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Quinsam Announces Q4/2020 Results, Dividend & Update

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Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – April 28, 2021) – Quinsam Capital Corporation (CSE: QCA) (“Quinsam” or the “Company”) wishes to announce its Q4/2020 results, with net income of $1.8 million ($0.02 per share basic, $0.02 fully diluted) versus a net loss of $5.9 million ($0.06 per share basic, $0.06 fully diluted) in Q4/2019. For the full year, Quinsam had net income of $2.8 million ($0.03 per share basic, $0.03 fully diluted) versus a net loss of $10.1 million ($0.09 per share basic, $0.09 fully diluted) in 2019. Investors can access the Company’s full financial statements on sedar.com. In addition, Quinsam is pleased to announce its quarterly dividend and an update on recent events.

“At December 31, 2020, we had net assets of $0.32 per share,” said Roger Dent, CEO of Quinsam. “Our growth in NAV per share exceeded EPS due to the favourable impact of our ongoing normal course issuer bid purchases.”

Q4 Results

Market conditions were favourable in Q4/2020 across a number of sectors and this helped the valuations of some of our publicly-traded investments. This also improved the prospects for our private company and debt investments, although our carrying values were not necessarily impacted.

Notable movers included Skylight Health (shares up to $1.17 from $0.23; we also held warrants), Newlox Gold (shares up to $0.275 from $0.115; we also held warrants), Nexe (closed at $2.06 vs. our pre-RTO cost of $0.80; we also held warrants) and Helix TCS (small position up to $0.624 versus $0.135). We also had an unexpected gain when some older Empower Clinics warrants went well into the money. We exercised these warrants and sold the resulting shares. Some of our gains were offset by a decline in the City View Green share price from $0.085 to $0.065, although we note that this share price has since rebounded to $0.10. We also reduced the carrying values of two of our private companies, MIraculo and OG DNA.

“Overall we are quite happy with our Q4/2020 results,” said Roger Dent. “We reported a solid financial result. Perhaps more importantly, improved market conditions have in our opinion enhanced the prospects for favourable liquidity events for our private company investments considerably.”

Dividend

The Board of Directors of Quinsam has approved the Company’s 27th consecutive quarterly dividend. The dividend is $0.00125 per share ($0.005 per share per year). The distribution will be paid on May 28, 2021 to shareholders of record on May 7, 2021. This dividend will be designated as an “eligible dividend” for Canadian income tax purposes. Future quarterly dividends will be subject to Board approval.

Update

In December, we highlighted that one of our investee companies, Agriforce Growing Systems Ltd. (“Agriforce”), had filed an S-1 Statement to facilitate an initial public offering in the United States. While there is no certainty that the IPO will be completed, we currently expect the IPO to close in May 2021. If the IPO is completed in the target price range, we expect to see a strong gain on our share position. After warrant exercises and the Agriforce consolidation, our current holding is approximately 350,000 shares.

We acquired debentures and warrants of Cannus Partners some years ago. This company listed in April 2021 as Ikanik Farms and is currently trading at a solid premium to our year-end carrying value.

In recent months, Quinsam has invested in a number of new companies including Music Royalties, Pluribus, Budbank/Trees, First Helium, Peninsula Capital, Virotek, Wildpack, INX, Above Food, Pathway Health, Green Impact, Orchid Ventures and Current Water Technology.

Music Royalties is focused on generating dividends for its shareholders through the acquisition of long-life royalties on popular music. The company plans a listing later this year and we think that this business model will be very well received by investors. Royalty models are well understood and we think that royalties on music are particularly interesting due to their long life and potential for upside surprises when older music is re-recorded.

Peninsula Capital is focused on investing in US single family rental homes in markets where investors can obtain high cap rates. The company plans a listing later this year and we think its high yield portfolio will create a good audience for the company.

In the cases of Pluribus, Pathway Health, First Helium, Wildpack, Green Impact, INX and Budbank/Trees, we expect to see listings in Q2 once RTOs are complete. Above Food should trade later this year. Virotek is also moving toward a listing though it is not expected in the short term. Current Water and Orchid Ventures are already public and are currently trading in excess of the cost of our unit investments.

In 2021, we have opportunistically participated in new issues of units by Giyani, Cypress, Inner Spirit, Halo, Namaste, Bigg Digital Assets, Tetra Bio-pharm, Vext and Excelsior. We have exited the majority of these positions already and these trades overall were a profitable exercise.

