Intelligent Ultrasound Share Discussion Threads

[40 fathoms] 18/7/2024 08:50

Timbo, that sounds about right to me. I think it is really interesting that they get to keep Needle Trainer (a bit positive in my view). The simulation business should be cable of revenue of about GBP15 million per year and a net profit of GBP 3 to 4 million per year. That should be worth 10p to 15p per share, everyday of the week.

The value of the cash and the existing business fits nicely in to the 20p to 25p that bamboo has always suggested

[timbo003] 18/7/2024 08:37

That was a nice surprise 🙂 I wonder what the size of the capital return to shareholders is likely to be?

If total proceeds are around £40m, they will want to keep some back for investing in the remaining business (£10m?), so that would leave £30m to distribute or about 9p/share

[bamboo2] 18/7/2024 08:20

RNS copied above to ensure it gets picked up when using 'search thread'.

edit, hi whomever down voted this and the prior post. I would be interested to know why you downvoted. I find it useful to be able to search the thread, but if there is some problem that this creates that I have not considered, please let me know. Tia

[bamboo2] 18/7/2024 08:13

Intelligent Ultrasound Group PLC Proposed sale of Clinical AI Business for £40.5m 18/07/2024 8:19am

Proposed sale of the Clinical AI Business to GE HealthCare for £40.5 million

Notice of General Meeting

Trading update

Intelligent Ultrasound Group plc (AIM: IUG), the ultrasound AI software and simulation company, is pleased to announce it has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement for the sale of its Clinical AI business (Intelligent Ultrasound Limited and certain other clinical AI related assets) to GE HealthCare for an enterprise value of £40.5 million on a cash free/debt free basis (the "Proposed Transaction"). The Proposed Transaction excludes the NeedleTrainer and NeedleTrainer Plus products which will remain within the Company along with the Simulation Business.



Transaction highlights:

· Sale of the Clinical AI Business to GE HealthCare agreed for an enterprise value of £40.5 million.

· Disposal excludes the NeedleTrainer/Trainer Plus product which will be retained within the remaining Simulation Business which generated total revenues of £10.0 million in the financial year ended 31 December 2023 (including £0.8m relating to the NeedleTrainer product).

· The consideration represents a implied value of 12.4p per Ordinary Share on current issued share capital and a premium of 70.9 per cent to the Ordinary Share price on 17 July 2024 and a premium of 30.9 per cent to the volume weighted share price for the last 12 months. The Proposed Transaction also values the Clinical AI Business at 33.8 times full year 2023 revenues of that business.

· The transaction is subject to shareholder approval under AIM Rule 15, as well as confirmations from the Competition and Markets Authority under the Enterprise Act, and the Investment Security Unit under the National Security and Investment Act, that they do not oppose the transaction (the "Regulatory Consents")

· It is the Board's intention to make a material return of capital following a review of the growth potential and capital requirements of the post-transaction business and taking legal and tax advice on structure of a return. An announcement detailing the proposed use of funds and future strategic direction for the post-transaction business is expected to be made by the time of completion of the Proposed Transaction, which, dependent on the timing of the Regulatory Consents, is expected to be in September/October this year.

· The Company has received irrevocable undertakings and letters of intent from certain Shareholders (including the Directors) representing approximately 54.6 per cent of the Ordinary Share capital to vote in favour of the Resolution.



Further details of the Proposed Transaction are set out below.



The Board of Intelligent Ultrasound is committed in its duty to provide value to shareholders and therefore has continually sought to evaluate strategic options available to the Company to do so. For some time the Board has been considering how best to optimise and accelerate the growth of the Clinical AI Business. The Company acquired its Clinical AI Business in October 2017 through its purchase of Intelligent Ultrasound Limited, a University of Oxford spin-out company, for £3.6 million and has committed capital to it to date of approximately £12.2 million (as adjusted to remove NeedleTrainer development costs but including the £3.6 million initial purchase price).



Whilst the Board takes great pride in the development capability that has been created in the Clinical AI Business, to date, the growth of the ScanNav related AI revenue streams has been slower than was originally forecast. Furthermore, the Company has not yet reached commercial terms with GE HealthCare for all the future products on its women's health roadmap. Materially growing the value of the Clinical AI Business therefore relies on also developing products outside the existing relationship with GE HealthCare, including ScanNav FetalCheck (for gestational age estimation) and ScanNav Liver (to support hepatologists diagnose and monitor MASH and MAFLD).



Although the Company has supportive Shareholders, it has never been able to achieve the up-front funding levels of its competitors and, with financing conditions for small growth companies uncertain, the probable additional investment required must be balanced against ongoing execution risk and the Company's goal of reaching profitability on current cash resources.



