research and development costs
Management, general and administrative cost
Depreciation and amortisation
Impairment of intangible assets

Total operating costs

2017
$’000

398
293
208

899

158
8
6,046
399
–
3,516
717

2016
$’000

562
300
–

862

147
21
9,421
463
4,683
716
459

2017 
Adjusted 
$’000

37,764
6,207
43,971

696
8,883
1,315
–

2017 
Total 
$’000

37,764
6,353
44,117

1,016
12,832
6,445
–

2016 
Adjusted 
$’000

34,917
4,265
39,182

1,299
7,278
1,379
–

2016 
Total 
$’000

34,917
4,998
39,915

1,661
7,761
9,884
4,683

54,865

64,410

49,138

63,904

Adjusted operating costs exclude share-based payment charges, exceptional and non-recurring costs, amortisation of 
acquired intangible assets and impairment of intangible assets. See note 4.

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

43

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTNOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
CONTINUED

7 Staff costs
Total staff costs comprise the following:

Salaries and related costs
Employee share-based payment charge (note 18)

2017
$’000

8,564
3,516

12,080

2016
$’000

7,204
716

7,920

The remuneration of the key management personnel of the Group which comprises the Executive Directors and senior 
management team, is set out below:

The aggregate remuneration comprised:
Wages and salaries
Employee share-based payment charge

Details of Directors’ remuneration are set out in the Remuneration Committee report on pages 18 to 19.

8 Finance costs

Interest expense 
Net foreign exchange and Other finance expenses

2017
$’000

2016
$’000

1,932
3,608

5,540

1,490
185

1,675

2017
$’000

411
121

532

2016
$’000

51
281

332

The entire interest expense was incurred on deferred consideration payments that was originally recognised at fair value. 

9 Taxation
The Parent Company is domiciled, for tax purposes, in both the Isle of Man and the UK. The final tax charge shown below 
arises partially from the difference in tax rates applied in the different jurisdictions in which the subsidiaries operate.

The Group continues to recognise a deferred tax asset of $97,000 (2016: $166,000) in respect of tax losses accumulated in 
previous years. 

The total tax charge can be reconciled to the overall tax charge as follows:

Loss before taxation

Tax at the applicable tax rate of 19% (2016: 20%)
Tax effect of:
Differences in overseas rates
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes
Deferred tax not recognised on losses carried forward
Tax expense for previous years

Tax charge for the year

Analysed as:
Deferred taxation in respect of the current year
Current tax charge

Tax charge for the year

44 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

2017
$’000

2016
$’000

(2,894)

(10,013)

(550)

(2,003)

(421)
1,253
122
63

467

(650)
1,117

467

976
1,327
440
(75)

665

263
402

665

The Group has maximum corporation tax losses carried forward at each period end as set out below:

Corporate tax losses carried forward

Details of the deferred tax asset recognised (arising in respect of losses) is set out below:

2017
$’000

2016
$’000

33,235

28,320

At the beginning of the year
Additions through business combinations
Derecognised in the year 
Foreign exchange revaluation

At the end of the year

2017
$’000

166
10
(100)
21

97

Details of the deferred tax liability recognised (arising from timing differences on intangible valuations on business 
combinations) is set out below:

At the beginning of the year
Arising from business combinations
Foreign exchange differences
Movement in the year due to temporary differences

At the end of the year

In addition, the Group has an unrecognised deferred tax asset in respect of the following:

2017
$’000

691
366
42
(750)

349

2016
$’000

716
–
(558)
8

166

2016
$’000

986
–
–
(295)

691

Tax losses carried forward

10 Intangible assets

Cost
At 1 January 2016
Additions

At 31 December 2016

Additions
Acquisition through business combination
Foreign exchange differences

At 31 December 2017

Accumulated amortisation
At 1 January 2016
Charge for the year
Impairment losses

At 31 December 2016

Charge for the period
Foreign exchange differences

At 31 December 2017

Net book value
At 1 January 2016
At 31 December 2016

At 31 December 2017

Intellectual 
property
$’000

Trademarks
$’000

Customer 
lists
$’000

35,205
1,219

36,424

–
1,706
212

9,462
–

9,462

90
546
70

2,383
–

2,383

–
743
92

Goodwill
$’000

7,684
–

7,684

–
5,690
479

38,342

10,168

3,218

13,853

(27,031)
(6,528)
–

(33,559)

(2,320)
(12)

(6,474)
(1,494)
–

(7,968)

(1,595)
(4)

(932)
(483)
–

(1,415)

(1,128)
(5)

(2,316)
–
(4,683)

(6,999)

–
–

(35,891)

(9,567)

(2,548)

(6,999)