We made small additional investments in Xebra and Green Stripe as they prepare for listings in the coming months.

We made an opportunistic purchase of US$150,000 of convertible notes in a private company that was acquired by Australis at $0.20 per Australis share. We have a profit-sharing arrangement with the vendor of the note but we retain the majority of profits from the sale of the Australis shares.

We are looking forward to a listing in the near term by PMML, which operates the Rivalry e-sports betting platform. This is poised to be one of Quinsam’s most successful investments. Our 2016 purchase of $50,000 of units at C$0.05 is worth over $800,000 based on PMML’s most recent US$0.34 per share equity financing. We understand that the IPO price target is US$0.58 per share.

“Small cap market conditions have been extremely favourable in recent months,” said Roger Dent, CEO of Quinsam. “While we want to take advantage of this market, we are being cautious about making new illiquid investments based on current euphoria.”

Issuer Bid Update

Quinsam announced a normal course issuer bid to purchase up to 5,446,952 shares (the “Bid”) in August 2020. We commenced the Bid because we believe that the current share price may not fully reflect the underlying value of the Company’s business and future prospects. Quinsam believes that the repurchase of its shares for cancellation is in the best interests of its shareholders because the Bid increases the proportionate shareholdings of remaining shareholders. The Bid commenced on August 28, 2020 and will terminate on August 27, 2021, or on an earlier date if the shares sought in the Bid are repurchased. Quinsam reserves the right to terminate the Bid earlier if it feels that it is appropriate. All shares will be purchased on the open market through the Canadian Securities Exchange (“CSE”), and payment for shares will be made in accordance with CSE policies. The price paid for shares will be the prevailing market price at the time of purchase. Purchases may be suspended at any time, and no purchases will be made other than by means of open market transactions during the Bid. We have engaged M Partners to act as the broker to conduct the Bid.

In the quarter ending December 31, 2020, Quinsam repurchased and cancelled 1,696,952 shares pursuant to the Bid, bringing total repurchases pursuant to the Bid since August 28, 2020 to 3,946,952 shares. The shares were purchased at a discount to NAV and the repurchases had a positive impact on NAV/share for remaining shareholders. There remains available in the Bid another 1.5 million shares which are permitted to be acquired in the Bid’s final open window, which is expected following the release of Q1/2021 results in May.

About Quinsam Capital Corporation

Quinsam is a merchant bank with a focus on “small cap” investments which it believes are undervalued. We do not invest on behalf of third parties or offer investment advice.

Generally, Quinsam does not believe that individual investments are material events. Quinsam may choose to announce certain investments once the company has finished buying its position because we feel that this information helps investors understand our decision making process. Generally, Quinsam does not announce sale of investments.

For further information contact:

Roger Dent, CEO
(647) 993-5475
[email protected]

This press release may contain forward-looking statements relating to anticipated future events, results, circumstances, performance or expectations that are not historical facts but instead represent our beliefs regarding future events, which are inherently uncertain. Forward-looking statements can often, but not always, be identified by forward-looking words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “expect”, “goal”, “plan”, “intend”, “estimate”, “may”, “project”, “predict”, “potential”, “target”, and “will” or similar words suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance.

By their nature, forward-looking statements require making assumptions which include, among other things, that (i) Quinsam will have sufficient capital to effect its business strategies, (ii) the business strategies will produce the results intended by Quinsam, and (iii) the markets will react and perform in a manner consistent with the business strategies.

Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated. Quinsam believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. Some risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking information in this press release include, but are not limited to: cannabis companies Quinsam has invested in obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals including acquiring and renewing U.S. state, local or other licenses, and the uncertainty of existing protection from U.S. federal or other prosecution; regulatory or political change such as changes in applicable laws and regulations, including U.S. state-law legalization; market and general economic conditions of the cannabis sector or otherwise, interest rates, regulatory and statutory developments, the nature of the Company’s investments, the available opportunities and competition for investments, the concentration of our investments in certain industries and sectors, reliance on key personnel, risks affecting investments, management of the growth of the Company, and exchange rate fluctuations. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of risks and factors is not exhaustive. Although Quinsam has attempted to identify factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be factors that cause events or results to differ from those intended, anticipated or estimated.

The forward-looking information contained herein is provided as at the this date, based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management as at this date. Quinsam does not undertake and specifically disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information contained herein.

