Gradipore admits loss, poor communication

In a lengthy shareholders' advice, beleaguered biosensor company Gradipore has donned not just the hair shirt but the hair suit admitting a "disappointing" $15.5-16 million loss and noting commitment to a "more effective and timely communication with all shareholders."

The surprising admission came in a shareholders letter which detailed a 65 per cent sales growth over the last financial year but offset this with news that a new managing director/CEO had still not been found since the departure of Bob Lieb in April this year; that founding director Perry Manusu had resigned; and that the difficulty of sourcing manufacturing capability and lower than forecast BF400 instrument sales had hit income targets.

Dr Lisa Springer, director of Biotech Group at PwC, said it was obvious the company was trying to communicate with unhappy shareholders -- but there still seemed to be no clear strategy for shareholders to look at.

"I am stunned by the fact that Gradipore as a listed company still has no CEO. It is obvious they had board problems, and that they had internal challenges, but the least they can do is communicate to shareholders. Especially as I'm sure they have a lot of disgruntled shareholders," she commented.

The only good note in the mail-out was that the company was still clinging to $11 million in cash, and that it was actively pursuing a policy of increased commercialization into niche markets such as blood fractionation and hyper-immunes.

"But like many Australian biotechs, Gradipore does not seem to have a strategic plan. That they need to move quickly now is obvious, but it is still not clear what they want to do," said Springer.

"Once companies have a strategy, much of the rest will simply happen as a result. Gradipore is not alone in this, though. There are many (Australian biotech) companies that don't have a clear strategy," she added.