8,174
2,865

2,451

2,988
1,494

601

1,451
968

670

5,368
685

6,854

2017
$’000

2016
$’000

33,026

28,047

Capitalised 
software 
development 
costs
$’000

Internet 
domains
$’000

Total
$’000

57,509
1,963

59,472

1,547
8,889
869

70,777

2,706
744

3,450

1,432
204
16

5,102

(1,502)
(916)
–

(38,255)
(9,421)
(4,683)

(2,418)

(52,359)

(1,003)
(1)

(6,046)
(22)

(3,422)

(58,427)

1,204
1,032

1,680

19,254
7,113

12,350

69
–

69

25
–
–

94

–
–
–

–

–
–

–

69
69

94

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

45

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTNOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
CONTINUED

10 Intangible assets continued

On 14 March 2017, the Group acquired 100% of the share capital of CyberGhost S.A (“CyberGhost”), a leading cybersecurity 
SaaS provider, with a focus on the provision of virtual private network (“VPN”) solutions. Prior to the acquisition date, CyberGhost 
acquired Mobile Concepts GmbH, a software development company based in Germany, for an amount of €1.5 million, as 
set out in note 21.

On 1 April 2017, the Company increased its holding in Clearvelvet Trading Limited (“Clearvelvet”) to 50.01% of the share 
capital by acquiring an additional 33.34% of its issued share capital. In September 2015, the Group acquired 16.67% of the 
share capital of Clearvelvet for a total consideration of $850,000, of which $350,000 was paid in 2016 with the completion 
of certain milestones. Clearvelvet’s founders hold the remaining 49.99% of the shares. Following completion Clearvelvet is 
considered to be a subsidiary undertaking and has been included in the Company’s consolidated statements on a basis 
of full consolidation, as set out in note 21.

In October 2016, the Group exercised an option to acquire the intellectual property of PC maintenance software product, 
DriverAgent, from eSupport.com Inc. for a total consideration of $1,208,000. $150,000 from the consideration was paid in 
the year ending 31 December 2015 for the option and $850,000 was paid during the year ending 31 December 2016. 
Another $208,000 is deferred consideration which is contingent on future results of the product.

Goodwill acquired in a business combination is allocated at acquisition to the cash generating units (CGUs), or group of 
units that are expected to benefit from that business combination. 

The Group tests goodwill annually for impairment, or more frequently if there are indications that goodwill might be 
impaired. The recoverable amounts of the CGUs are determined from value in use calculations. 

The key assumptions for the value in use calculations are those regarding the discount rates, growth rates and expected 
changes to selling prices and direct costs during the period.

At 31 December 2017, before impairment testing, the carrying value of intangible assets allocated to the Media CGU was 
$2,889,000, including goodwill of $2,524,000. The carrying value of the goodwill has not been changed due to the 
impairment testing and no impairment loss was recognised.

For the Media CGU, the Group has prepared calculations based on cash flow projections for the next five years from the 
most recent budgets approved by management and extrapolated cash flows beyond this period using an estimated 
growth rate of 1 per cent (2016: 1 per cent). This rate does not exceed the average long-term growth rate for the relevant 
markets. The rate used to discount these forecast cash flows is 25 per cent (2016: 25 per cent).

The discount rate used in the valuation of the Media CGU was 25 per cent. If the discount rate was increased by 
1 percentage point the effect would have been nil. There is no reasonably possible change in assumption that would give 
rise to an impairment.

At 31 December 2016, before impairment testing, the carrying value of intangible assets allocated to the Media CGU was 
$9,417,000, including goodwill of $5,368,000. As a result of the reduction in the management forecasted cash flows 
attributable to the acquired intangible assets, the carrying value of the goodwill has therefore been reduced to its 
recoverable amount of $685,000 through recognition of an impairment loss of $4,683,000.

Carrying value before impairment losses at 1 January 2016
Provisions for impairment 
Net book value at 31 December 2016

Web Apps 
and License 
$’000

974
–
974

Media
$’000

9,417
(4,683)
4,734

App
Distribution
$’000

1,405
–
1,405

Total
$’000

11,796
(4,683)
7,113

The Group tests the useful economic life of the Intangible asset whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate 
that the useful economic life may need to be changed. The brought-forward media CGU intellectual property, customer 
lists and trademark were fully amortised in the year ended 31 December 2017 due to a change in management assumptions 
with the expected useful life of these assets. If the management assumption was not changed, the amortisation attributed 
to the media intellectual property and customer lists would have been $2,416,000 instead of $3,629,000.