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION BY ANY UNITED STATES NEWS DISTRIBUTION SERVICE

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82186

Fintech

How to identify authenticity in crypto influencer channels

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Modern brands stake on influencer marketing, with 76% of users making a purchase after seeing a product on social media.The cryptocurrency industry is no exception to this trend. However, promoting crypto products through influencer marketing can be particularly challenging. Crypto influencers pose a significant risk to a brand’s reputation and ROI due to rampant scams. Approximately 80% of channels provide fake statistics, including followers counts and engagement metrics. Additionally, this niche is characterized by high CPMs, which can increase the risk of financial loss for brands.

In this article Nadia Bubennnikova, Head of agency Famesters, will explore the most important things to look for in crypto channels to find the perfect match for influencer marketing collaborations.

 

  1. Comments 

There are several levels related to this point.

 

LEVEL 1

Analyze approximately 10 of the channel’s latest videos, looking through the comments to ensure they are not purchased from dubious sources. For example, such comments as “Yes sir, great video!”; “Thanks!”; “Love you man!”; “Quality content”, and others most certainly are bot-generated and should be avoided.

Just to compare: 

LEVEL 2

Don’t rush to conclude that you’ve discovered the perfect crypto channel just because you’ve come across some logical comments that align with the video’s topic. This may seem controversial, but it’s important to dive deeper. When you encounter a channel with logical comments, ensure that they are unique and not duplicated under the description box. Some creators are smarter than just buying comments from the first link that Google shows you when you search “buy YouTube comments”. They generate topics, provide multiple examples, or upload lists of examples, all produced by AI. You can either manually review the comments or use a script to parse all the YouTube comments into an Excel file. Then, add a formula to highlight any duplicates.

LEVEL 3

It is also a must to check the names of the profiles that leave the comments: most of the bot-generated comments are easy to track: they will all have the usernames made of random symbols and numbers, random first and last name combinations, “Habibi”, etc. No profile pictures on all comments is also a red flag.

 

LEVEL 4

Another important factor to consider when assessing comment authenticity is the posting date. If all the comments were posted on the same day, it’s likely that the traffic was purchased.

 

2. Average views number per video

This is indeed one of the key metrics to consider when selecting an influencer for collaboration, regardless of the product type. What specific factors should we focus on?

First & foremost: the views dynamics on the channel. The most desirable type of YouTube channel in terms of views is one that maintains stable viewership across all of its videos. This stability serves as proof of an active and loyal audience genuinely interested in the creator’s content, unlike channels where views vary significantly from one video to another.

Many unauthentic crypto channels not only buy YouTube comments but also invest in increasing video views to create the impression of stability. So, what exactly should we look at in terms of views? Firstly, calculate the average number of views based on the ten latest videos. Then, compare this figure to the views of the most recent videos posted within the past week. If you notice that these new videos have nearly the same number of views as those posted a month or two ago, it’s a clear red flag. Typically, a YouTube channel experiences lower views on new videos, with the number increasing organically each day as the audience engages with the content. If you see a video posted just three days ago already garnering 30k views, matching the total views of older videos, it’s a sign of fraudulent traffic purchased to create the illusion of view stability.

 

3. Influencer’s channel statistics

The primary statistics of interest are region and demographic split, and sometimes the device types of the viewers.

LEVEL 1

When reviewing the shared statistics, the first step is to request a video screencast instead of a simple screenshot. This is because it takes more time to organically edit a video than a screenshot, making it harder to manipulate the statistics. If the creator refuses, step two (if only screenshots are provided) is to download them and check the file’s properties on your computer. Look for details such as whether it was created with Adobe Photoshop or the color profile, typically Adobe RGB, to determine if the screenshot has been edited.

LEVEL 2

After confirming the authenticity of the stats screenshot, it’s crucial to analyze the data. For instance, if you’re examining a channel conducted in Spanish with all videos filmed in the same language, it would raise concerns to find a significant audience from countries like India or Turkey. This discrepancy, where the audience doesn’t align with regions known for speaking the language, is a red flag.

If we’re considering an English-language crypto channel, it typically suggests an international audience, as English’s global use for quality educational content on niche topics like crypto. However, certain considerations apply. For instance, if an English-speaking channel shows a significant percentage of Polish viewers (15% to 30%) without any mention of the Polish language, it could indicate fake followers and views. However, if the channel’s creator is Polish, occasionally posts videos in Polish alongside English, and receives Polish comments, it’s important not to rush to conclusions.

