Latest / Investor Exchange / DISA Limited: FY2025 Financial Results and Business Outlook
Transcript
- 0:02Time for another Investor Exchange podcast. Here are your hosts, Matt and Sally.
- 0:08Welcome to the Deep Dive. We're the place where we try to putt through the noise
- 0:11of complex reports and give you the real story. That's the goal.
- 0:14And today we're diving into Disalimited.
- 0:16Now, this is a company with, well, quite a mix, digital security,
- 0:20anti-theft stuff, even semiconductor trading, and now healthcare tools too.
- 0:25It's a very diverse portfolio. Exactly.
- 0:28So our mission today, let's unpack their latest financial report. This is for FY 2025.
- 0:33We want to get past just the numbers, you know, understand how they actually
- 0:36performed, maybe why things happened the way they did and what direction they
- 0:41seem to be heading in. And that's so important because these financial reports,
- 0:44they're not just spreadsheets.
- 0:46They really do tell a story, a story about strategy, about the challenges they
- 0:52face, how they're adapting.
- 0:53And what's fascinating here is this particular DISA report, it really shows
- 0:57a company, well, in a major state of flux, facing some real headwinds,
- 1:02but also trying out some, frankly, quite bold new strategies.
- 1:06Okay, let's get into those headwinds first, then.
- 1:08The headline figures, they definitely grab your attention.
- 1:10Revenue for FY 2025, $6,095,000.
- 1:15Now that's down 19.2% from the year before, which is about $7.5 million.
- 1:20Which is already significant. Right. But then you look at the second half of
- 1:23the year, 2H FY 2025, revenue just, well, it plunged, down 50.4% compared to
- 1:30the same period last year, fell all the way to $1,956,000.
- 1:35Wow. I mean, imagine your own income dropping by half in just six months.
- 1:39That's a big deal, right? It's a huge deal. And when you see a drop that sharp,
- 1:43that fast, you immediately start looking for, well, big external factors.
- 1:47In Diss's case, the report points pretty directly to the impact of U.S.
- 1:51Tariffs and, you know, those ongoing trade restrictions.
- 1:53Ah, okay. For a company dealing internationally, especially in semiconductors,
- 1:57that kind of global economic policy stuff, it just creates massive uncertainty in the market.
- 2:01And that translates directly into, well, fewer sales. Right.
- 2:05It shows how vulnerable companies can be to these bigger trends.
- 2:08Exactly. Connects the dots, really. These macro policies hit the bottom line
- 2:11hard. So revenue down sharply. The obvious next question.
- 2:15What did that do to their profitability? Were they still making money?
- 2:19Well, unfortunately, no. The hit to profitability was pretty severe.
- 2:23Their loss before tax actually got bigger in FY 2025. It went up to about $2,861,000.
- 2:30Compared to what? Compared to $2,074,000 the year before. So that's a 37.9%
- 2:36increase in their losses.
- 2:37Ouch. So losing more money. Yes. And if you look at the total comprehensive
- 2:41loss, which includes everything like currency shifts and other bits that widened
- 2:44even more by 49.5 percent, actually, up to $2,881,000 for the year.
- 2:50So what does this all mean? It means things got tougher, financially speaking.
- 2:54They lost more money than the previous year? In simple terms, yes.
- 2:56The financial bleeding, you could say, accelerated. Okay, that sets a pretty challenging scene.
- 3:01Let's dig a bit deeper now beyond just revenue and the final loss figure.
- 3:05There were some really interesting, maybe surprising changes in other income.
- 3:09Yes, that category. Yeah, this bit saw a massive drop.
- 3:12It went from nearly $700,000 in FY 2024 down to just $59,000 in FY 2025.
- 3:18That's huge. Almost vanished.
- 3:20Right. And a lot of that seems to be because several one-off income items they
- 3:25had in FY 2024 just weren't there this year. Things like what?
- 3:29Well, things like recovering old bad debts, getting back a deposit they'd previously
- 3:34written off, even a gain from an accounting adjustment on their subsidiary DLL.
- 3:39You know, sort of financial good luck that didn't repeat.
- 3:41And that's a really key point. Those one-offs, they can make the previous year
- 3:45look healthier than the underlying business really was.
- 3:48It highlights the need for steady, predictable income, not just these lucky breaks. Definitely.
- 3:55And it also raises that question, with revenue falling and these other income
- 3:59boosts gone, how did they manage costs? Right.
