Amber International Holding Limited

Good morning, and welcome to the AMBER International Fiscal Year 2025 Second Quarter Financial Results. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Mia, AMBER Premium's official... AFI Ambassador. Mia, you may begin.

Good morning, and welcome to AMBER International Holding Limited's second quarter 2025 earnings call. I am Mia, AMBER Premium's official agent FI Ambassador and your moderator today. Before we begin, please note that today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. For a more detailed description of these and other risks and uncertainties, please refer to our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Joining us today are Michael Wu, Chairman of the Board and CEO, who will address strategic vision and leadership evolution. Vicki Wang, President, who will focus on operational execution and client performance. Mi Bao, Chief Product Officer, who will discuss product development and innovation pipeline, and Josephine Nye, CFO, who will review financial results and guidance. Following their remarks, we will open the line for Q&A. With that, let me now turn the call over to Michael Wu, our Chairman of the Board and CEO.

Thank you, Mia, and I thank you all for joining us today.

We are in a period of purposeful transition. Our second quarter results, revenue of 21 million and a positive adjusted EBITDA of 200,000, validate our institutional first strategy and demonstrate the scalability of our digital wealth management platform as we navigate a period of strategic realignment. Let me address our current position directly. We are experiencing a deliberate strategic recession designed to unlock the full potential of our institutional digital wealth management platform. Recent market volatility and our stock performance reflect the market's natural response to leadership evolution, reactions we anticipated and viewed as temporary. As this management team, we bring deep expertise and a fresh perspective Importantly, we're not new to this business. Vicky, Yi, and I have been the architects of Ember's institutional platform over multiple years, building these capabilities from within the Ember ecosystem. Our combined tenure spans the full evolution from startup innovation to public company execution. What's new is our focused mandate and operational clarity we're building towards sustainable competitive advantages. Every initiative, from RWA expansion to AI for crypto initiatives, now aligns with our core mission of being the premier institutional gateway to digital assets. This disciplined approach ensures our investments translate directly to revenue growth, deeper client relationships, and long-term shareholder value. At the heart of Amber Premium, as our President Vicky will expand on later, is our position of Asia's leading digital wealth management platform, serving the region's most sophisticated clients with a private banking experience powered by technology and unrivaled access to digital asset opportunities. This foundation is solid, differentiated, and highly defensible. And now, with renewed strategic clarity and operational focus, we're building on this proven foundation for the next stage of growth and value creation. And with that, let me hand it over to Vicky, our president, to share more on our Q2 performance, current positioning, offerings, and the near-term goals for Amber Premium.