46 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

11 Property, plant and equipment

Cost
At 1 January 2016
Additions

Disposals
At 31 December 2016
Additions
Disposals
Acquisition through business combination
Foreign exchange differences 

At 31 December 2017

Accumulated depreciation:
At 1 January 2016
Charge for the period
Disposals
Foreign exchange differences

At 31 December 2016
Charge for the period
Disposals
Foreign exchange differences

At 31 December 2017

Net book value
At 1 January 2016
At 31 December 2016

At 31 December 2017

12 Trade and other receivables

Trade receivables and accrued income
Prepayments 
Other receivables

Furniture, 
fixtures 
and office 
equipment
$’000

Leasehold 
improvements
$’000

Computer 
equipment
$’000

917
78

(19)
976
215
(67)
94
22

1,240

(574)
(150)
11
2

(711)
(250)
55
(9)

(915)

343
265

325

374
3

(98)
279
40
(140)
60
6

245

(87)
(50)
49
–

(88)
(29)
44
(1)

(74)

287
191

171

736
27

(313)
450
174
(350)
14
2

290

(363)
(263)
311
–

(315)
(106)
304

(117)

373
135

173

Other receivables as of 31 December 2017 include VAT receivable balance of $742,000 (2016: $187,000)

The ageing of trade receivables that are past due but not impaired is shown below:

Between 1 and 30 days
Between 31 and 60 days
More than 60 days

Cars
$’000

–
–

–
–
111
–
42
9

162

–
(14)

(2)

(16)

–
–

146

2017
$’000

8,536
663
1,872

11,071

Total
$’000

2,027
108

(430)
1,705
540
(557)
210
39

1,937

(1,024)
(463)
371
2

(1,114)
(399)
403
(12)

(1,122)

1,003
591

815

2016
$’000

5,604
391
1,955

7,950

2017
$’000

455
411
1,734

2,600

2016
$’000

685
219
247

1,151

The fair values of trade and other receivables due within one year approximate to their carrying amounts as presented 
above. The exposure of the Group to credit risk and impairment losses in relation to trade and other receivables is set out 
in note 17 of the consolidated financial statements.

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

47

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTNOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
CONTINUED

13 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash in bank accounts
Bank deposits

The carrying value of these assets represents a reasonable approximation to their fair value.

14 Trade and other payables

Trade payables
Accrued expenses
Employee liabilities
Current tax liability 
Other payables

2017
$’000

2016
$’000

17,844
51,658

59,857
12,207

69,502

72,064

2017
$’000

2,469
4,643
655
1,573
754

10,094

2016
$’000

1,879
3,367
709
484
657

7,096

The Group’s management consider that the carrying value of trade and other payables approximates their fair value. The 
Group has financial risk management policies in place to ensure that all payables are paid within the credit timeframe and 
no interest has been charged by any suppliers as a result of late payment of invoices.

15 Shareholder’s equity

Issued and paid up ordinary shares of $0.0001

2017
Number of shares

2016
Number of shares

148,496,073

148,496,073

During the year a total of 801,175 new ordinary shares of $0.0001 par value from treasury were sold for cash in relation to 
share option schemes resulting in cash consideration of $437,000 (2016: $nil).

During the year a total of 3,810,667 of share options of $0.0001 par value were repurchased by the Company for a total 
cash consideration of $3,800,000 (2016: $nil).

During 2016 a total of 1,250,000 of ordinary shares of $0.0001 par value were purchased by the Company for a total cash 
consideration of $994,952 and are held in treasury at the reporting date.

As at 31 December 2017, the Company held in the treasury a total of 6,650,248 of ordinary shares of $0.0001 per value 
(2016: 7,451,423). During 2017, 801,175 of ordinary shares of $0.0001 par value were transferred out of treasury to satisfy 
the exercise of options by the Company employees (2016: nil).

The following describes the nature and purpose of each reserve within owner’s equity:

Reserve

Description and purpose

Additional paid in capital Share premium (i.e. amount subscribed or share capital in excess of nominal value)

Retained earnings

Cumulative net gains and losses recognised in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income

Foreign exchange

Cumulative foreign exchange differences of translation of foreign operations

In accordance with Isle of Man company law, all of the reserves with the exception of share capital are distributable.

48 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

16 Interests in associates
On 1 April 2017, the Company increased its holding in Clearvelvet Trading Limited (“Clearvelvet”) to 50.01% of the share 
capital of Clearvelvet by acquiring an additional 33.34% of its issued share capital. In September 2015, the Group acquired 
16.67% of the share capital of Clearvelvet for a total consideration of $850,000, of which $350,000 paid in 2016 on 
completion of certain milestones. 

Although the Group held less than 20% of the equity shares of the voting power at shareholder meetings, until 1 April 2017, 
the Group exercises significant influence by virtue of its contractual right to appoint one of four Directors to the Board of 
Directors of Clearvelvet and to veto certain significant trading and investment decisions. The acquisition details are set-off 
on note 21.