When assessing the value of the Clinical AI Business, the Board has taken into account the following elements:

· the current and expected revenues from royalties paid by GE HealthCare for the use of the ScanNav Assist ultrasound AI software under the Women's Healthcare Licence;

· the current and potential value of the ScanNav Anatomy PNB product;

· the potential value of the ScanNav FetalCheck gestational age product; and

· the value of the Group's future products such as ScanNav Liver, as well as the value of the broader technology and capabilities of the business and its team.



The Board considers that GE HealthCare's offer represents a fair net present value for these revenue streams, taking into account the current value accorded to the Company by the capital markets, the expected execution risk and potential dilution required to make the requisite investment in the Clinical AI Business.



Notice of General Meeting

The Company will shortly post a Circular to Shareholders regarding the Proposed Transaction, which sets out a Notice of General Meeting, and a Form of Proxy for the proposed resolutions. These documents will also be available on the Company's website.



Current Trading and Outlook:

The Company today also issues a trading update for the period ended 30 June 2024. Unaudited revenue in the first half of the year declined by 18% to £5.1 million (H1 2023: £6.1 million), with simulation sales (excluding NeedleTrainer) down 34% to £3.5 million (H1 2023: £5.3 million).



This results from a decline in the UK and North American markets

· The decline in UK sales was expected, due to previously flagged NHS budget pressure, reducing sales almost 60% to £0.8 million (H1 2023: £1.9 million)

· However, the 23% decline in North America sales to £2.2 million (H1 2023: £2.8 million) was not anticipated, with nearly £0.8 million of expected sales held in delivery backlog or last-minute purchase order delays.



Positives in the first half were:

· ROW reseller sales growing over 30% to £1.6 million (H1 2023: £1.1 million); and

· Clinical AI related revenue doubling to £1.5 million (2023: £0.7 million) of which NeedleTrainer increased to £1.0 million (H1 2023: £0.5 million).

· Cash overheads in the business were £4.3 million (H1 2023: £4.9 million) and reflect a number of cost saving across the Group.

· Cash burn reduced significantly in H1 2024 to £2.0 million (H1 2023: £3.8 million) leaving cash as at 30 June of £1.0 million (31 December 2023: £3.0 million).



Irrevocable undertakings

Completion is conditional upon, inter alia, the passing of the Resolution by Shareholders at the General Meeting. The Company has received irrevocable voting undertakings and letters of intent to vote in favour of the Resolution from certain Shareholders (including the Directors) representing approximately 54.6 per cent of the Ordinary Share capital.



Amendment to the M&A Bonus arrangement

The Remuneration Committee proposes to make the following changes to the M&A Bonus that it put in place for executives in December 2020 following consultation with its major shareholders:

· Thresholds to be adjusted in line with the Company's benchmark index, the FTSE AIM All Share.

· The threshold will be determined by gross total shareholder return per share ie including all gross amounts returned to shareholders.

o Following Completion, Nick Sleep, the Chief Technology Officer, will transfer with the Clinical AI Business and leave the M&A Bonus.



If the minimum threshold is reached the minimum bonus payment will be 50% of annual salary.



The participation of the Executive Directors, Stuart Gall and Helen Jones in the M&A Bonus scheme constitutes a 'related party transaction' under the AIM Rules. The independent Directors (being the Directors other than Stuart Gall and Helen Jones) consider (having consulted with the Company's nominated adviser, Cavendish) that the terms of the M&A Bonus and the proposed amendment are fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's Shareholders are concerned.



Commenting on the Proposed Transaction, Riccardo Pigliucci, Chairman of Intelligent Ultrasound said:



"At Intelligent Ultrasound Plc we have spent the last seven years successfully creating first-to-market AI products and have built a strong capability in real-time automated ultrasound image analysis.



When GE HealthCare offered us £40.5 million to acquire our Clinical AI Business, we were pleased that our achievements were recognised but it presented us with the very difficult decision to exit the main market we had chosen for our future growth.



To date, the growth of our current ScanNav related clinical AI revenues has been slower than we had originally expected and, most importantly, insufficient to fund the developments needed to materially increase the value of the Clinical AI Business. We have had to recognise that developing products such as ScanNav FetalCheck for gestational age estimation and ScanNav Liver is costly and would require the sort of funding levels that are outside the Group's current cash resources or capital raise capabilities. The Board has therefore concluded that accepting GE HealthCare's offer is in the best interest of the Company's shareholders and represents a fair net present value for these potential future revenue streams and recommends it to shareholders for their approval.