Thank you, Michael. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us today. As we ask you the strategic research that Michael just mentioned, I think it's important to return to the core of who we are and what has made Ember a trusted name across Asia. Ember Premium has become one of the most trusted digital wealth platform in Asia, dedicated to serve ultra high net worth individuals and institutional clients. In Q2, the market is continually witnessing a very strong momentum in the segment we serve. This category of elite clients is growing very fast, and we are confident that Upper Edge puts us in a strong position to capture or even lead the trend. As a result of this strategic focus, today we are recognized as the trusted partner for many of Asia's most sophisticated clients, including ultra-high net worth individuals, family offices, leading institutional clients, etc., You can also see this reflected in our client profile. While our minimum account opening requirement is $1 million, most active relationships range between $1 million and $100 million. What this really shows is that our model resonates with sophisticated investors who really value professional and customized solutions and services over the simple access that most industrial players offer. Well, our strong client base is testament to our reputation. What sets us apart is how we solve the toughest problem our clients face. First of all, many investors still have to move between fragmented platforms, from on-the-frames, trading, defined-yield products, derivatives, or fund allocations. Ember Premium takes away that complexity by acting as a true one-stop shop. At the same time, we find many investors like institutions and high net worth investors still remain at an early stage of learning curve. While they're getting more comfortable with Bitcoin and other digital assets, their progress remains really slow, often due to a lack of expertise or expert guidance needed to move forward. This is where we come in, not only by removing friction, but also acting as the catalyst for their investment journey. We provide compliant account structures and smooth on the front, then work with clients to design proposals tailored to their risk appetite, objectives, and liquidity needs. However, a superior strategy requires equal superior execution. On execution, we offer a very prior banking-like experience with a 24-7 trading desk and expert-led order handling. With Ember, our clients are able to enter the market earlier, move faster and smarter, and operate with confidence, always staying ahead of the curve. This strategic focus on elite clients has been a direct driver of our performance. In Q2, revenue hit a record high, with wealth management revenue climbing to $11.5 million New client onboarding was up 14% from Q1, and client access grew 20% to 1.54 billion, underscoring the premium nature and scalability of our model. What's even more encouraging is that many new clients came through referrals from existing top tier clients. That shows not only strong trust, but also the exclusivity of our community. Another driver is product innovation. We are early in introducing accumulators and decumulators into the digital asset space in Asia. And they are quickly become some of the most adopted solution. Along with other products in our suite, they have been key contributors to revenue growth of 1.6 million quarter over quarter. And we are seeing client strategies evolve. It's no longer just buy and hold. clients are increasingly looking for more sophisticated solutions, including first, yield strategies to boost returns for their digital assets. Second, hedging solutions to manage risk and protect downsides. And third, access to early stage or exclusive investment opportunities. Our role is to deliver precisely this solution, whether through structured strategies, customized yield approaches, or exclusive deal flow. helping our clients to diversify their returns and stay engaged with the whole ecosystem. We also continue to benefit from being part of Amber Group. Many clients first engage with the group through market making or liquidity solutions, and then expand into treasury or trading with us. This synergy not only strengthens client relationships, but also highlight how we benefit from being at the center of a much larger ecosystem. Looking ahead, we are preparing for the next wave of institutional adoption. In the near term, we have launched a service package for digital asset trader firms, and we are also in active talks with traditional institutions who are looking to leverage our infrastructure and capabilities to serve their clients. To support this, We're building B2B2C brokerage infrastructure, which should open up new distribution channels in the future. On top of that, we are now reviewing product pricing and execution to sharpen our core services. The goal is to set clear deliverables and timelines, so we will keep raising the bar on client experience. All of this is part of our roadmap to build durable, scalable growth. To close, Q2 showed clearly that our model gives us an advantage by focusing on the right client segment and building the right infrastructure. We have positioned ourselves to benefit from this fast-growing trend and ready to lead the next phase of digital wealth management in Asia. Thank you, and with that, I will hand it over to our CPOE.