Interest in associates at the beginning of the year
Investment in associates in the year
Share of results
Re-measurement gain on equity interest in associate
Transfer on increase in stake (note 21)

Interest in associates at the end of the year

Aggregated amounts relating to Clearvelvet as an equity accounted associate are as follows:

Total current assets
Total current liabilities
Revenues
Profit (Loss)

1  Clearvelvet loss until 1 April 2017. 

2017
$’000

859
(40)

52
(871)

–

2016
$’000

812
–
47

859

2017
$’000

–
–
–
(240)1

2016
$’000

6,117
5,467
11,793
288

17 Financial instruments
The Group is exposed to the risks that arise from its use of financial instruments. This note describes the objectives, policies 
and processes of the Group for managing those risks and the methods used to measure them. Further quantitative 
information in respect of these risks is presented throughout this financial information.

Principal financial instruments
The principal financial instruments used by the Group, from which financial instrument risk arises are as follows:

•  Trade and other receivables
•  Trade and other payables
•  Cash and cash equivalents
•  Loans receivable
•  Deferred consideration 

Financial assets
The Group held the following financial assets:

Trade receivables and accrued income
Other receivables
Cash

2017
$’000

8,536
1,872
69,502

2016
$’000

5,604
1,955
72,064

79,910

79,623

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

49

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTNOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
CONTINUED

17 Financial instruments continued
Financial liabilities
The Group held the following financial liabilities:

Amortised cost
Trade payables
Other payables and accrued expenses
Deferred consideration (see note 25)

2017
$’000

2016
$’000

2,469
5,939
1,915

10,323

1,879
4,611
403

6,893

The Group’s Directors monitor and manage the financial risks relating to the operation of the Group. These risks include 
market risk (including foreign currency risk and interest rate risk), credit risk and liquidity risk.

Market risk
(a)  Foreign currency risk management
The carrying amounts of the Group’s foreign currency denominated monetary assets and monetary liabilities at the 
reporting date are as follows:

Israeli New Shekel
Euro
British Pound
Australian Dollar
Romanian Lei

Liabilities

Assets

2017
$’000

541
308
74
–
269

2016
$’000

473
761
209
–
38

1,192

1,481

2017
$’000

524
6,028
259
–
219

7,030

2016
$’000

703
2,300
48
11
107

3,169

A 10% weakening of the United States Dollar against the following currencies at 31 December 2017 would have increased/ 
(decreased) equity and profit or loss by the amounts shown below. This analysis assumes that all other variables, in 
particular interest rates, remain constant. For a 10% strengthening of the United States Dollar against the relevant 
currency, there would be an equal and opposite impact on the profit and other equity.

Israeli New Shekel
Euro
British Pound
Australian Dollar
Romanian Lei

Interest rate risk management

(b) 
At the reporting date the interest rate analysis of financial instruments was:

Fixed rate financial instruments
Financial assets

Profit or loss

2017
$’000

(2)
572
19
–
(5)

584

2016
$’000

23
154
(16)
1
7

169

2017
$’000

2016
$’000

69,502

72,064

69,502

72,064

Any increase/ (decrease) in interest rates will have no effect on results and equity of the Group because all financial 
instruments are fixed rate.

50 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Credit risk
The carrying amount of financial assets represents the maximum credit exposure. The maximum exposure to credit risk at 
the reporting date was:

Trade and other receivables
Cash at bank
Bank deposits
Receivables from related companies

2017
$’000

9,527
17,844
51,658
881

2016
$’000

5,738
59,857
12,207
1,821

79,910

79,623

Before accepting a new customer, the Group assesses each potential customer’s credit quality and risk. Customer 
contracts are drafted to reduce any potential credit risk to the Group. Where appropriate the customer’s recent financial 
statements are reviewed.

Trade receivables are regularly reviewed for bad and doubtful debts. The Group holds a provision of $239,000 at 
31 December 2017 against bad and doubtful debts (2016: $230,000). At 31 December 2017, the Group had trade 
receivables of $2,600,000 (2016: $1,151,000) that were past due but not impaired. The ageing analysis of these past due 
receivables is set out in note 12.

In determining the recoverability of trade receivables, the Group considers any change in the credit quality of the trade 
receivable from the date the credit was initially granted up to the reporting date. The Group does not hold any collateral as 
security. Impairments of trade receivables are expensed as operating expenses. The fair value of receivables equates to 
their book value. The Group does not collect external credit ratings for customers but uses its own methods for 
determining creditworthiness.

The Group and Company seek to limit the level of credit risk on cash and cash equivalents by depositing funds with banks 
that have high credit ratings. 

Liquidity risk management
The Group’s liquidity risk is monitored using regular cash flow reporting and projections to ensure that it is able to meet its 
obligations as they fall due.

The following tables detail the Group’s remaining contractual maturity for its financial liabilities. The tables have been 
drawn up based on the undiscounted cash flows of financial liabilities based on the earliest date on which the Group can 
be required to pay. The table includes both interest and principal cash flows.

