Aortech Share Discussion Threads

[bear boy] 27/12/2012 08:18

So how much cash is left ? 3 months gone from these results?

[gac141] 27/12/2012 08:09

This is very welcome news- Aortech is as stable as it has been for a long time and has a real chance of giving shareholders a decent return. 12 months of cost covered answers the question on costs.

It sounds like we have several interested parties in the Polymer business and I know of one in the heart valve.

Well done to Bill and Eddie for saving the company- Not so sure I should be thanking Frank for the appalling deal done with St Jude. The Ex Chairman is clearly taking some responsibility for that.

£3.60 might seem a long way off but sub £1.00 now should be history too.

I would expect further news going into Q1

[harrogate] 27/12/2012 07:59

I think this is as good as we could have hoped for in the circumstances. What is clear is that the new board inherited a situation that was not as they or we shareholders thought and I think a read through the compnay announcements in the 3 years prior to this would prove the point that at best we have been subjected to a series of exaggerated claims and at worst we have been misled. The tipping point speech was a classic example. Even the move to the US was not as promised and it is clear that the structure of the deal made the business almost unsaleable. Bill and Eddie have saved our bacon and whilst the loan note holders should feel happiest about this announcement all shareholders have a better chance of a return, albeit not what we hoped for 12 months ago. The news that the company is cashflow positive in its new form is very welcome and removes the worry about the deal timing I had before Xmas. Pither going is another great piece of news.

[bear boy] 27/12/2012 07:59

Same old same old promises but delivery that's another question, so now they ask the loan note holders to accept shares instead of the interest you have to laugh

[papillon88] 27/12/2012 07:55

very good news

[25october1969] 27/12/2012 07:46

You miss the point Bear Boy (who just opened his ADVFN account on 23.12 and has only posted negative on the AOR Board) going forward St Judes meet the running costs of the factory, the cash burn will cease, and there is no onerous contract to fullfill.

By the way, what a terrible set of results but what a positive looking future compared with situation a couple of months ago and congratulations for removal of J Pither

[bear boy] 27/12/2012 07:22

Oh dear even by AORTECH standards what a set of results they are and remember these are up until september....

[landy90] 24/12/2012 13:38

Burn rate is the key assumption, should be addressed in interim announcement hopefully.

[landy90] 24/12/2012 13:11

Harrogate
The cash position should be Ok, they still should have a big chunk of the loan note money raised, lets see what the interm accs say.

[harrogate] 24/12/2012 12:23

landy90..that is right but given the lack of cash we do need to get moving on this now and I hope that the variuous leads ( no pun intended) that we have from the initial sales process and any heart valve discussions we might have had are still warm since time is not really on our side.

[landy90] 24/12/2012 12:20

Scotialoser, I think SJM are too focused on the firestorm surrounding their CRM business to be interested in Aor for other reasons. If you read their statements from earlier this summer it looks like they thought they already owned everything they needed. The SjM saga is now finished and the future of AORTECH will need to focus on other strategies. Manufacturing is not a key area, bigger companies could make the polymer for a fraction of the costs, the value should be in IP licensing and the heart valve project. The board need to articulate a strategy for the future and now that the dispute is over they can concentrate on the positive.

[bearfoot] 24/12/2012 10:34

anyone know the tax treatment of loan premium? income or capital?

[harrogate] 24/12/2012 10:22

My reading of this is that we are now more likely to get a deal done for the technology but the price will not be great. As a loan note holder getting repaid with the premium + the equivalent of say £1.50 a share on top would be good enough now given where we have been. I don't think it precludes SyJ being the buyer either

[gac141] 24/12/2012 10:21

Share price is a funny thing..Up on Nothing, Down a good news that stabilizes the company. The key will be the Interims.. My guess is that statement will put all minds at rest and sort out the price.

[papillon88] 24/12/2012 10:12

we raised £1.1 million by way of loan note we have received $3.4 million (roughly £2.1 million)
after paying back the notes we will be £1 million better off

[25october1969] 24/12/2012 10:09

marlint111

if we assume nil cash at 31.10.12 then £1.25m in and we have to pay £2.5m out gives a negative £1.25m @ 1.6 = $2m we then have $3.4m in plus another $0.5 at end of March plus $0.25 for assets gives us positive cash of $2.15m less legal fees for completing deal say down to $1.8m How long that will last depends on on-going running costs - hopefully interim statement will comment on this

[marlint111] 24/12/2012 09:57

Scotia loser- what has changed since the legal action though? Why is the company more saleable now?

[marlint111] 24/12/2012 09:55

25october. What cash in the bank? Once loan holders replayed at 100 percent premium there's nothing left! Not to mention legal costs which have been incurred. And they're still stuck in the contract.

[scotialoser] 24/12/2012 09:54

As another loan note holder I can at least go out at shop closing and try to pick up a half price turkey.These have been very worrying times but we now have a company which can be sold in part or as a whole.Surely any purchaser in September would have been seriously questioned for buying what could have been picked up cheaply from the administrators a few weeks later .Only the well played game by our directors with the Loan note issue avoided that scenario.I still use my rose tinted glasses to read this board and I hold more than 1% from the days of optimism that should now return.What I dont understand is why St Judes , a multi sector company ,are unable to see value in our other products beyond the charitable gift of Elast-eon that we gave them.I trust we have applied for gift aid.
Can someone enlighten me as I still see great potential in these products that St Judes do not.

[papillon88] 24/12/2012 09:52

market doesnt seem to like the news

[25october1969] 24/12/2012 09:44

I think the market is reacting the way it is due to lack of clarity and I suspect that this is due to STJ's input into the wording of the RNS. Hopefully the interim statement will provide that clarity, pity I could not see it at the same time as the RNS

Clearly good news that despite lack of admission of liability STJ pay AOR and "$3.4m was paid on signing" ie money is in AOR bank account. Not clear what is happening with manufacture of elasteon going forward, possibly in view of purchase by STJ of AOR assets, STJ are going to take over manufacture. As no profit being made from manufacturing due to insufficient bulk and high fixed costs this would be a positive but clarity needed as to precise arrangements

I agree with Gac that the deal appears to put us back to where we were before the dispute with STJ when share price 300+ but we have now got rid of an onerous contract and have cash in the bank. As a Loan Note holder I am pleased that I will get repaid at an early date.

No mention is made of Ajay, the key employee mentioned in the court case though on Linkedin he has been shown to be a STJ employee for a wee while?

No mention of ECSIL in deal, which is positive if we can keep it from grasp of STJ. According to website " ECSil™ is finding strong interest in cardiac pacing leads, orthopaedics, spinal discs and generally any application where  the device requires a very high level of mechanical performance" If Ajay has gone, do we have staff to continue development of ECSIL and any other new products?

Certainly a very positive step in the right direction and congratulations to Eddie and Bill for standing up to STJ and seeing it through to the end. Sight of the interim statement is awaited with much interest

[marlint111] 24/12/2012 09:38

Am I missing something? Aor are still stuck with the exclusive lossmaking perpetual contract. that isn't good! The money received will only be enough to pay back the loan notes leaving nothing left for the company which is surely still on the edge of bankruptcy.

[harrogate] 24/12/2012 09:05

Hard to gauge quite how good this is at this stage but definitely takes the heat off for a bit. The interesting thing which I hadn't realised is that the deal reaffirms STJ perpetual NON royalty bearing right to use our material ...so we had already at some point ( on the move to the US) given up all future revenues from StJ... I am sure at the time they spoke of the one off payment to fund the move as being a rescheduling. Looks like a bit more than that! Still one step at a time and as a loan note holder I am feeling more comfortable this morning