Thank you, Vicky, for delivering such a clear message to our core business and the current offerings. I want to take this opportunity to share some updates on the areas where we are investing for the future growth. They are centered on two themes. The first one will be delivering more innovative financial products and a seamless user experience. And the second bucket will be driving forward our real-world assets tokenization initiatives. The crypto industry is inherently cyclical, and our product development strategy addresses this reality systematically. During downtrends, investors seek stability, yield, preservation, and defensive strategies, while during upside, the focus shifts to access, leverage, and tactical alpha capture. We have developed a comprehensive structured product suite and our diversified offering enable clients to optimize yield and manage risk exposure throughout market cycles. A key differentiator that drives both client retention and the revenue per relationship. Our recent market performance validate this approach. We have seen strong demands for structured yield product linked to Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as trade backed offerings that provide attractive returns with controllable risk. Dual currency, accumulator, decumulator, fixed copper nodes, snowboys, cola are all under our radar and will deliver most suitable combinations according to different cyclical stages. Besides, we believe the next stage of differentiation will come from a seamless AI-embedded and a tailor-made digital platform. Our goal is to make clients onboarding, product selection, and portfolio monitoring frictionless. Automation and personalization will not only increase efficiency, but also drive higher user retention and satisfaction. Over the coming quarters, we will further evolve the application and the websites into a dedicated platform for the distinct client segments we serve, whether it's institutions, family offices, or sophisticated professional or accredited investors. We see this as a cornerstone of our ability to scale efficiently while delivering best-in-class service. This technological advancement directly supports our institutional focus by enabling us to serve more sophisticated clients with higher service standards while improving our unit's economics. Alongside financial products and platform innovation, the other area of strategic focus is real-world assets tokenization, a natural extension of our institutional platform capability. Here, our vision is to provide a 10-key solution, from advisory to implementation. Many institutions are interested in tokenization but lack the expertise to navigate structuring, compliance, custody, and distribution. Our role is to bridge that gap. Our approach is holistic. The first step will be advisory to help clients design and structure tokenization framework that meets regulatory and operational standards. The second part is for the issuance of the custody to provide compliance infrastructure to issue, hold, and transfer tokenized assets. Last but not least, it's the distribution and liquidity-wise. To work with exchanges, DeFi platforms, and the market makers to ensure tokenized products can be treated seamlessly. They are definitely should be within the applied regulatory compliance. We are already seeing strong traction in stablecoin infrastructure. Stablecoins have become the backbone of digital finance, powering payments settlements and on-chain liquidity. While extending the experiments into tokenized assets, beginning with tokenized stocks, the first step would be to make AMBR tokenized and on-chain. Tokenized stocks are especially compelling because they combine the familiarity of traditional equities with the efficiency and programmability of blockchain. Imagine being able to access global equities 24 hours 7 days with near-instant settlements, fractional ownership, and integrated yield opportunities. This is not just a retail play. Institutions see value in shorter settlement cycles, operational efficiency, and cross-border access. We view stablecoins and tokenized money market funds as the first wave but the roadmap extends to ETFs, tokenized stocks, and more. Over time, we believe these tokenized products will sit alongside our existing digital wealth solution, creating a truly unified portfolio experience for clients. So both initiatives, from innovative financial products, seamless platform evolution, to real-world assets tokenization, directly reinforce our institutional positioning while expanding our addressable markets. They leverage our existing client relationships, regulatory expertise, and operational infrastructure while creating new revenue streams and competitive modes. Thank you all, and I will hand it over to our CFO, Josephine.