2017

Trade and other payables
Payables to related parties
Deferred consideration 

2016

Trade and other payables
Payables to related parties
Deferred consideration 

Carrying 
amounts
$’000

Contractual 
cash flows
$’000

3 months or 
less
$’000

Between 
3–12 months
$’000

Between 
1–5 years
$’000

More than 5 
years
$’000

8,318
90
1,915

8,318
90
2,249

10,323

10,657

8,318
90
236

8,644

–
–
728

728

–
–
1,285

1,285

–

–

–

Carrying 
amounts
$’000

Contractual 
cash flows
$’000

3 months or 
less
$’000

Between 
3–12 months
$’000

Between 1–5 
years
$’000

More than 5 
years
$’000

6,470
20
403

6,893

6,470
20
503

6,993

6,265
20
–

6,285

205
–
253

458

–
–
250

250

–
–
–

–

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

51

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTNOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
CONTINUED

18 Employee share-based payments
Options have been granted under the Group’s share option scheme to subscribe for ordinary shares of the Company. 
At 31 December 2017, the following options were outstanding (2016: 10,259,383):

Group

Group 1
Group 2
Group 3 
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6 
Group 7

Total

Grant date

29 May 2014
21 April 2015
5 January 2016
31 May 2016
26 October 2016
3 April 2017
15 June 2017

Number of 
shares under option

1,338,570
523,063
384,000
2,000,000
2,232,272
884,000
1,128,424

8,490,329

Subscription 
price per share 

$0.538
 $1.376
$0.749
$0.371
$0.492
$0.0001
$0.890

Vesting conditions
Groups 1-5 and 7 – 25% at the end of the first year following the grant date. 6.25% on a quarterly basis during 12 quarters 
period thereafter. 

Group 6 – 50% at the end of the second year following the grant date and the remainder at the end of the third year 
following the grant. 

The total number of shares exercisable as of 31 December 2017 was 2,973,348 (2016: 3,840,679).

The weighted average fair value of options granted in the year using the Cox, Ross and Rubinstein’s Binomial Model (the 
“Binomial Model”) was $0.50. The inputs into the Binomial model are as follows:

Early exercise factor
Fair value of Group’s stock
Expected volatility
Risk free interest rate
Dividend yield
Forfeiture rate

2017
$’000

2016
$’000

150%
$0.78
70%
0.16%-1.11%
–
43%

100%-150%
$0.40-$0.80
60%
0.25%-1.89%
–
7%-14%

Expected volatility was determined based on the historical volatility of comparable companies.

Forfeiture rate is assumed to be 7%-14% for senior management and 43% for other employees.

The risk-free interest rate was estimated based on average yields of UK Government Bonds.

The Group recognised total share-based payments relating to equity-settled share-based payment transactions as follows:

Share-based payment charge
Charge for repurchase of employee options

2017
$’000

340
3,176

2016
$’000

716
–

Movements in the number of share options outstanding and their related weighted average exercise prices are as follows:

At the beginning of the year
Granted
Lapsed
Exercised
Repurchased by the Company

At the end of the year

52 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

2017

2016

Weighted average 
exercise price 

Number of options

Weighted average 
exercise price

Number of options

$0.66
$0.17
$0.81
$0.55
$0.0001

10,259,383
5,843,424
(3,000,633)
(801,178)
(3,810,667)

$0.55

8,490,329

$0.66
$0.51
$0.56
–
–

$0.66

14,481,158
5,338,272
(9,560,047)
–
–

10,259,383

The options outstanding at 31 December 2017 had a weighted average remaining contractual life of 8.2 years (2016: 7.9 years).

On 20 November 2017, following his reposition from Managing Director to Chairman and Corporate Development Manager 
of CyberGhost, the Company repurchased and cancelled 3,810,667 options that were granted to the founder of 
CyberGhost on 3 April 2017. The total cash consideration for the options was of €3.2 million ($3.8 million) out of the total 
consideration, €1.6 million ($1.9 million) was paid upon execution of the repurchase agreement, while the remaining 
amount is to be paid in eight equal instalments. The fair value as of 20 November 2017 was €3.0 million ($3.4 million) and 
deducted from equity in accordance to IFRS 2. Following the cancellation of the options a $3.2 million charge was 
expensed as a result of vesting terms acceleration. An additional $0.2 expense was recorded as the consideration 
exceeded the fair value of the options.

19 Earnings per share
Basic loss/earnings per share is calculated by dividing the loss /earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders by the 
weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year.

