REG - Kooth PLC - Significant US Contract Win

KoothAnnouncement

27/09/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 7186A  Kooth PLC  27 September 2022

27 September 2022

Kooth plc

("Kooth" or the "Group")

Significant US contract win

 

Update on current trading

 

 

Kooth, the UK's leading digital mental health platform, announces that it has
agreed the terms of a significant contract with the State of Pennsylvania,
valued at $3 million in its pilot year (the "Contract").

 

The Contract will see Kooth provide its platform to 30 school districts within
Pennsylvania, encompassing a school population of 150,000 students. The
Contract will run initially for the academic school year and, if the pilot is
successful, could be extended to include more of the State's 500 school
districts. The Contract, expected to be formalised in the coming days,
received bipartisan support in the State legislature and will see Kooth report
on both the therapeutic and economic impact of its digital platform in
providing early intervention and responsive support to the school population.

 

To support the Contract, mobilisation has already begun and Kooth is hiring
dedicated US staff, including counsellors, technology specialists and business
development personnel. Kooth will also set up a dedicated US office, based in
Pennsylvania, as it looks to increase its presence and scale in the US. In
addition to its work with school students, Kooth is gaining early traction in
supporting the mental health of university students, with a number of
discussions ongoing, including a separate pilot which is expected to begin
shortly at Pikeville University in Kentucky.

 

Approximately one third of the Pennsylvania Contract value is expected to be
booked as revenue in the 2022 financial year with the remainder in 2023 and,
accordingly, the Group remains confident of delivering revenue for 2022 within
the range of market expectations. The win is expected to have a neutral impact
on EBITDA over the life of the pilot contract as the Group makes new
investments in strategic recruiting to build its US team and accelerate
further growth in the US.

 

The Company continues to believe that the US expansion opportunity is
significant and a key part of its future growth strategy. An estimated 20
million children in the US currently present with a mental health disorder
and, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services, even before
the COVID-19 pandemic, one in five US children between the ages of three and
17 years old had a mental, emotional or behavioural disorder. The Centers of
Disease Control and Prevention have estimated that currently only about 20% of
these children receive appropriate help from mental health professionals.

 

Tim Barker, Chief Executive Officer of Kooth, said:

"This government-funded contract is our first major contract win in the US and
is an exciting opportunity to deliver personalised, effective mental health to
support an entire school community in the United States. At the time of our
IPO in September 2020 we highlighted US expansion as a key part of our growth
strategy. This contract, along with building our US team, shows swift progress
against this strategy. We look forward to working with the State of
Pennsylvania to help support the mental health of those students within this
pilot by providing early and fast help to professional support, peer support,
and a wide range of therapeutic content and activities"

 

Aaron Kaufer, Pennsylvania State Representative, 120th District, said:

"We are delighted that 150,000 students in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
will have access to mental health support for this school year via Kooth. We
look forward to partnering with them and replicating their two decades of
success here in the Commonwealth. We all know mental health is one of the most
pressing issues we face as a society, and we look forward to working with
Kooth to support our young people at a critical point in their lives."

 

 

- Ends -

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of
the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The person responsible for this
announcement is Sanjay Jawa, CFO.

 

Enquiries:

 Kooth plc                                                  investorrelations@kooth.com (mailto:investorrelations@kooth.com)
 Tim Barker, CEO
 Sanjay Jawa, CFO

 Panmure Gordon, Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker

 Corporate Finance:                                         +44 (0) 20 7886 2500

 Dominic Morley, James Sinclair-Ford
 Corporate Broking:

 Erik Anderson

 Stifel, Joint Broker                                       +44 (0) 20 7710 7600
 Ben Maddison, Nick Adams, Nicholas Harland, Richard Short

 FTI Consulting                                             kooth@fticonsulting.com (mailto:kooth@fticonsulting.com)
 Jamie Ricketts, Alex Shaw, Usama Ali

 

About Kooth plc:

 

Kooth (AIM:KOO) is the UK's leading digital mental health platform. Our
mission is to provide accessible and safe spaces for everyone to achieve
better mental health. Our platform is clinically robust and accredited to
provide a range of therapeutic support and interventions. All our services are
predicated on easy access to make early intervention and prevention a reality.

 

Our three services are:

 

·    Kooth: for children and young persons

·    Kooth: for Adults

·    Kooth Work: for employees

 

Kooth is a fully safeguarded and pre-moderated community with a library of
peer and professional created content, alongside access to experienced online
counsellors. There are no thresholds for support and no waiting lists.
Currently, Kooth sees over 4,000 logins a day.

 

For adults, Kooth operates across distinct locations and serves specific
cohorts, including parents, teachers, victims of crime, and those who have
suffered from or continue to experience domestic violence. It is also offered
as a benefit by a number of corporate organisations delivering anonymous
digital mental health support services to employees.

 

Kooth is the only digital mental health provider to hold a UK-wide
accreditation from the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy
(BACP).

 

In 2021, Kooth was named 'Best Newcomer' at the European Mediscience Awards,
winner in the category of 'Tech for Good' at the UK Tech Awards and recognised
as the 'HealthTech Pioneer of the Year' at the UK Business Tech Awards for its
role in 'Supporting the Nation's Mental Health'.

 

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