Tobii informs about accounting changes ahead of the forthcoming interim report

Tobii AB (publ) today announces accounting changes ahead of the forthcoming interim report of the third quarter due to the ongoing divestment process of Smartbox.

In accordance with IFRS 5, "Non-current assets held for sale and discontinued operations ", the profit related to Smartbox will in its entirety be reported as "Profit from discontinued operations" as of the interim report of the third quarter which will be published on October 24. Consequently, revenues and costs related to the business, acquisition and divestiture of Smartbox, will not affect Tobii’s profit on Group or Division level. Comparable periods will be reported accordingly. In addition, all Smartbox-related items in the balance sheet as of 2019-09-30 will be reported collectively as “Assets classified as held for sale” and “Liabilities directly associated with assets classified as held for sale”.

Tobii informs about this accounting process in advance to avoid misunderstandings and incorrect conclusions at the time of the report.

Background
On October 1, 2018 Tobii AB (publ) acquired Smartbox Assistive Technology Ltd, a UK based company operating in the field of assistive technology for communication. Tobii initially paid the owners/founders SEK 127 million for the company. In addition, a cash payment of approximately SEK 16 million was paid on closing. Smartbox employs some 70 people. Net sales in 2017 were GBP 9,3 million, corresponding to approximately SEK 110 Million.

Upon the announcement of the acquisition, the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) opened an investigation under UK competition law. The two companies’ brands and operations have been held separate, pending the completion of the CMA’s review.

The CMA announced the final conclusions of its investigation on August 15 and required a full divestiture of Smartbox by Tobii.

On September 16, Tobii appealed the CMA’s decisions to the CAT (Competition Appeal Tribunal).