Thank you, Yi. Good morning, everyone. I will now reveal our financial results for the second quarter end June 30, 2025 and explain how they align with our business strategy. This quarter, we delivered solid results across key financial metrics. It's demonstrating the strength of our business model and the growing institutional demand for our solutions. For revenue side, We generate total revenue of 21 million US dollars, which increased significantly from 0.9 million US dollars a year ago. It is primarily attributable to robust growth in wealth management solutions and integrations of revenue for marketing and enterprise solutions following the merger with iClick in March this year. In addition, the continuous expansions of AmberDWM business also contribute to the revenue growth. The revenue from our wealth management solutions was US$11.5 million, which is significantly increased from US$0.6 million in the same period last year. The execution solutions generated US$2 million revenue this quarter, which compared with the US$24,000 in the second quarter of 2024. Regarding the payment solutions, it was increased to US$0.9 million this quarter, compared with US$0.2 million in the second quarter 2024. And last, the revenue for marketing and enterprise solutions was record at US$6.6 million. It was consolidated in the listed company after the merger this year. What's particularly encouraging about this result is the increase in our margin profile year-over-year. Gross profits for the second quarter of 2025 reached US$15 million, compared to US$0.3 million in the same period of 2024. The gross profit margin demonstrates an upward trend to around 71.3% in the second quarter of 2025, from 33% in the second quarter last year. The operating loss was $0.6 million in the second quarter of 2025, reduced from $1.6 million in the second quarter of 2024. It was the result of our growth in the gross profit and the strengthened operating leverage. In view of the net income, a record at $0.7 million in 2025, which is lower than 1.5 million US dollars in the same period last year. The variance was resulted from an unrealized gain in fair values of digital assets amount 2.5 million US dollars record in last year. As of June 30, 2025, the company had cash and cash equivalents, time deposits, and restricted cash of 25.8 million US dollars. compared to $9.3 million as of December 31, 2024. On a non-GAAP basis, the adjusted EBITDA, which $0.2 million and adjusted net loss was $0.3 million. Now, I will now walk you through our financial performance for the third quarter and provide an update on our forward-looking outlook. Based on current market conditions and our preliminary estimates, we expect revenue from our amber premium segments to be in the range of $11 million to $12.5 million. This outlook reflects our assessments of the operating environment, expected foreign exchange rate, and customer demand. However, please note that these estimates are subject to change based on market conditions. In light of the anticipated market volatility, we believe that providing guidance for the third quarter is more aligned with the current conditions, rather than the full year guidance at this time. Please be reminded that this outlook is based on current market conditions and our assessments of continued institutional adoptions of digital assets, and reflects the company's preliminary estimates of market and operating conditions, expected foreign exchange fluctuations and customer demand. These all are subject to change. Please also refer to the factors set out under the section titled Safe Harbor Statements in the Earnings. We are keenly aware of the importance of transparency with our investors. We remain committed to keeping you updated and we provide further outlook revisions as the operating environment becomes more predictable. Looking ahead, in addition to the external business strategy that we mentioned before, internally, we are implementing disciplined cost management to drive continuous improvement in operating leverage as we scale. We are also enhancing our financial reporting system. to provide transparent insights into our performance as we integrated the operations following our merger. We also maintain strong liquidity and balance sheet flexibility in order to support our global expansion and strategic partnership. Directed revenue and improved profitability demonstrate that our institutional approach is resonating with clients and create values for shareholders. With that, I will turn the call to Mia. Thank you.

Thank you, Josephine. Now, to close our prepared remarks, I'd like to hand it back to our Chairman of the Board and CEO, Michael Wu, to share his perspective on Amber's long-term strategy, our vision of crypto and AI, and the role of AI agents like me in shaping Amber's future.

Thank you, Mia, and thank you, everyone, again, for being with us today.

As you've heard across our management team, Amber Premium's foundation is strong. We are Asia's leading digital wealth management platform, serving the region's most sophisticated clients with a private banking experience powered by technology and unrivaled access to digital asset opportunities. That core is rock solid, and it is where we continue to invest and improve every day. But Ember has always been more than a crypto finance platform. At our core, we have always been a technology company. To remain the best, we must be relentlessly forward-looking, technology-driven, and innovative. Alongside our crypto-native infrastructure, which spans blockchain security, liquidity expertise, and the readiness for new opportunities like tokenized real-world assets. What truly differentiates us is also our DNA in AI. From our founding as Amber AI in 2017, we have believed that these two technologies, crypto and AI, would fundamentally reshape finance and the broader economy. That conviction has only grown stronger, and today we're uniquely positioned to capitalize on their convergence. Our long-term strategy rests on two simple but transformative ideas. In the near term, AI for crypto, which means applying cutting-edge AI and AI agent technologies to improve, personalize, and redefine crypto wealth management. This is not just about efficiency. It is about fundamentally reinventing how our products and services can be delivered at scale while maintaining our premium service standards. AI enables us to serve more sophisticated clients with higher touch experiences while at the same time improving our unit economics. This will be a critical competitive advantage in institutional wealth management. This technology integration will directly support our margin expansion objectives and the client acquisition efficiency. Then looking further ahead, crypto for AI. We believe crypto will become the native rails for the upcoming AI agent economy. Just as the Internet needed protocols to thrive, AI agents will need crypto-native infrastructures to transact, coordinate, and grow. Amber is preparing to be a cornerstone of that future. This two-step strategy is not theoretical. We are already taking tangible steps As a starter, our AI agent Mia and your moderator today exemplifies our approach. Mia is beginning to take on more responsibilities within Amber, from running multi-channel marketing and multimedia social engagement to streamlining our internal sales knowledge base and supporting client portfolio reviews. In the upcoming quarters, we expect Mia and other AI agents to directly impact our client acquisition and service quality, helping our business scale smarter, faster, and more consistently. Again, these are not experiments in a lab. They are tools that are being deployed into the business. And quarter by quarter, we will deliver measurable results. The convergence of crypto and AI represents a generational opportunity for companies with our unique combination of crypto native expertise, institutional setup, and innovation capabilities. We're building the infrastructure for this future while delivering measurable value to today's clients. Our second quarter results increase the revenue, expanding margins, and growing institutional adoption, all validate our strategy and execution capabilities. The journey will not be linear. There will be market volatility, and there will be challenges, but we know who we are. We know where we are going, and we are committed to building long-term value for our clients, partners, and shareholders. And with that, I'll hand it back to Mia to open the Q&A session.

