IWSY - ImageWare® Reports Q1 Results and Updates Progress to Build ImageWare 2.0

SAN DIEGO, June 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ImageWare^® Systems, Inc. (OTCQB: IWSY), a leader in biometric identification and authentication, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Q1 Highlights:

• Signed +$1 million in multiple agreements – expanding ImageWare's presence in financial services and government sectors
• Kristin Taylor named President and CEO to realize profitability, drive performance and begin the monetization of the Company's important IP portfolio
• Company granted its 23^rd patent – extending its portfolio of foundational biometric patents and granting exclusive rights for key capabilities
• Launched essential reviews of all products, services, divisions and departments
• Started crucial cost cutting measures to bring burn rate into alignment with revenues

Kristin A. Taylor, President and CEO, said, "We are continuing to deftly navigate in the environment of the COVID-19 pandemic. The policies and programs are in place to help keep our teams safe and healthy, while they continue to productively work remotely.

Transformation  
"Late in the first quarter we immediately began to lay a new foundation, and in the second quarter we started adding layers on what we foresee as a planned and thoughtful path to successfully build ImageWare 2.0. My goal is not to simply do things differently; but do them with a laser focus that allows us to stake leadership claims in the multi-modal biometric authentication markets. In Q2, we've already taken a number of meaningful steps in that direction, including:

• Updating the components of the Identity Platform (Cloud and mobile-capable)
• Transforming GoVerifyID into a BaaS (Biometrics-as-a-Service) product
• Refreshing the corporate website and creating a new self-service portal
• Building revenue producing Go-to-Market strategies in key verticals

"I look forward to reviewing progress on these actions in our Q2 report," Taylor continued.

Broadening Initiative
ImageWare established and continues to set organizational, technology and product milestones. We are renewing our sales strategy, market positioning and product messaging, to better engage and shorten the sales cycle. Our focus continues to span government, state, local and federal, as well as serve the enterprise market, specifically in the areas of financial services, retail, manufacturing and healthcare.

The Company is developing a higher level of integration in the Identity Platform in order to capture, proof, credential and authenticate biometrics in a manner that is easy to administer and scale.  In July the Company will relaunch GoVerifyID® - our enterprise-ready application enabling users to add Cloud-based biometrics MFA (multifactor authentication) to existing infrastructure. 

Q1 Results
Revenue for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 was $796,000 compared with $931,000 for the first quarter of 2019.

• Gross profit for the first quarter 2020 was $677,000 (or 85%) versus $727,000 (78%) first quarter of 2019. The higher margin in Q1 2020 is attributable to higher 2020 sales of software as opposed to sales of professional services in the comparable 2019 period as well as ongoing cost reduction efforts.
• Net loss narrowed to ($3,124,000) for the first quarter 2020 compared with a loss of ($3,612,000) in the same period last year.
• Net loss per share was ($0.04) for the first quarter ended 2020 versus ($0.05) in the same period in 2019.

Conference Call Details

About ImageWare® Systems, Inc.             
In 1987, ImageWare was founded to innovate imaging. After a bold start evolving silver halide photography into digital images, ImageWare built the first statewide digital booking platform for the United States law enforcement in 1998. Since then, ImageWare has evolved into the largest holder of multimodal biometrics, managing millions of identities daily. With vast experience in the government sector, ImageWare is democratizing biometrics by offering defense-grade identity and authentication solutions to the masses. By identifying the person, not a device, ImageWare is giving populations around the globe access to their important data. www.iwsinc.com

Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "if," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to ImageWare Systems, Inc. are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. ImageWare may from time to time update publicly announced projections, but it is not obligated to do so. Any projections of future results of operations should not be construed in any manner as a guarantee that such results will in fact occur. These projections are subject to change and could differ materially from final reported results. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see "Risk Factors" in ImageWare's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and its other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates on which they are made.

Media Contact:
Jessica Belair
Veritas Lux
(310) 717-0877
jessica@veritaslux.com

Investor Relations:
Harvey Bibicoff, CEO,
Bibicoff + MacInnis, Inc.
(818) 379-8500
harvey@bibimac.com

SOURCE ImageWare Systems, Inc.