The remaining Simulation Business, which will be boosted by the inclusion of the NeedleTrainer range previously reported in our Clinical AI business, is a solid one and the Board will use the time between signing and completion of this Proposed Transaction to conduct a comprehensive review of the business. It is the Board's intention to make a material return of capital following a review of the growth potential and capital requirements of the post-transaction business and taking legal and tax advice on structure of a return. An announcement detailing the proposed use of funds and strategic direction for the Company is expected to be made by the time the Proposed Transaction completes."

[eeza] 18/7/2024 08:03

New Cavendish note out regarding sale of Clinical AI.

[chester9] 18/7/2024 07:32

Proposed sale of the Clinical AI Business to GE HealthCare for £40.5 million

[chester9] 18/7/2024 07:30

News somewhere?

[bamboo2] 18/7/2024 07:13

Thanks 40F.

My chart showing a potential turn for 19-22/7, so very much hoping we are now at the lows. Performance of these turns is however, not that reliable in illiquid stocks.

[40 fathoms] 17/7/2024 22:40

A new line extension has just been launched for ScanTrainer

[40 fathoms] 17/7/2024 22:37

Not sure I have an answer to why healthcare professionals do not buy IUG stock.

My guess is it is probably a combination of the difference between how US and UK doctors are paid (both in quantum but also their pension arrangements) and the fact that it a fact that the UK population at large are not natural equity investors. Funds maybe a bit, single stock positions absolutely not. We are so property obsessed and property is so tax advantaged that I can not see this changing meaningfully anytime soon.

[bmcollins] 14/7/2024 10:34

@40f
Thanks for this I have just listened to it, very positive.
What intrigues me most about our current position is why have healthcare professionals, Dr's etc not been buying IUG stock ?
I recall that when Glaxo became a favourite stock on Nasdaq because of the potential of Zantac, the great bulk of the U.S. demand for the stock, in the first instance, came from Dr's & other clinicians who realised how effective it was for stomach ulcers.
That was 40 odd years ago & now of course Zantac is a dirty word for GSK.
Even a modest number of health professionals buying IUG, given its illiquidity, would have a very positive result on the share price
Perhaps this could happen as more people use our facility on their GE machines, I'd like to think so but am not holding my breath !

[40 fathoms] 14/7/2024 02:17

This podcast dropped a couple of days ago, it is an interview with Aris Papageorghiou one of our key advisors and founder of IUG, it provides a bit of a roadmap of where we might be headed product wise.

[eeza] 12/7/2024 06:46

Nice article on IUG.

[bamboo2] 11/7/2024 22:35

New date confirmed

GE HealthCare to announce second quarter 2024 results on July 31, 2024

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 8, 2024-- GE HealthCare (Nasdaq: GEHC), a leading global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and digital solutions innovator, will announce its second quarter 2024 financial results before the market opens on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. The GE HealthCare management team will also host a conference call and webcast at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on that same day, which will be a live webcast and accessible at



The earnings release, accompanying financial information, and webcast replay also will be posted at the same link on the GE HealthCare Investor Relations website.

[bmcollins] 08/7/2024 13:00

@40f
Thanks for this, it is indeed nice to see IUG Cardiff UK in the text
In happier times in AIM this would have warranted something of a puff by the company's broker, but these days you rarely see a Nomad / Broker make any comment, even after results are announced.
However on the bright side one can argue convincingly that for those with patience this offers an intriguing future and is currently trading at the wrong price. I feel obliged to add some more at these levels, hopefully the share price is at, or very close to, bottom.

[40 fathoms] 08/7/2024 12:24

Yes, I am looking forward to it. However, looking at the share price it would suggest many are not !

In the meantime a little something for interest more than near term commercial opportunity.



It is a paper published by NASA looking at the possible uses of AI for healthcare diagnostics and treatment as they start to explore long duration space flight. Page 11 ScanNav PNB gets a mention.

[bamboo2] 08/7/2024 10:44

40F, I am expecting a H1 update here in a few weeks, followed by GEHC Q2 on 23/7/24, where we may get further info and some guidance for Q3.

[40 fathoms] 05/7/2024 12:42

It is an interesting move by GEHC, I will have a detailed look at it this weekend.

[bamboo2] 05/7/2024 07:57

We'll be able to start to judge the financial and other implications of the changes to GEHC management structure at the Q3 announcement towards the end of October 2024.

[bamboo2] 05/7/2024 07:08

Investigating this further.
40F/anyone, I think this could have a significant effect on IUG, particularly if Phil Rackliffe wants to make symbolic changes. Let's hope the effect is positive.