- 4:02This raises an important question about cost control.
- 4:05And looking at the expenses, It's a bit of a mixed bag. How so?
- 4:09Well, on the one hand, the cost of inventories, basically, the cost of the goods
- 4:12they sold that did decrease, which you'd expect, right?
- 4:15Lower sales should mean lower cost of goods. That shows some basic alignment. Okay, that makes sense.
- 4:20Other costs went up. Subcontractor expenses, for instance, increased slightly
- 4:23by $15,000. Why was that?
- 4:27Seems it was mainly down to royalty payments for that AVIAT, the ITES thing.
- 4:34And interestingly, they also had minimum royalty obligations for a COVID-19
- 4:39test technology agreement.
- 4:40But here's the thing. That COVID agreement was actually terminated back in February
- 4:442025. So they were still paying royalties even after the deal ended.
- 4:48Shows how those contractual things can linger. Ah, those long tails on contracts.
- 4:53Got it. What else? Oh, the big one was staff costs. They jumped by 30.2% for the full year. 30%!
- 5:00Wow. Why such a big increase when revenue was falling? Two main reasons given.
- 5:05First, increased share option expenses.
- 5:07Basically, the accounting costs of stock compensation for employees,
- 5:10that went up quite a bit in the second half. And second, remember,
- 5:13they acquired that subsidiary, DLL.
- 5:15This year includes a full year of DLL staff costs, whereas last year only had
- 5:19about three months' worth after the acquisition. So that consolidation bumped up the total.
- 5:23Right, that makes sense. An accounting effect, partly. Partly, yes.
- 5:27Also, legal and professional expenses were up. Things like patent filing costs
- 5:32for AV Man, and again, the full-year impact of DLL's consultancy fees. Hmm.
- 5:37Any other movers? Foreign currency exchange. That flipped from a small gain
- 5:42last year to a loss of $30,000 in the second half of this year.
- 5:46Mostly blamed on the U.S.
- 5:48Dollar weakening against the Singapore dollar. Okay. Were there any costs going down?
- 5:52Yes. A few offsets, lower depreciation because they moved their Shenzhen office,
- 5:56and also reduced director's fees and R&D spending.
- 5:59So summarizing the cost side, it's complex.
- 6:03Some control like on inventories, but then increases in strategic areas like
- 6:07staff, patents, and dealing with acquisitions. Exactly.
- 6:10You see cost discipline in some operational areas, But then you see investment
- 6:14or maybe just unavoidable increases in personnel, legal, and those ongoing contractual things.
- 6:20It paints a picture of a company trying to manage costs while still investing
- 6:23in, well, what they hope is the future. Here's where it gets really interesting.
- 6:28How does this all look when you step back and look at their overall financial
- 6:31health? Let's shift to the balance sheet.
- 6:33Okay. The snapshot of assets and liabilities. Right.
- 6:36And surprisingly, maybe total assets actually increased up by $593,000 or about
- 6:4321.7% to $3.3 million. Hmm. Interesting.
- 6:49Where did that increase come from? Mostly in current assets, the short-term stuff.
- 6:53Those rose by over a million dollars, mainly because of higher cash balances,
- 6:57which we'll come back to, and also an increase in trade receivables.
- 7:00That's money owed to them by customers, likely for sales made right near the
- 7:04end of June. So money expected soon. Yeah.
- 7:07Though that was offset a bit because they didn't have a big advance payment
- 7:10for semiconductors this year like they did last year.
- 7:12And non-current assets, the longer-term stuff. Those actually decreased quite a bit,
- 7:16down by $469,000 or 66%, mainly because they sold off an investment they had
- 7:21in a company called iCreate Group, and also just the usual depreciation on equipment,
- 7:25plus the effect of ending that Shenzhen office lease early. Okay.
- 7:29So shifts within assets, what about the other side of the balance sheet liabilities
- 7:33and equity? What's fascinating here is how these pieces moved.
- 7:36Total liabilities actually decreased, down by $269,000, or about 21.6%, landing at $976,000.
- 7:45And why was that? The main reason was lower lease liabilities because of that Shenzhen office move.
- 7:51Fewer rental commitments. That helps reduce fixed costs. Good move.
- 7:54Although that was partly offset by increased trade payables,
- 7:58money they owe suppliers, some related to that rights-come-warrants issue they
- 8:01did. Ah, the capital raise.
