24th Mar 2015 11:25
LONDON (Alliance News) - NetScientific PLC Tuesday posted a widened pretax loss for 2014 as its portfolio companies continued to work on their pipelines, and said it expects these companies to launch commercial products during 2015.
The biomedical and healthcare investment firm posted a pretax loss of GBP7.3 million, widened from a pretax loss of GBP4.4 million in 2013, due to a jump up in administrative expenses. It posted revenue of GBP343,126, compared to GBP177,667.
The company said focus has been on the two most mature companies, Wanda Health and Vortex Biosciences, which continued to work towards their first commercial launches.
During the year the company entered into a partnership with philanthropist Peter Thiel's fund Breakout Labs, under which it will also invest in companies alongside Breakout Labs that fit with its investment strategy.
Following the year end, the company began a review of its portfolio and strategy, and said it will report the results of this review by mid-2015.
Additionally, Chief Executive Officer Farad Azima stepped down at the beginning of 2015 to become executive chairman of Frontierbio Sciences Ltd, a company jointly owned by NetScientific and Zahra Holdings Ltd, a company controlled by Azima. NetScientific is continuing to search for a new chief executive officer.
As part of the review of the portfolio, it has agreed to transfer some projects that "fall outside its core area of focus" to Frontierbio.
"2014 has been a productive year for NetScientific, focusing on the growth plans of our lead portfolio companies, as well as seeking new investments, and establishing and building relationships with strategic partners," said Executive Chairman Richard Sykes in a statement. "In 2015, we anticipate commercial launches from our core portfolio companies, Wanda Health and Vortex BioSciences, further enhancing the value of our portfolio."
Shares in NetScientific are untraded Tuesday, it last closed at 135.00 pence.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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