Welcome to Ovzon and this short presentation about Ovzon and the outcome of 2020. Mainly looking ahead to see what's coming up in this exciting company. With me, I have Ovzon's CEO, Magnus René. Magnus, please first tell us a little bit about Ovzon.
Thank you, Niklas. Yes, we have been around for about 15 years, and we've been commercial for eight years. The company was started and is driven by a team with deep knowledge on terminals and on satellite technology. Today our business is based on that terminal technology and network technology and on capacity that we lease from other satellite operators. In the near future, late this year, we will launch our first own satellite, Ovzon 3. That is a very exciting event because that will make it possible for us to offer totally new services to our customers, services that we cannot offer with the leased capacity or others cannot offer. Ovzon 3 will be an important differentiator for Ovzon moving forward.
If you could tell us about the outcome 2020 and Q4.
Well, you have all seen the numbers, and they are not all that impressive, I agree. There are some reasons for that. An important reason is, of course, the pandemic that has hit us and others a lot, and we have had, and we still have, issues with demonstrating our services, meeting customers, going to trade shows and all that. That's of course, a drawback for us in our marketing work. It's also so that we have built the company much stronger during the last year. We have added management capacity. We have added on the sales side. We have added lease capacity. We are today leasing more or less all the capacity that is available out there that is similar, not as advanced, but similar to Ovzon 3, in order to be able to start offer that service to our customers, which we have also done.
We got, already in August, an order from U.S. DoD for a steerable beam for the first time.
You do have a number of new customers, actually.
We do. During the last year, we are very happy with, I should say, what we have sold to Italian customers through our relatively new distributor, Gomedia, in Italy, that has closed deals both on the government side but also on the commercial side in Italy. We also got our first order from an Airbus customer. Airbus was appointed distributor in April last year.
It sounds like you're actually looking forward to 2021?
I am. We have a new platform. We have distributors. We have strengthened the team by a lot. We have a network that is actually, for the first time, that gives us more or less global reach. We have a platform that will help us continue to grow the company. On top of that, we have the satellite coming by the end of this year.
That will actually also help you improve the business, since you don't have to lease any more capacity. Is that right?
Yeah, it will change our numbers in a significant way, and it will also change what we can offer. It will help us differentiate our offerings to the market.
Magnus, you have been on the board since 2018, if I'm correct, and stepped in as CEO the following year, 2019. Now you have actually recruited a successor.
Yes. That is, of course, very exciting news. We have hired, as we presented today, Per Norén, to be the CEO from, at the latest, early May. He comes with a perfect background for the job, and I'm very happy we could actually attract him to us.
Stay with us and we will introduce Per Norén to you. Welcome, Per Norén.
Thank you, Niklas. I'm glad to be here.
Tell us, who are you and tell us a little bit about your background, please.
I am a longtime technology and satellite communications leader that have been in the industry for over 20 years. I live in the United States of America, but I'm also a Swedish citizen.
Why join Ovzon?
Well, I think that answer is fairly easy. To me, it's Swedish innovation and technology, a company with enormously strong ownership, that has a growth potential internationally, and that can actually add an extreme value to customers and partners around the world.
A little bit more about what will you bring to the company. What will your focus be?
Well, I think my focus is leadership and getting growth and out of organizations and businesses, with a focus on bringing customer value to the marketplace. Ovzon has a niche product and technology platforms that we can actually use to expand even further, both in the U.S. but also internationally, which is proven by some recent deals that the company's done. I believe that Magnus and the team have built an organization that is now a platform for that expansion that the company will take on.
Magnus, if I may ask you, why did you pick Per?
Well, as you heard, Per has really a perfect background. He has satellite knowledge. He is marketing a customer person. He's a well-experienced leader, and I think he's just the right person to bring Ovzon to the next level.
Magnus, you will actually stay within the company as a board member?
I will continue as a board member, and I really look forward to supporting Per and the company on the exciting journey moving forward.
Thank you, Magnus and Per, and thank you for watching. You will find more information, facts, and figures, of course, on the Ovzon website. Stay safe.