Annual Report 2010

[Pages:128]Annual Report 2010

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Contents

About Option

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Message to our Shareholders

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What We Do

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Wireless Broadband solutions

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Board of Directors

16

Executive Management Team

18

Our People

20

Corporate Social Responsibility

22

Financials

24

Consolidated and Statutory Report 2010 of the Board of Directors 26

Financial Review

56

Financial Report ? IFRS

62

Auditor's Report

114

Abbreviated Statutory Accounts of Option nv and Explanatory Notes116

Investor relations and financial calendar

122

Information Sheet by End 2010

124

Glossary

126

Chronological Overview of Press Releases

127

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About Option

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Message to our Shareholders

"Adequate financial resources give us time to continue the transformation of our Company and to develop the new market segments where we want to position ourselves and where we want to be successful."

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Message to our Shareholders

Dear Option Shareholders,

2010 was, again, a very weak year for our Company. Throughout 2010 we continued to struggle with unfair competition from Chinese companies while working on the transformation of our Company. In the fast changing IT and Telecom industries this is not an easy task.

I firmly believe however that ? given the needed time ? Option can get back to the path of growth. Why do I think so? There are three main reasons.

The first reason is that our core assets have remained intact. Let me explain the Company's core assets.

and most of the companies in our industry appreciate that position. During our 25 years working at the crossroads of IT and Telecom we have also built up an enviable network of contacts and enduring relationships in those industries. If an IT manufacturer wants to get in touch with a mobile operator they know who to talk to. If a security company wants to get into mobile communications they know whom to contact. Finally ? and this may be an asset that we underestimated for some time ? we are a European company with respect for privacy and security concerns from our customers and their endusers.

For the past 25 years we have been developing wireless solutions at the crossroads of IT and Telecom and from that we have built-up an impressive technological knowhow and experience in wireless technologies. Within the wireless industry we are widely respected for that. We are also an `open' company that has always worked with partners to bring in extra expertise or to open up new markets. We all know that collaboration between industry leaders is the engine for progress and innovation in the market. Well, Option has a tradition of working together

The second reason I believe in the potential of our Company has to do with financial resources. Our cash position has improved substantially. As most of you know we have not been sitting still with regards to the fierce competition from Chinese companies in 2010. As we were reviewing the situation we came to the conclusion that it is very important for Europe to foster a competitive environment where fair market practices and respect for relevant legislation protect the interests of all parties active in the market. The history of technology confirms that fair

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Message to our Shareholders

competition delivers the most innovation and growth. Unfair competition jeopardizes jobs, hurts end-users and developers and in the long run delays technological progress.

As a result we filed two complaints with the European Commission: an anti-dumping complaint and an anti-subsidy complaint. Furthermore, The European Commission initiated a safeguard investigation on the request of the Belgian Government with regard to imports of WWAN modems.

At the same time we were looking at selling one of our small but promising divisions, M4S. An international road show learned us that M4S had (and still has) a very promising wireless Radio Frequency technology. One of the parties interested in the technology was the Chinese company Huawei. During the negotiations with Huawei about M4S they quickly grasped the innovative power of some of Option other solutions. After some months, and to the surprise of many, we came to a collaboration agreement with Huawei. The collaboration consisted of 3 parts: a commercial part whereas Huawei would license our uCAN? connection management software, a technology part where we agreed to further look at areas where we can work together on wireless related technologies

and an agreement to acquire M4S from Option. Both the commercial part and the acquisition of M4S materialized in the subsequent months resulting in a greatly improved cash position for our Company. Adequate financial resources give us time to continue the transformation of our Company and to develop the new market segments where we want to position ourselves and where we want to be successful.

In the spirit of this collaboration agreement we decided to drop our complaints we filed with the European Commission. I think that one cannot underestimate the importance of this agreement. When looking at the history of the Company there have been a few pivotal moments where the seeds of a growth period were laid. The first moment was in 1995 when Option launched a breakthrough product called the GSMReady?. That product accelerated the sales of the Company rapidly and enabled Option to become the European PC Card market leader. A second pivotal moment came when Vodafone ? a market leading telecom company ? decided to work with Option to develop its data-business with Option's flagship product the GlobeTrotter? PC Data card. A third pivotal moment might have been the collaboration agreement with Huawei. History will tell us for sure.

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About Option

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