Example of statistics

 

Wrapping up

These are the main factors to consider when selecting an influencer to promote your crypto product. Once you’ve launched the campaign, there are also some markers to show which creators did bring the authentic traffic and which used some tools to create the illusion of an active and engaged audience. While this may seem obvious, it’s still worth mentioning. After the video is posted, allow 5-7 days for it to accumulate a basic number of views, then check performance metrics such as views, clicks, click-through rate (CTR), signups, and conversion rate (CR) from clicks to signups.

If you overlooked some red flags when selecting crypto channels for your launch, you might find the following outcomes: channels with high views numbers and high CTRs, demonstrating the real interest of the audience, yet with remarkably low conversion rates. In the worst-case scenario, you might witness thousands of clicks resulting in zero to just a few signups. While this might suggest technical issues in other industries, in crypto campaigns it indicates that the creator engaged in the campaign not only bought fake views and comments but also link clicks. And this happens more often than you may realize.

Summing up, choosing the right crypto creator to promote your product is indeed a tricky job that requires a lot of resources to be put into the search process. 

Author Nadia Bubennikova, Head of agency  at Famesters

Author

Nadia Bubennikova, Head of agency at Famesters

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Fintech

Central banks and the FinTech sector unite to change global payments space

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The BIS, along with seven leading central banks and a cohort of private financial firms, has embarked on an ambitious venture known as Project Agorá.

Named after the Greek word for “marketplace,” this initiative stands at the forefront of exploring the potential of tokenisation to significantly enhance the operational efficiency of the monetary system worldwide.

Central to this pioneering project are the Bank of France (on behalf of the Eurosystem), the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Korea, the Bank of Mexico, the Swiss National Bank, the Bank of England, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. These institutions have joined forces under the banner of Project Agorá, in partnership with an extensive assembly of private financial entities convened by the Institute of International Finance (IIF).

At the heart of Project Agorá is the pursuit of integrating tokenised commercial bank deposits with tokenised wholesale central bank money within a unified, public-private programmable financial platform. By harnessing the advanced capabilities of smart contracts and programmability, the project aspires to unlock new transactional possibilities that were previously infeasible or impractical, thereby fostering novel opportunities that could benefit businesses and consumers alike.

The collaborative effort seeks to address and surmount a variety of structural inefficiencies that currently plague cross-border payments. These challenges include disparate legal, regulatory, and technical standards; varying operating hours and time zones; and the heightened complexity associated with conducting financial integrity checks (such as anti-money laundering and customer verification procedures), which are often redundantly executed across multiple stages of a single transaction due to the involvement of several intermediaries.

As a beacon of experimental and exploratory projects, the BIS Innovation Hub is committed to delivering public goods to the global central banking community through initiatives like Project Agorá. In line with this mission, the BIS will soon issue a call for expressions of interest from private financial institutions eager to contribute to this ground-breaking project. The IIF will facilitate the involvement of private sector participants, extending an invitation to regulated financial institutions representing each of the seven aforementioned currencies to partake in this transformative endeavour.

Source: fintech.globa

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TD Bank inks multi-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud

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TD Bank has inked a multi-year deal with Google Cloud as it looks to streamline the development and deployment of new products and services.

The deal will see the Canadian banking group integrate the vendor’s cloud services into a wider portion of its technology solutions portfolio, a move which TD expects will enable it “to respond quickly to changing customer expectations by rolling out new features, updates, or entirely new financial products at an accelerated pace”.

This marks an expansion of the already established relationship between TD Bank and Google Cloud after the group previously adopted the vendor’s Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) for TD Securities Automated Trading (TDSAT), the Chicago-based subsidiary of its investment banking unit, TD Securities.

TDSAT uses GKE for process automation and quantitative modelling across fixed income markets, resulting in the development of a “data-driven research platform” capable of processing large research workloads in trading.

Dan Bosman, SVP and CIO of TD Securities, claims the infrastructure has so far supported TDSAT with “compute-intensive quantitative analysis” while expanding the subsidiary’s “trading volumes and portfolio size”.

TD’s new partnership with Google Cloud will see the group attempt to replicate the same level of success across its entire portfolio.

Source: fintechfutures.com

The post TD Bank inks multi-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud appeared first on HIPTHER Alerts.

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