If 'disruptive' is the current buzzword for technology companies promising to smash up the corporate landscape, Allied Minds (ALM) is trying to build the biggest sledgehammer. The group partners with US laboratories and universities to find the next breakthrough in life sciences and technology. It has some weighty investors on its side: Neil Woodford's eponymous investment house and his former shop at Invesco hold more than half of the company's stock between them.
The company makes its money when these start-ups are bought, listed, or when it can otherwise extract its stake at a profit. The difficulty for investors is predicting such opportunities. Meanwhile, the group's losses reflect investment in the underlying businesses. It created four subsidiaries last year, bringing the total to 22. These included a joint venture with biopharma company Bristol-Meyers Squibb - itself expected to spawn 10 further businesses - which management sees as a template for further tie-ups.
The company has increased its staff by almost 100 since its June 2014 listing to just shy of 300. Its growing but modest turnover was boosted by subsidary RF Biocidics, which uses radio waves to treat food stuffs and quadrupled its revenue to $6.5m (£4.2m).
| ALLIED MINDS (ALM) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 668p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.4bn | |
| TOUCH: | 668-669.5p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 725p | LOW: 183p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 116¢ | NET CASH: | $262m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 0.43 | -22.6 | na | na |
| 2012 | 1.18 | -34.4 | na | na |
| 2013 | 2.94 | -42.7 | -0.24 | na |
| 2014* | 7.72 | -57.7 | -0.24 | nil |
| % change | +163 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: na Payment: na *Company listed in June 2014. £1=1.54p | ||||
