VANCOUVER, British Columbia, December 14, 2020 – PowerBand Solutions Inc. (TSXV:PBX) (OTCQB:PWWBF) (Frankfurt:1ZVA) (“PowerBand“, “PBX” or the “Company“) is pleased to announce that it achieved record gross vehicle sales and leases with a value in excess of $17.7 million on its virtual transaction platform in the first eleven calendar months of 2020.
The Company views 2020 as a pivotal year in which its various digital transaction systems are being piloted and refined and integrated onto our proprietary DRIVRZ platform, which allows consumers and dealers to buy, sell, lease, trade and auction vehicles from smart phones and other digital devices.
The Company’s increase in gross sales transactions accelerated in the second half of 2020. For the first half of its financial year through June 30, 2020, PowerBand had gross sales transactions of $1,024,762. In the last five months, ending November 30, 2020, gross sales transactions have increased to $16,707,850.
The top line growth can be attributed to strong auction sales at the Company’s joint venture, D2D, a 50-50 partnership with financier Bryan Hunt, and increases in our lease originations, as MUSA, PowerBand’s leasing platform, reaches more consumers.
Through a recent strategic partnership with CB Auto Group (“CB AUTO”), DRIVRZ will also augment its reach to consumers. CB Auto has access to more than 43 million union members and their families in its customer base, as well as more than 24 million “affinity” members from other associations, such as the alumni of Georgia Tech, the University of Tennessee, ADP, Nike and many others, bringing CB Auto’s total consumer base to more than 67 million. CB Auto estimates the members on its data bases acquire 3.4 million vehicles annually. PowerBand has created DRIVRZ to enable drivers and automotive dealers to use a smart phone, tablets or other connected devices to buy, sell, lease, trade, auction and finance vehicles from any location. The Company’s mission is to simplify and enhance the on-line experience of acquiring a vehicle speeding up transactions and eliminating unnecessary middlemen and fees for both drivers and automotive dealers.
Net losses year to date through to November 30, 2020, amounted to $9,259,196, of which $5,143,060 were incurred in the first half of the year principally for ongoing software development. The remaining $4,116,136 for the last five months is primarily attributed to the onetime costs related to legal and acquisition costs of the companies and systems added to DRIVRZ.
“These results demonstrate that our virtual transaction platform, and the software upon which it is built, works. We are confident that the business being built will help transform automotive retail in a positive way for drivers and auto dealers. Our goal in carrying out the DRIVRZ mission is to make virtual transactions to buy, lease and sell a car or truck as easy as buying a product on Amazon,” said Power Band CEO, Kelly Jennings. “We expect a similarly strong December, and we will be providing ongoing monthly updates on our gross sales in order to facilitate monitoring of our progress by investors.”
The results to date support our internal forecast that the value of vehicles transacted on the DRIVRZ platform and its various components, will continue to rise in 2021 as DRIVRZ is introduced to thousands of automobile dealerships and consumers in North America.
DRIVRZ, through a series of acquisitions and partnerships in recent months, will offer drivers and dealers access to more than 4.5 million new and used cars and trucks.
About PowerBand Solutions Inc.
PowerBand Solutions Inc., listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and the OTCQB markets, is a fintech provider disrupting the automotive industry. PowerBand’s integrated, cloud-based transaction platform facilitates transactions amongst consumers, dealers, funders and manufacturers (OEMs). It enables them to buy, sell, trade, finance, and lease new and used, electric- and non-electric vehicles, on smart phones or any other online digital devices, from any location. PowerBand’s transaction platform – being trademarked under DRIVRZ – is being made available across North American and eventually to global markets.
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Non-IFRS Measures:
This news release contains non-IFRS financial measures; the Company believes that these measures provide investors with useful supplemental information about the financial performance of its business, enable comparison of financial results between periods where certain items may vary independent of business performance, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in operating its business. Although management believes these financial measures are important in evaluating the Company’s performance, they are not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial information prepared and presented in accordance with IFRS. These non-IFRS financial measures do not have any standardized meaning and may not be comparable with similar measures used by other companies. For certain non-IFRS financial measures, there are no directly comparable amounts under IFRS. These non-IFRS financial measures should not be viewed as alternatives to measures of financial performance determined in accordance with IFRS. Moreover, presentation of certain of these measures is provided for year-over-year comparison purposes, and investors should be cautioned that the effect of the adjustments thereto provided herein have an actual effect on the Company’s operating results.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as “will”, “may”, “should”, “anticipate”, “expects” and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding future plans and objectives of the Company, are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize, and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.
Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by Canadian securities law.