Thank you, Michael. That concludes our prepared remarks. We will now open the line for Q&A. Operator, please begin.

Yeah, if there are any questions online, we are happy to take it.

Thank you. There is a question over the phone. If you'd like to ask a question over the phone, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad. Our first question comes from the line of Brian Dobson with Clear Street. Please proceed with your question.

Hi, this is Justin Phan. I'm Brian Dobson. Congrats on the quarter. I was wondering if you could just highlight some of the key catalysts you see for the company for the back half of the year. And just following up on, you know, I saw that you eliminated full year guidance for revenue. Just qualitatively, if you could talk through some of the puts and takes on that and how we should think about forecasting to help line for the rest of the year. Thanks.

Thank you, Brian. This is Michael here.

Yeah, I would like to take on this question. So, as you see, we have moved our forecast on this quarter into focusing on the upcoming third quarter instead of previously giving a full-year forecast. And the reasons behind are, first, some of our progress, especially in terms of, you know, necessary, securing necessary licenses in certain jurisdictions, which we expected to expand our core businesses, has been slower than anticipated. And this further supports a prudent stance that we take to provide quarterly guidance instead of annual forecast. And also, we believe this is also more in line with industry peers. if we look at peer companies in the crypto spaces, most of them also focus on providing quarterly rather than annual forecasts. And a lot of that, I believe, is due to the nature of the crypto market and its inherent volatility. And as we are very focused on executing our strategy, we believe this priority is also more aligned in delivering more tangible and less market-volatility-dependent results that we can give more certainty and more confidence towards our investor base and the market. Last but not least, we remain committed to transparency, and we think providing quarterly updates to the best ability of how we foresee the business and the future progress

the most suitable action here thank you thank you once again if you'd like to ask a question please press star 1 on your telephone keypad we'll pause a moment to allow for any other questions It seems we have no other questions at this time on the phone. I'll turn it back to the management team for any web questions.

Yeah, it seems we have a question on the web portal about our operating plans and the focus of second half this year. I can start. Again, this is Michael here, Executive Chairman and CEO of Amber Premium. For the second half of this year, again, our priority is continue to strengthen our core business and continue to extend our leadership as Asia's best digital wealth management platform. And as Vicky elaborated early on and as Yi has explained, that will take a lot of efforts in execution in terms of client growth strategy, further improving our services to the best as they can ever be, and integrating our new growth initiatives such as our RWA offerings. And last but not least, of course, to tying back our current efforts and our core positioning of being Asia's best digital wealth management platform with our long-term vision and long-term strategy of applying top-tier AI agent abilities into further elevating our businesses. I believe in the second half of this year, as we continue to work on these initiatives, quarter by quarter, our investment base, the market, our clients will see the efforts, the impact, and the results of our hard work.

Once again, ladies and gentlemen, if you'd like to ask a question via the telephone, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad at this time. We'll pause an extra moment.

I'm showing no questions over the phone at this time.

This concludes today's call. Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen, you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.