====================================

PRESS RELEASES
GE HealthCare Announces Changes in Strategic Leadership and Key Segments to Better Serve Patients and Customers
Jun 10, 2024



Roland Rott, the current president and CEO of Ultrasound, will lead Imaging, replacing Jan Makela
Philip Rackliffe, the current president and CEO of Image Guided Therapies (IGT), will lead Ultrasound and IGT
CHICAGO­­ — June 10, 2024 — GE HealthCare (Nasdaq: GEHC) announced today that it has named Roland Rott president and CEO of Imaging and Phil Rackliffe president and CEO of Ultrasound and IGT. Both leaders bring to their roles decades of deep experience in healthcare innovation and experience leading global teams in businesses of scale. This also highlights the depth of internal talent that GE HealthCare is building to strengthen focus on delivering for patients and customers. These changes will be effective July 1, 2024.

IGT, a $1.6 billion subsegment of Imaging, will be combined with the Ultrasound segment in the third quarter of 2024, to form a global business with more than $5.0 billion in annual revenue. [i] GE HealthCare is aligning IGT with Ultrasound to better match its clinical usage and realize stronger business and customer impact by providing the right image guidance in the right care setting. Aligning IGT and Ultrasound positions GE HealthCare to be more agile and address future imaging needs using these real-time modalities in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

Without IGT, Imaging will remain GE HealthCare’s largest segment with more than $8.9 billion in annual revenue.[ii] This segment will enhance focus on solutions centered on surgical and interventional procedures, particularly interventional cardiology and structural heart, while continuing Ultrasound’s diagnostic leadership.

Peter Arduini, chief executive officer of GE HealthCare, said, “Roland and Phil will bring fresh viewpoints, global perspective, and deep industry expertise to our Imaging segment and new Ultrasound and IGT segment. Elevating leaders who have a deep understanding of our customers’ needs, market trends, and our strategic focus will help enable us to accelerate innovation and growth. Roland and Phil are proven leaders who are well positioned to take on these new opportunities, drive our precision care strategy, and deliver for patients and customers.”

Roland joined GE Healthcare in 2011 and has held multiple leadership roles within Ultrasound, ultimately becoming president and CEO in 2021. He has a strong track record of growing healthcare businesses at scale, and driving digital and artificial intelligence (AI) in product innovation. He has been instrumental in leading M&A activities including the BK Medical and Caption Health acquisitions, and established strategic alliances with new partners, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and BARDA and Novo Nordisk. He has delivered significant platforming results in Ultrasound including the recently launched LOGIQ E10 Series and LOGIQ Fortis and Voluson Signature ultrasound systems, and will drive similar platforming efforts in Imaging. Before joining GE HealthCare, Roland worked as an executive committee member at a publicly traded company and founded two software companies that were acquired by strategic investors.

Phil joined GE HealthCare in 2022 to lead IGT and has delivered significant accretive revenue growth for the business during his tenure. Since joining GE HealthCare, Phil has led R&D expansion related to new product introductions including Allia Pulse, 3DStent, EmboAssist AI and OmnifyXR. He has also led strategic equity investments focused on improving visualization and surgical navigation techniques using technology such as augmented reality during minimally invasive procedures. He has over two decades of global experience in MedTech, Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals working for public companies, including Baxter Healthcare, Boston Scientific, and Pfizer, as well as Ernst and Young. Phil’s last role before joining GE HealthCare was CEO of Centerline Biomedical, a spinout of Cleveland Clinic.

GE HealthCare expects to provide recast financial results to reflect the movement of IGT from Imaging to the new Ultrasound and IGT segment in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for third quarter 2024.

[i] All stated revenues for IGT, Ultrasound and Imaging are 2023 figures.

[ii] All stated revenues for IGT, Ultrasound and Imaging are 2023 figures.

[bamboo2] 04/7/2024 19:09

GE HealthCare switches up imaging, ultrasound divisions and their leadership
By Conor Hale Jun 11, 2024 10:32am


GE HealthCare is switching up the leadership of its divisions, as well as the alignment of some of its segments, to better match how its hardware is being used in the field.

First, the image-guided therapies unit—a $1.6 billion business previously held under GE HealthCare’s Imaging banner—will instead join forces with the company’s Ultrasound division.


This will create an operation that represents more than $5 billion in annual sales and pairs up the real-time scanning technologies being used in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings and medical procedures.

According to GE HealthCare, Imaging will still remain its largest single segment, with nearly $9 billion in yearly revenue—and it’s there where Roland Rott will take the helm.