- 8:03Which brings us to equity. Exactly.
- 8:06Total equity saw a big jump. It increased by $862,000, or nearly 58%,
- 8:11reaching $2.35 million.
- 8:13And the driver there was? The critical driver was that rights-come-warrants issue.
- 8:17They issued new shares, raised cash. That injection of capital was big enough
- 8:21to more than cancel out the loss they made during the year.
- 8:24So the capital raise was absolutely crucial for shoring up the balance sheet.
- 8:28Without it, equity would have fallen significantly due to the losses. Absolutely vital.
- 8:32Okay, so assets up slightly, liabilities down, equity up significantly thanks
- 8:36to new cash. But how did the cash actually flow? Let's hit the cash flow statement.
- 8:40And the story from operating activities, the day-to-day business, isn't great.
- 8:45They used more cash in operations this year. Net cash used was $2,029,000.
- 8:51Up from about $1 million used last year. Right.
- 8:54So the core business is still burning through cash and faster than before.
- 8:58Key challenge. But then investing activities generated a bit of cash,
- 9:02$122,000, mainly from selling that iCreate investment we mentioned.
- 9:06Okay, a small inflow there. And here's the big one.
- 9:09Financing activities. This generated a lot of cash, $3,154,000,
- 9:15a massive swing from using cash and financing last year.
- 9:18And that's primarily the rights issue money coming in. Exactly.
- 9:21About $3.1 million from the rights come warrants issue, plus another $178,000
- 9:26from non-controlling interest chipping in capital.
- 9:29So operationally burning cash, but bringing in significant cash through financing.
- 9:33Which meant overall their cash and cash equivalents actually increased over
- 9:37the year, up by $1.3 million to end at $2.7 million.
- 9:42So even though they're losing money from operations, their cash reserves actually grew.
- 9:46What does that tell you about their strategy? It tells you they executed a successful
- 9:51and probably very necessary financing operation.
- 9:54They tapped the markets to get the cash they needed to survive the operational
- 9:57burn and, crucially, to fund the strategic shifts they're planning.
- 10:02Buying time and runway. Precisely. Without that financing, the cash picture
- 10:06would look drastically different and much more worrying.
- 10:09It gives them breathing room. Okay, so they have some breathing room.
- 10:12Let's talk about how they plan to use it.
- 10:14Shifting to the future now, here's where it gets really interesting.
- 10:19How does DISA plan to turn things around?
- 10:22Well, the report signals a very clear strategic pivot.
- 10:25They're really focusing hard on the U.S. market now. How so?
- 10:28They're looking to deepen their work with a major U.S.
- 10:31Retailer, specifically using their tech to combat return fraud.
- 10:35Return fraud. Is that a big problem? Oh, it's enormous. The report estimates it cost U.S.
- 10:40Retailers something like U.S. $103 billion in 2024, a staggering number. Wow.
- 10:46And Dysus Tech helps with that. That's the plan. They have this proprietary
- 10:503S serialization tech combined with RFID tags.
- 10:54The idea is to uniquely identify products to prevent fraudulent returns,
- 10:59and they claim it's already proven effective, saying it's saved clients over U.S.
- 11:03$201 million since 2017. Okay, that's a track record.
- 11:07And they have, apparently, 1.5 billion RFID tags ready for this serialization.
- 11:14They're pushing something called a shared savings program, or SSP. Meaning.
- 11:18A pay-as-you-save model. So DISA basically gets paid based on how effective
- 11:22the system is at reducing fraud for the retailer.
- 11:25Ties their success to the client's savings.
- 11:27Smart. Very. And to speed things up, they've partnered with RFID printers to
- 11:32provide these serialized tags to the retailer's vendors at no extra cost,
- 11:36trying to remove friction for adoption.
- 11:37That sounds like a major strategic bet, the anti-fraud tech in the U.S.
- 11:41It absolutely is. And it raises an important question.
- 11:44About their existing businesses. What happens to them?
- 11:47Good point. Well, the report mentions they are considering discontinuing the
- 11:50semiconductor devices trading business, calling it less profitable.
- 11:54Ah, so cutting the cord there. Potentially.
- 11:56To reallocate those resources, presumably towards this SSP anti-fraud push,
- 12:03it's a clear sign of prioritizing.
- 12:05Okay, so focus on anti-fraud, potentially exit semiconductors.
