Blue Calypso Reports First Quarter 2016 Financial Results

Management to Host Conference Call at 4:30 p.m. ET

DALLAS, TX – May 16, 2016 – Blue Calypso, Inc. (OTCQB: BCYP), an innovator of mobile consumer activation, engagement and social advocacy solutions for manufacturers and brick-and-mortar retailers, reported financial and operating results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2016.

First Quarter 2016 Financial Highlights vs. Year-Ago Quarter

·	Revenue in Q1 2016 increased 128% to $0.3 million.

 

·	Total operating expenses increased to $1.1 million versus $0.7 million in Q1 2015.

 

·	Net loss in Q1 2016 totaled $0.9 million versus net loss of $0.6 million in Q1 2015.

 

·	Extinguished all outstanding convertible notes payable and associated accrued interest.

Key First Quarter 2016 and Subsequent Highlights

·	Reached settlement-in-principal with one of two remaining defendants in patent litigation.

·	Deployed KIOSentrix® platform across 4,000 U.S. retail locations and 20,000 products.

·	Received strategic investment from loyalty program innovator Hal Brierley.

·	Granted patent for advertising distribution through mobile social gaming.

·	Partnered with the Salem Red Sox to deliver mobile fan engagement.

·	Recognized among Top 10 Merchandising Solution Providers 2016 by Retail CIO Outlook.

·	Engaged MZ Group to lead new strategic investor relations program.

First Quarter 2016 Financial Results

Revenue in the first quarter of 2016 increased 128% to $263,000 versus $116,000 in the first quarter of 2015. The increase in revenue is derived primarily from project-based revenue and is subject to timing of development projects.

Cost of revenue in the first quarter of 2016 totaled $90,000 versus $55,000 in the same year-ago quarter. The increase in cost of revenue is primarily attributable to costs associated with the company’s BC Labs team as a result of increased development projects.

Total operating expenses, including cost of revenue, for the first quarter of 2016 increased to $1.1 million versus $724,000 in the first quarter of 2015.  In addition to the higher cost of revenue, the increase in operating expenses is due to a 179% increase in sales and marketing expenses as the company added sales and marketing personnel and a 49% increase in G&A expenses related to stock based compensation.

Net loss in the first quarter of 2016 totaled $884,000 or ($0.16) per basic and diluted share, compared to a net loss of $609,000 or ($0.12) per basic and diluted share in the same year-ago quarter. The increase in net loss resulted primarily from an increase in operating costs of $411,000 and interest costs of $113,000, net with a gain on change in derivative liabilities of $101,000 and increased revenue of $148,000.

 

Cash at March 31, 2016, totaled $212,000 compared to $730,000 at December 31, 2015. Subsequent to the first quarter of 2016, the company raised an additional $1.0 million in a private placement with a strategic investor, which it plans to use for additional sales and marketing efforts and working capital purposes.

Further details about the company’s results in the first quarter of 2016 are available in its Quarterly Report Form 10-Q, accessible in the investor relations section of the company’s website at www.bluecalypso.com.

Management Commentary

“The first quarter of 2016 was highlighted with significant milestone achievements for our location-enabled, mobile consumer engagement solutions that drove improved performance with our topline results,” said Blue Calypso CEO, Andrew Levi. “We deployed our KIOSentrix platform across 4,000 U.S. retail locations and 20,000 products SKUs with our partner IntegraColor. Our partnership, positioned in this instance for the plant tag industry, was extended to a U.S. based Fortune 500 big box retailer as well as Monrovia, one of the country’s premier wholesale plant growers where we are expanding our rollout to additional plant retailers.

“From a capital structure perspective, in the first quarter we repaid and retired all outstanding convertible debt held by Magna Equities thus avoiding potential dilution to our existing shareholders,” said Blue Calypso chief financial officer, Chris Fameree. “I am also happy to report that this event combined with the recent strategic investment from Hal Brierley has transitioned our balance sheet to the strongest position it has been in recent years.”

Added Levi: “Subsequent to the first quarter of 2016, we announced that Hal Brierley, a 30-year veteran and loyalty advisor to Fortune 500 consumer brands was appointed as a senior advisor to Blue Calypso in conjunction with his $1 million strategic investment.  As an existing investor, Hal has been following our evolution for some time and made a strategic bet on the management team and the company after we pivoted the business model entirely to our mobile shopper engagement platform for brick-and-mortar retailers. Hal’s human capital and extensive relationship with Fortune 500 retailers will not only accelerate the rollout of our solution, but also prepare our organization for the next phase of its growth cycle.

“Our focus on mobile shopper engagement for product manufacturers and multi-location brick-and-mortar retailers comes at a time when retailers are reporting their worst financial performance in decades due to the ‘Amazon’ effect. In fact, some retail analysts on Wall Street are only recommending retailers that are ‘unamazonable’ like jewelry and fitness brands. The disruption with today’s consumer purchasing habits is a result of new technologies, but also the lack of big box retailers creating an experience for their shoppers when they are on premise and engaged with their brands. We and our new partners believe our KIOSentrix platform provides a rich and scalable platform that embraces product manufacturers, retailers and consumers alike while supporting all methods of activation such as beacons, short codes, NFC, WiFi, and mobile apps as well as distributed content. Our success in 2016 will be demonstrated with new partnerships and marquee customers and we expect to expand our roster to include additional Fortune 500 brick-and-mortar retailers in the near term,” continued Levi.

“We believe the balance of 2016 and beyond will be transformational for Blue Calypso on an operational and financial level.  Already in the second quarter of 2016, we have strengthened our balance sheet, expanded our solutions offering in the gamification sector and aligned our company with the innovator in loyalty programs. Moreover, our current pipeline has never been more robust as we are deploying several ‘proof-of-concept’ demonstrations with major Fortune 500 brands in the United States. The combination of these recent achievements set the stage for significant growth later in 2016 and beyond,” concluded Levi.

The following financial information should be read in conjunction with the unaudited financial statements and accompanying notes filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 16, 2016 in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2016, and which can be viewed at www.sec.gov and in the investor relations section of the company’s website at www.bluecalypso.com.

About Blue Calypso, Inc.

Dallas-based Blue Calypso, Inc. (OTCQB: BCYP) develops and delivers an innovative location-centric mobile shopper engagement experience for brands, retailers and consumers. The Company’s KIOSentrix® platform connects consumers to brands, drives local in-store traffic, increases shopper spend and shortens the consumer’s path-to-purchase. The Company was recently selected to Retail CIO Outlook magazine’s “Top 10 Merchandising Solution Providers – 2016.”  For more information about the company, please visit www.bluecalypso.com.

 

Media and Investor Relations:

 

BLUE CALYPSO, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(unaudited)

 

BLUE CALYPSO, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(unaudited)