Rott has served as president and CEO of Ultrasound since 2021 and has been with the company for more than a decade. He will replace current Imaging head Jan Makela, who previously announced his plans to depart GE HealthCare later this summer.


Meanwhile, the current chief of image-guided therapies, Philip Rackliffe, will become the leader of the combined Ultrasound and IGT group. All of these changes will become effective July 1, and GE HealthCare said it plans to reflect the movements in its upcoming third-quarter financial reports.

“Roland and Phil will bring fresh viewpoints, global perspective, and deep industry expertise to our Imaging segment and new Ultrasound and IGT segment,” CEO Peter Arduini said in a statement. “Elevating leaders who have a deep understanding of our customers’ needs, market trends, and our strategic focus will help enable us to accelerate innovation and growth.”


Roland joined GE Healthcare in 2011 and helped lead the Ultrasound division’s growth in digital and artificial intelligence tech—including through its $1.45 billion acquisition of the visualization provider BK Medical, and its $150 million purchase of former Fierce 15 winner Caption Health, developer of AI exam coaching software.

Rackliffe signed on to the company in 2022, following a career at Baxter, Boston Scientific, Pfizer and Ernst and Young as well as CEO of the Cleveland Clinic spinout Centerline Biomedical.

At GE HealthCare he has helped launch the company’s Allia Pulse, 3DStent, EmboAssist AI and OmnifyXR platforms as well as assisted in guiding equity investments among developers of surgical visualization and navigation technologies.

[40 fathoms] 03/7/2024 11:48

To add to your last post, here are the new features that have been added to the just launched Needletrainer 2.6

[bamboo2] 02/7/2024 13:03

Intelligent Ultrasound Celebrates 20 Years of Innovation

1 July 2024: Intelligent Ultrasound Group plc (AIM: IUG), the ‘classroom to clinic’ ultrasound company specialising in AI software and simulation, is proud to announce its 20th anniversary this month.

Over the past two decades, the company has been at the forefront of developing advanced ultrasound training simulators and AI software, revolutionising the way medical professionals learn and practice ultrasound techniques.

Since its founding in 2004 at Cardiff University, Intelligent Ultrasound has become one of the world’s leading ultrasound training simulator companies, completing an IPO onto the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 2014, expanding into clinical AI software with the acquisition in 2017 of Intelligent Ultrasound Ltd from the University of Oxford, and signing an exclusive agreement with GE HealthCare in 2019 for the use of its ScanNav AI technology to power their SonoLyst software on the Voluson Expert, Signature and SWIFT ultrasound machines.

Most recently, the company announced that a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-backed study had acquired Intelligent Ultrasound’s ScanNav FetalCheck gestational age AI software for use in the largest ever trial looking at the use of aspirin in the prevention of pre-eclampsia in Africa.

Intelligent Ultrasound’s commitment to innovation and dedication to improving patient care was highlighted by its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, when it released a free ultrasound training module to help train frontline physicians to combat the virus.

As Intelligent Ultrasound looks to the future, it continues to focus on developing cutting-edge technologies that will enhance the capabilities of ultrasound practitioners worldwide and make medical ultrasound easier to learn and simpler to use.

Stuart Gall, CEO of Intelligent Ultrasound said: “Our journey over the past 20 years has been marked by a series of strategic partnerships, acquisitions, and product launches that have established us as a leader in the field of ultrasound simulation and ultrasound AI software. We remain dedicated to our mission of making ultrasound easier to learn, simpler to use and more accessible for all medical professionals.”

[bamboo2] 26/6/2024 13:33

Intelligent Ultrasound Introduces Infra-inguinal Fascia Iliaca Block to ScanNav Anatomy PNB in the UK and EU

Cardiff, UK – 21st June 2024 – Intelligent Ultrasound Group (AIM: IUG), a global leader in ultrasound simulation and AI-enhanced ultrasound image analysis, is pleased to announce the launch of the Infra-inguinal Fascia Iliaca Block (IIFIB) within ScanNav Anatomy Peripheral Nerve Block. This new block, delivering analgesia and anesthesia to the hip and thigh, is currently available in the UK and EU only, and is ideal for emergency medicine practitioners due to its clear anatomical landmarks, with a lower risk of nerve injury in comparison to some other blocks...

[40 fathoms] 14/6/2024 12:25

@gsbmba99 - you are absolutely correct, it is indeed Interactive Investor not Interactive Brokers. IB are on the register but with only a small holding. I have corrected this in my previous post in order to avoid confusion. Thank you.