Basic 
Diluted
Adjusted basic
Adjusted diluted

2017
cents

(2.4)
(2.4)
3.8
3.7

2016
cents

(7.6)
(7.6)
2.7
2.7

Adjusted earnings per share is a non-GAAP measure and therefore the approach may differ between companies. Adjusted 
earnings have been calculated as follows:

Loss for the year 
Post tax adjustments:
Employee share-based payment charge
Exceptional and non-recurring costs
Amortisation on acquired intangible assets
Impairment of intangible assets
Exceptional tax charge

Adjusted profit for the year

2017
$’000

2016
$’000

(3,361)

(10,678)

3,535
793
4,439
–
–

5,406

823
774
8,208
4,683
–

3,810

Denominator – basic:
Weighted average number of equity shares for the purpose of earnings per share
Denominator – diluted:
Weighted average number of equity shares for the purpose of diluted earnings per share

Number

Number

141,547,496 141,068,557

145,260,658

141,182,911

The diluted denominator has not been used where this has anti-dilutive effect. Basic and diluted loss per share are 
therefore the same for reporting purposes.

The difference between weighted average number of ordinary shares used for basic earnings per share and the diluted 
earnings per share is 114,354, being the effect of all potentially dilutive ordinary shares derived from the number of share 
options granted to employees.

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

53

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTNOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
CONTINUED

20 Subsidiaries

Name

BestAd Hi Tech Media 
Limited2

Crossrider Advanced 
Technologies Limited2

Crossrider (Israel) 
Limited2

Crossrider Technologies 
Limited (formerly Market 
Connect (Cyprus) Limited)

Crossrider Sports 
Limited2

Country of 
incorporation

Principal activities

Israel

Israel

Israel

Development technical support and marketing services

Development services and technical and marketing support

Provision of marketing services to related parties

Cyprus

Licensing of IP software and agency services to related parties

United Kingdom Provision of consulting services

Reimage Limited1

Isle of Man

Development and sale of the “Reimage” software tool.

Reimage Limited2

R.S.F Remote Software 
Fixing Limited2

Cyprus

Israel

Consulting, market research and software development services

Provision of development, technical support and marketing 
support services to its parent company

Crosspath Trading 
Limited

British Virgin 
Islands

Performance of commercial activity through the licensing of 
technology from Crossrider Technologies Ltd

Blueroad Trading Limited

Cyprus

Provision of agency services to Crosspath Limited

Frontbase Trading 
Limited

Cyprus

Provision of agency services to Crosspath Limited

Crossrider ROM SRL2

Romania

Provision of marketing and development services

Definiti Media Ltd(**)

Israel

Providing digital advertising services for mobile platforms

CyberGhost SRL2

Romania

Leading cybersecurity SaaS provider, with a focus on the provision 
of virtual private network (“VPN”) solutions

Mobile Concept2

Germany

Provision of software development services to its parent company

Clearvelvet Trading Ltd2

British Virgin 
Islands

Performance of programmatic video advertising activity through 
the licensing of technology from Strongmove Consultants Ltd

Strongmove  
Consultants Ltd2

Cyprus

Licensing of agency services to related parties

Holding %

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

50.01

50.01

Spartacs Technologies2

Israel

Provision of marketing support services to its parent company

50.01

1. 
2. 

 Re-domiciled from British Virgin Islands on 8 September 2016.
 Indirect shareholding.

The Group has been formed from a series of common control transactions which have been accounted for using merger 
accounting; and acquisitions from third parties which have been accounted for using the acquisition method.

21. Business combinations 
(a)  Acquisition of CyberGhost SA
On 14 March 2017 the Group acquired 100% of the share capital of CyberGhost S.A (“CyberGhost”), a leading cybersecurity 
SaaS provider, with a focus on the provision of virtual private network (“VPN”) solutions. Prior to the acquisition date, CyberGhost 
acquired Mobile Concepts GmbH, a software development company based in Germany, for an amount of €1.5 million.

The acquisition is in line with the Company’s stated strategy to broaden its product offering to service high-growth 
consumer markets, of which cybersecurity is a key vertical.

54 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Details of the fair value of identifiable assets and liabilities acquired, purchase consideration and goodwill are as follows:

Brand and domain name
Customer relations
Technology
Deferred tax liability
Cash and cash equivalents
Trade and other receivables
Property, plant and equipment
Deferred revenues 
Trade and other payables

Fair value of consideration
Cash
Contingent consideration 
Total consideration
Goodwill

Net cash outflow on acquisition of business

Initial consideration
Prepayment in relation of deferred consideration 
Cash and cash equivalents acquired

Acquiree’s 
carrying 
amount 
before 
combination
$’000

–
–
1,166
–
1,070
1,181
199
(2,324)
(1,857)

(565)

Fair value
$’000

546
743
1,706
(366)
1,070
1,181
199
(2,324)
(1,857)

898

3,272
1,477
4,749
3,851

2017 
$’000

3,272
1,871
(1,070)

4,073

CyberGhost was acquired for a total consideration of up to $9.6 million (€9.1 million). The consideration comprises of 
$3.3 million (€3.1 million) in cash at closing, $3.2 million (€3.0 million) in nominal value share options and deferred earn-out 
consideration capped at $3.2 million (€3.0 million), to be satisfied in cash on a Euro for Euro basis for the EBITDA of 
CyberGhost in the 12-month period post completion. $1.9 million (€1.75 million) was paid at closing as a prepayment of the 
deferred earn-out consideration.

