Argus Research Initiates Equity Report Coverage on Leet Technology Inc. (OTCPK: LTES)
Argus Research, an independent investment research firm, has launched Equity Report coverage on Leet Technology Inc. (OTCPK: LTES)
Excerpts from the Report as conveyed by Argus Analyst Steve Silver, follow:
BUSINESS DESCRIPTION:
Leet Technology Inc. is a technology company that provides a platform for competitive gaming (including e-sports and arcade games) in the fast-growing Southeast Asian market. The company aims to capitalize on the global trend of increased interest in competitive gaming, as technology has enabled the simultaneous participation of players in different locations, and live streaming has expanded the gaming audience. Leet is leveraging its platform, including its modularity, design and scalability, to provide white label solutions to Information and Communications technology (ICT) and Over-the-Top (OTT) companies in Southeast Asia. These companies use Leet’s technology to host gaming tournaments on their own platforms.
Leet Technology has built an end-to-end gaming ecosystem for game developers that allows competitive tournaments to be hosted on Leet’s platform. The Matchroom.net platform enables mass audiences of casual competitors in both e-sports and arcade-style, skill-based game categories to participate in both in-house & branded tournaments, and to win daily prizes. The platform is designed to enhance partners’ branding, user acquisition, conversion and monetization efforts, and to foster relationships between brands and gaming communities.
Leet’s current coverage area includes Southeast Asia, namely Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, and India. In 2022-2023, it plans to expand into Vietnam, as well as into markets in South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
The e-sports industry reached Southeast Asia in 2016, with the first prize-money tournament in Malaysia, and has expanded significantly since that time. Matchroom.net went live in 2019, and has thus far hosted more than 1,000 online tournaments for a wide range of popular games on mobile, console, and PC platforms. The company has hosted events with up to 15,000 participants in a single event and has served more than 120,000 gamers to date.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE:
A key competitive advantage for Leet is its value proposition to its telecom and game developer partners. Leet provides telecom carriers with gaming technology that allows them to generate more revenue and earnings from their mobile customers. The company’s custom white-label solutions typically generate earnings for partner carriers within 1-2 quarters, helping them to offset the impact of declining voice-based usage. Carriers also benefit from the fact that gamers have higher-than-average data usage and are more likely to be retained. In addition, they can reward end users with loyalty points that further drive retention and overall usage.
Leet’s offering also allows telecom operators to run tournaments without a dedicated team of content developers and e-sports operators. This allows carriers to eliminate the technology risk of e-sports tournaments and focus solely on the marketing side of the event. In particular, Leet’s infrastructure ensures the cybersecurity of e-sports events, which usually require billing information from players.
In order to maximize its consumer reach, Leet’s gaming catalog addresses multiple age groups with a wide array of titles rather than appealing only to Millennials. It is also well positioned to capitalize on the increased demand for games based on current sporting events. For example, the company has hosted tournaments related to the recent Euro 2020 soccer championship, and plans a similar event for the 2022 World Cup. It has also hosted tournaments related to popular auto racing events.
Leet’s operating model is attractive in several respects. First, the platform is highly scalable and not technology-constrained, as most of the infrastructure related to partnered tournaments is stored on the telecom carrier’s own servers. Second, the partnerships involve long-term commitments from partners, usually in the three-year range, making Leet’s business more stable. We view this stability favorably given the intense industry competition from companies such as ESPL, Mogul.gg, Yamisok, ESL, and others that are expanding in the Southeast Asian and South Asian markets.
Lastly, we note that the expansion of the e-sports market has received support from the Malaysian government. As part of its 2021 annual budget, the government allocated the equivalent of $3.6 million for the development of e-sports, the third straight year in which the industry has received Malaysian government support. In our view, a favorable regulatory environment should help make e-sports more attractive for ICT providers and drive continued investment in the platform.
ANALYST COMMENTARY ̶ EARNINGS (Click hereto view Full Argus Equity Report):
We view current revenue and earnings at Leet, a relatively new company, as less significant for investors than evidence that management is executing its strategy. For the year ended December 31, 2020, Leet reported net revenue of $73,416, up 40% from 2019. As of June 30, 2021, Leet had negative working capital of approximately $3.7 million and cash and other receivables of $115,000. It is currently seeking additional sources of capital.
In 2Q21, revenue totaled $115,000, compared with approximately $22,000 in the prior year period. During 1Q, the company generated initial revenue from a new revenue stream, Maroo Mall. We expect revenue to grow over the remainder of 2021 as Leet generates revenue from recently announced partnerships with mobile carriers, and its subscription model, which was introduced at the beginning of the year, gains traction.
Since August 2021, the company’s shares trade on the OTC market under the ticker LTES. Previously, the shares had traded under ticker BDIC, following its merger with Blow & Drive Interlock Corp, which was completed in November 2020.
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