- 12:08What about the healthcare side?
- 12:10That's the other major pillar of their future strategy, it seems.
- 12:13Through their subsidiary, Digital Lifeline, DLL. Right.
- 12:18What's happening there? Progress on a couple of fronts. That automated visual acuity test, AVAT.
- 12:24It's actually been deployed in a Singapore public hospital now.
- 12:27And it's also been approved for clinical use in Hong Kong. So moving from lab
- 12:31to real world use. Exactly.
- 12:33Tangible steps. And then there's Midas, the mobile imaging device for interior
- 12:37segment. It's an AI tool for cataract screening. Okay.
- 12:40That's now on a strategic clinical trial partnership here in Singapore.
- 12:43And they expect development to wrap up in early 2026.
- 12:46So building out that healthcare tech portfolio.
- 12:49Definitely. And they're not just developing tech. They're also acquiring through
- 12:53another entity, advanced digital healthcare, ADH.
- 12:56Just recently, in July 2025, they completed the purchase of 50% of rheumatology
- 13:02associates, PT, LTD, or RA.
- 13:06That costs $5.5 million. What does RA do? Yeah.
- 13:11They're described as Singapore's only heartland-based, integrated specialist
- 13:15medical and therapy center that focuses specifically on arthritis and rheumatism. A niche focus.
- 13:21A very specific niche. And ADH isn't stopping there.
- 13:24They have plans, subject to
- 13:25shareholder approval, to expand into osteoarthritis clinics in Singapore.
- 13:29Why osteoarthritis? They're targeting the growing demand from Singapore's Super 8 Society.
- 13:34A clear demographic play. So, anti-fraud tech, healthcare tech development,
- 13:38and acquiring specialist clinics. That's a lot of moving parts.
- 13:41It's ambitious, no doubt, especially for a company that's currently losing money
- 13:44operationally. And it all relies heavily on that cash they raised.
- 13:47You mentioned they raised about $3.15 million from that rights come warrants
- 13:51issue back in June. That's right.
- 13:53Have they said how they've used it so far? Yes, the report breaks it down.
- 13:57About $1 million, $1,036,000 went to general working capital.
- 14:03You know, salaries, paying bills.
- 14:05Another $500,000 was allocated for business growth, acquisition,
- 14:09and expansion, likely covering costs related to these new ventures.
- 14:13Okay, so about $1.5 million used.
- 14:15Leaving a balance of roughly $1.5 million, $1,511,000, still unutilized as of the report date.
- 14:23So they still have some firepower left from that raise for future moves?
- 14:26Correct. A remaining war chest to fuel these strategic shifts.
- 14:29Okay, let's try and wrap this up then. Disillimited, clearly facing some serious
- 14:34headwinds, revenue down, losses up in the core business, external factors playing a big role there.
- 14:39Definitely a tough operational picture. But at the same time,
- 14:42they are absolutely not sitting still.
- 14:44They've secured vital funding, and they're making really bold,
- 14:46decisive moves into new areas that anti-fraud tech focus in the U.S.,
- 14:50plus a multi-pronged push into healthcare, both tech and clinics.
- 14:54It's a company undergoing a significant, and I'd say high-risk, transformation.
- 14:58They're betting that these new ventures can grow fast enough to offset the decline
- 15:03or potential discontinuation of older business lines.
- 15:07And relying heavily on that newly raised capital to bridge the gap. Exactly.
- 15:10Which brings us to, I think, the critical closing thought. This raises an important
- 15:15question for you listening.
- 15:17How quickly can these new bets, the anti-fraud, SSP, the healthcare tech,
- 15:22the clinics, realistically start generating not just revenue,
- 15:26but profitable growth, especially given that ongoing cash burn from operations.
- 15:32What are the signs, the key milestones you'd watch for over the next,
- 15:35say, 12 to 24 months to really judge if the strategic pivot is working?
- 15:39Is it new U.S. retail contracts? Is it hitting clinical trial goals?
- 15:43Is it profitability in the acquired clinics? That's the multi-million dollar question.
- 15:47Excellent points to consider. A company truly at a crossroads.
- 15:51While this has been a fascinating deep dive into Disunlimited's financial story,
- 15:54thanks for joining us. We hope this gives you a much clearer picture and maybe
- 15:57sparks some further digging of your own.
- 15:59Until next time on The Deep Dive.