The share options consideration comprised of 4,400,000 options that issued over ordinary shares in the capital of the 
Company (“ordinary shares”) exercisable at the nominal value of the shares (“Consideration Options”). The Consideration 
Options are exercisable in two equal portions on the second and third anniversary of the acquisition completion and 
contingent on the continued employment of the founder. If exercised in full, the share options would represent 2.87% 
of the existing issued share capital of the Company.

On 20 November 2017, the Company repurchased 3,810,667 options out of the 4,400,000 option granted to the founder 
for total cash consideration of $3.8 million (€3.2 million). Out of which $1.9 million (€1.625 million) was paid upon execution 
of the repurchase agreement, while the remaining amount is to be paid in eight equal instalments amounting to $235 
thousand (€197 thousand) per quarter over the course of two years. 

The Company accelerated the vesting of the share options purchased and recognised immediately the amount that 
otherwise would have been recognised for services received over the remainder of the vesting period. Following the 
repurchase the Company recognised expenses of $0.2 million for the excess of the consideration over the fair value.

Following the acquisition date, CyberGhost has issued additional shares to the Company for a consideration amount 
of €1.9 million that been paid in cash during the period ended 31 December 2017.

Since the acquisition date, CyberGhost has contributed $6.4 million to Group revenues, and loss of $1.7 million to Group 
loss. When excluding the expense for the repurchase of CyberGhost’s founder’s options CyberGhost contributes $1.5 million 
profit to the Group loss. In addition, since the acquisition date, CyberGhost contributed $4.4 million to segmental results of 
the App Distribution segment (as set out in note 5). If the acquisition had occurred on 1 January 2017, Group revenue 
would have been $67.6 million, Group loss for the period would have been $3.3 million and the App Distribution segmental 
result would have been $18.1 million.

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

55

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTNOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
CONTINUED

21. Business combinations continued
(b) Acquisition of Clearvelvet Trading Limited
On 1 April 2017, the Company increased its holding in Clearvelvet Trading Limited (“Clearvelvet”) to 50.01% of the share 
capital by acquiring an additional 33.34% of its issued share capital. In September 2015, the Group acquired 16.67% of the 
share capital of Clearvelvet for a total consideration of $850,000, of which $350,000 was paid in 2016 with the completion 
of certain milestones. Clearvelvet’s founders hold the remaining 49.99% of the shares. Following completion Clearvelvet is 
considered to be a subsidiary undertaking and has been included in the Company’s consolidated statements on a basis 
of full consolidation.

Details of the fair value of identifiable assets and liabilities acquired, purchase consideration and goodwill are as follows:

Intangible assets
Investment
Property, plant and equipment
Trade and other receivables
Deferred tax asset
Cash and cash equivalents
Trade and other payables

Fair value of consideration
Cash
Conversion of convertible loan
Conversion of previously held interest in associate
Total consideration
Goodwill
Non-controlling interest

Acquiree’s 
carrying 
amount 
before 
combination
$’000

204
50
11
3,992
10
1,387
(4,101)

1,553

Fair value
$’000

204
50
11
3,992
10
1,387
(4,101)

1,553

850
894
871
2,615
1,839
(777)

The initial consideration for the acquisition of Clearvelvet was $1.7 million out of which $894,000 was conversion of the loan 
given by the Group on January 2016 and cash consideration of $850,000. The cash consideration was paid during July 2017.

In addition, the sellers will be entitled to receive up to a total of $1.4 million earn-out consideration, to be satisfied in cash 
subject to their continued employment by Clearvelvet. The earn-out consideration is contingent on achieving EBITDA 
goals of $1.7 million in 2017 (pro-rated from 60% of target), which was not achieved, and $2.2 million for 2018 (pro-rated 
from 67% of target). The earn-out consideration is accounted as remuneration in the post-acquisition income statement 
rather as part of the acquisition cost.

Net cash outflow on acquisition of business

Cash and cash equivalents acquired

2017
$’000

(1,387)
(1,387)

Since the acquisition date, Clearvelvet has contributed $10.8 million to Group revenues, profit of $0.4 million to Group loss 
and $1.8 million to segmental results of the Media segment (as set out on note 5). If the acquisition had occurred on 
1 January 2017, Group revenue would have been $68.9 million, Group loss for the period would have been $3.6 million and 
the Media segmental result would have been $4.9 million.

56 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

22 Related party transactions
The Group is controlled by Unikmind Holdings Limited incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, which owns 73% of the 
Company’s shares. The controlling party is the Solidinsight Trust, established under the laws of the Isle of Man. 
Mr. Teddy Sagi is the sole ultimate beneficiary of the Solidinsight Trust.

