VR Education revenue rises 37% as Engage platform takes off

Revenue at VR Education rose 37 per cent in the six months to June 30th as use of its virtual events platform increased.

The company said commercial use of the Engage platform grew "significantly" since the pandemic began in Europe and the US. Major organisations including HTC have used the platform for virtual conferences and meetings, with HTC hosting its 2020 Vive Ecosystem Conference on Engage and subsequently investing €3 million in the group.

The company has also signed a commercial agreement with HTC for the resale of Engage services within Greater China.

Revenue increased by 37 per cent to €681,000 over the six months, up from €497,000 in the first half of 2019. About a third of that was attributed to Engage, which is on track to meet expectations for 2020.

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Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) showed a loss of €900,000, with the company showing a pre-tax loss of €1.1 million. That was marginally better than its 2019 loss of €1.2 million. Loss per share for the period was 1 cent.

Net cash at the end of June was €3.2 million, with that position shifting to €2.9 million by September 9th.

"2020 has been a catalyst for increasing interest and uptake of VR to enable companies and employees to continue to interact," said chief executive David Whelan. "Our proprietary Engage platform has benefitted from this and is now being used by significant global organisations, both governmental and corporate. VR Education's outlook and forecast for the future is brighter than ever."

Since the end of the period under review, Engage revenue comprised 68 per cent of VR Education’s total revenues. A number of significant events are due to be held on Engage during the second half of 2020.