The 2012/2013 fiscal year ended for Valkee with 1.941.120€ sales and a loss of 288.650€, which was remarkably better than 2012. Then it had been a loss of 602.120€, from an overall 1.428.810€ revenue. They cut loss by more than half, and grew from 1,4 m to 1,9 m – moderate numbers for a “profitable startup“, but quite ok.

The following pages of the balance tell a different story. State subsidies had risen from 417.000€ to 893.000€, an increase of nearly 477.000€.

Without this involuntary cash gift from the taxpayer, the result is – 1.182.100 Euros. In 2012 it was – 1.018.720 – an increased loss when tax money not counted.

In relative numbers: from 2012 to 2013,

• sales grew by +36%
• loss grew by +16%
• headcount down -15%

The “growth firm” was shrinking. Other details were also telling:

Production had stopped somewhen up to Feb 2013. Free cash was only 11.890€.

Valkee had only left €700 per nose.
A year before, they survived the bottle neck with another business loan of 300.000€.

The local bank took a staggering 18% interest then, a good description of Valkee’s state. It wouldn’t do this again, the small company had already a 550.000€ debt with them.

The investors had to rescue the ailing company again. They consequently requested foreign money, from where Valkee’s reputation was not damaged. At the end, more than 7 m Euro were thrown into the company that had already burned multi-million fonds. As turned out later, the major international investor was Merieux Developpement.

They seem to have believed Valkee’s tale about scientific research as the venture’s foundation. Merieux Dev. didn’t bother that the University of Oulu “discovered” fitting basics for Valkee’s claims only 5 years after the device was prototyped.

The Valkee scandal has become international. A world-class scam from Finland.