(a)  Related party transactions
The following transactions were carried out with related parties:

Revenue from common controlled company
Technical support services to end customers provided by common controlled company
Payment processing services provided by common controlled company
Office rent expenses to common controlled companies
Revenue from equity investments

(b)  Receivables owed by related parties (see note 17)

Name

Parent Company
Equity investments
Companies related by virtue of common control
Trade

Nature of transaction

Unpaid share capital
Loan and Trade

(c)  Payables to related parties (see note 17)

Name

Nature of transaction

Companies related by virtue of common control
Other

23 Operating leases

Due less than 1 year
Due between 1 and 5 years

The table above summarises the minimum commitments under the Group’s office rental agreements.

24 Contingent liabilities
The Group had no contingent liabilities as at 31 December 2017.

2017
$’000

2,587
(2,704)
(208)
(230)
–

2016
$’000

5,034
(2,105)
(300)
(82)
100

(555)

2,647

2017
$’000

10
–

881

891

2017
$’000

90

90

2017
$’000

356
222

578

2016
$’000

10
799

1,022

1,831

2016
$’000

20

20

2016
$’000

553
868

1,421

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

57

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTNOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
CONTINUED

25 Deferred consideration
(a)  Acquisition of Definiti Media Limited
The consideration for the acquisition of Definiti Media Ltd in May 2014 included $2,489,000 deferred consideration. Of 
this, $845,000 was repaid during the year ending 31 December 2014 and $746,000 was repaid during the year ending 
31 December 2015. The remainder was repaid during the year ending 31 December 2016. 

(b)  Acquisition of AjillionMax 
The consideration for the acquisition of certain assets of AjillionMax Limited in May 2014 included $654,000 deferred 
consideration. Of this, $104,000 was repaid during the year ending 31 December 2014, $156,000 was repaid during the 
year ending 31 December 2015, $189,000 was repaid during the year ending 31 December 2016 and the remainder was 
repaid during the year ending 31 December 2017.

In addition, $435,000, included as part of the acquisition arrangements, has been recognised directly in the income 
statement during the year ending 31 December 2015, out of which $209,000 was paid in May 2017.

Investment in Clearvelvet Trading Ltd

(c) 
In September 2015, the Group acquired 16.67% of the share capital of Clearvelvet Limited for a total consideration of 
$850,000, of which $350,000 was paid in 2016 on completion of certain development milestones.

(d)  Acquisition of DriverAgent intangibles
In October 2016, the Group acquired the intellectual property of PC maintenance software product, DriverAgent, from 
eSupport.com, Inc for a total consideration of $1.2 million. As of 31 December 2017, the consideration included $0.17 
million of deferred consideration (2016: $0.2 million) which is contingent on future results. 

(e)  Repurchase of share-based consideration 
On 20 November 2017, the Company repurchased 3,810,667 options out of the 4,057,813 option granted to CyberGhost’s 
former founder for total cash consideration of $3.8 million (€3.2 million). Out of which $1.9 million (€1.625 million) paid upon 
execution of the purchase agreement, with the remaining amount to be paid in eight equal instalments amounting to 
$235 thousand (€197 thousand) per quarter over the course of two years and recognised as deferred consideration.

26 Subsequent events
On 7 March 2018, Crossrider plc announced the renaming of the Company to Kape Technologies plc. Trading in the 
Company’s shares under the new name and TIDM, “KAPE”, will commence on 13 March 2018.

58 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

NOTES

KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

59

CORPORATE  GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSSTRATEGIC  REPORTNOTES

60 KAPE TECHNOLOGIES PLC

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
AND ADVISERS

Shareholder information, including financial 
results, news and information on products and 
services, can be found at www.kape.com

Independent Auditor
BDO LLP
55 Baker Street
London W1U 7EU

Nominated Advisor
Shore Capital & Corporate Limited
Bond Street House
14 Clifford Street
London W1S 4JU

Investor Relations
Vigo Communications
180 Piccadilly
London W1J 9HF

Corporate Legal Advisers
Morrison Foerster
City Point 
One Ropemaker Street 
London EC2Y 9AW

Broker
Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited
Bond Street House
14 Clifford Street
London W1S 4JU

Registrars
Computershare Investor Services (Jersey) 
Limited
Queensway House
Hilgrove Street
St Helier
Jersey JE1 1ES

Registered Office
Sovereign House
14-16 Nelson Street
Douglas
Isle of Man IM1 2AL

Stock exchanges
The Company’s ordinary shares are listed 
on the AIM market of the London Stock 
Exchange under the symbol “KAPE”. 
The Company does not maintain listings 
on any other stock exchanges.

Kape Technologies plc
LABS Atrium 
Stables Market
Chalk Farm Road
London NW1 8AH
Tel: +44 (0) 203 355 7926

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